Page 101 - ARTE!Brasileiros #50

debates, artistic residencies and exhibitions of this space, which is a place for oxygenation of the challenges is to find a language in which
- the space is especially fond of socializing, in the field, in practice, is still lacking in the we recognize ourselves and that these residents
exchanges, dialogues and meetings, as well artistic milieu,” adds the curator. also recognize themselves. There is no point in
as happens at a good party. thinking that we are going to enlighten people
“Space dedicated to the circulation, past and future with the idea of contemporary art, with an expert

production and exhibition of contemporary Throughout the 397-year history of 397, the mindset that wants to teach much more than
art”, as explained by the sign at the entrance constant desire to question the institutional and listening to others”, she says. “So we have to
of the grand shed on the quiet street Gonzaga marketing practices of the contemporary art take proposals, know how to put ourselves, and
Duque, 397 completes 16 years of operation universe has resulted in varied types of activities at the same time also listen, managing to get
having passed not only the change of address and experiences. In Surpraise, for example, closer to the neighborhood’s daily life.”
in 2017, but also for reformulations in the team which has had eight editions, an art auction is For Ateliê’s managers, a greater occupation
and in the management modes. He never lost held “blindly”, without the participants being of public space is also inserted as a political
sight, on this route, that a certain degree of informed of the authorship of the works sold. practice in times of attack on the arts and
informality and irreverence are desirable for the Works by established and established artists education. “In this difficult moment, when
type of experimentation and critical thinking mix and receive the same starting price, turning we have an enemy government of culture,
he seeks to produce and for the place - neither the experience into a kind of bet that puts the we are thinking about what kind of issues we

market nor excessively institutional - that he idea of authorship and financial speculation in want to work on, what discussions we want
intends to occupy. check in the artistic milieu. to do, with boldness and without having ties.
“Maybe it’s not really the party, but the beer”, From a project proposed by Ateliê397 Discussions about the city, gender and racial
says artist Raphael Escobar, 397 collaborator. and contemplated by the Funarte Prize for issues, feminism and the environment, always
“Beer as this space of communion for Contemporary Art 2012, the exhibition Espaços looking carefully at the people who are in general
conversation, exchange, discussing, thinking Independentes: A Alma é o Segredo do Negócio aim”, says Rivitti.
about good and bad ideas. At Ateliê things was set up in partnership with Ateliê Aberto In these 16 years on the road, trying to
flow a lot like that, in a meeting of people from (Campinas), Atelier Subterrânea (Porto Alegre) make a list of the artists who passed through
different generations, at different stages of their and the paulistaas Casa Contemporânea, Casa Ateliê397 would be an almost impossible task.
careers. I think this interaction gives strength Tomada and Casa da Xiclet. The idea of uniting Among less known and consecrated names,

to everyone, it has incredible power, it allows and putting into dialogue the practices of hundreds of people had part of their formations
the construction of thought.” Escobar, who different independent spaces sought to oppose or trajectories marked by some practice or
has attended 397 for about ten years and now the individualistic premises of the market and experience lived in this independent space
teaches courses there, is one of the many artists to favor the sharing of knowledge and collective in São Paulo. “Art requires training and good
who arrived there at the end of his graduation. practices. professionals”, concludes Rivitti. “And it needs
As explained by the museologist and educator With the work of the study group “Women time, it’s not immediate. So this process that
Tania Rivitti, space manager alongside Ana do not need to be naked to enter museums”, the studio has always provided, with students,
Elisa Carramaschi, Bia Mantovani and Carollina the Vozes Agudas exhibition was organized in artists, teachers and regulars, has resulted in
Lauriano, “from the beginning there is this 2018 and lent its name to a new group of studies the maturation of many good people out there.
proposal to train young artists. This artist and interventions that continues to operate at It is a long work and must continue. ”
who leaves college and realizes that he still 397. With an emphasis on feminism and formed
needs to discuss more, present his work more, exclusively by women active in the São Paulo ON THE EDgES: JA.CA [pAgES 62 TO 67]
understand how to present it”. This character artistic circuit, Vozes Agudas has held meetings,
of formation, which permeates a good part of readings and a series of podcasts available on MANY USES FOR JA.CA
the activities proposed by the Ateliê, is present the Ateliê website.
both in courses such as the General Clinic, a In July 2019, a large exhibition entitled Abraço Venue in Minas Gerais, with wide and
semiannual follow-up for projects by artists and Coletivo brought together works by almost 300 diversified performance in the artistic and
researchers, as well as in the artistic residency artists in the shed. From an open call (in which no
Temos Vagas!, which is currently in its second artist would be refused), the exhibition attracted educational fields, completes ten years
edition, with nine young artists and a collective. exhibitors of different ages and with works on and inaugurates Arrudas, a new space in
In the vast central area of the shed, the various platforms, called to think about the the center of Belo Horizonte
artists of the residence have their work space with the curator Paula Borghi. By MARCOS gRINSpUM FERRAz
spaces separated only by a strip on the floor, If some of these projects from previous years
without walls or partitions, which provides a - especially in the first half of the last decade - lookIng for a unIque defInItIon that
permanent dialogue between the participants. were financed through the approval of public explains what JA.CA - Centro de Arte e Tecnologia
The remaining rooms are rented to other more notices or the capture of laws to encourage is is a thankless task. Independent art space;
experienced artists who have their workshops culture, the picture has become more critical artistic collective; non profit organization;
on site, usually shared by two or three people for 397 in recent times. “There is a clear desire residence space; education and research center;
each. There is also a room for management, to dismantle culture”, says Bogossian. Thus, the association focused on cultural management;
meetings or small shows and an enclosure, space has debated new strategies for survival and several other definitions could be used. And
right at the entrance, which houses the Escola and tried to put into practice projects that can none would be wrong. Officially, it is possible
da Floresta, a project led by the artist Fábio maintain its sustainability. to state that JA.CA - with a name derived from
Tremonte. Despite a few walls, none of the rooms A crowdfunding (collective financing) carried Jardim Canadá, neighborhood of Nova Lima (Mg)
have closed doors. out in 2017 raised R $ 65 thousand and made where it was born - emerged as a postgraduate
For curator Gabriel Bogossian, another of it possible to maintain the activities of the 397 project proposal on collective practices and
Ateliê’s collaborators alongside Escobar and in the first half of 2018. The sale of multiples, is today a Civil Society Organization. But that
Thais Rivitti, this character of formation is one works by several artists connected to the says very little about its performance, which
of the 397’s most relevant traits to stand out house, is another way that has helped. Courses, will be expanded with the opening of a space
in the current context of the city of São Paulo. residences and the rent paid by the artists in Belo Horizonte, Arrudas, in partnership with
“I think that, historically, a free school similar who work there represent another part of the the Periscópio gallery.
to Parque Lage in Rio de Janeiro is missing. collection, but not enough to close the accounts. “In a broad way, we understand JA.CA as a
And in recent years, independent spaces have In this sense, 397 thinks of possibilities such as training space. But the beauty of participating
occupied this place a little ”. At the same time, the resumption of Surpraise, the realization of in a project like this is that we can be less certain
he points out, with the closure of the activities a permanent crowdfunding and the creation and work with more doubts. In other words,
of many of them, due to financial difficulties, of partnerships with other collectives and today we understand and practice a way that
the 397 ended up becoming even more unique institutions in the city - be it museums, galleries can be drastically changed at another time”,
in the city scenario. or universities -, without this meaning a decrease says Caporali. In fact, JA.CA has already changed
“There are other places that host exhibitions, in the autonomy of the Studio. its address, decreased or increased its size
debates and performances, but few have this Another objective in this year of 2020 is several times and has developed various survival
constant occupation, this regular meeting space to establish a stronger and more horizontal strategies over the years, sometimes in a more
that allows the pedagogy of coexistence”, says dialogue with the Pompeia neighborhood and experimental way, sometimes in dialogue closer
Bogossian, who also highlights the accessible (if its residents. For that, according to Rivitti, it is to a universe of service provision.
not free) value of courses and activities from 397. necessary to go to the streets and squares as To understand such plurality and elasticity,
“And I think that the awareness of the importance well as to attract people into the shed. “And one it is necessary to briefly go through the history

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