Page 114 - ARTE!Brasileiros #57
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ENGLISH VERSION EVERYTHING IN CHECK


        dissolved under the Bolsonaro government and the   - information, ways of doing and facing things   cautious when thinking, for example, about
        current secretariat is linked to the Tourism section.  - will be incorporated into our habits. Now,   the end-of-the-year parties, carnival and
          Miranda also spoke about the global and   broadly speaking, I don’t like the expression   even proposals for releasing masks in open
        regional inequality opened up by the pandemic,   “return to normal”. Because the normal was   spaces. At Sesc, for now, we are going to
        about the need for us to learn to be more solidary   already too problematic, we were already   demand two doses of vaccine and mask,
        and to pay attention to “the environmental issue,   facing a situation of economic tightness,   for employees and for visitors.
        the issue of diversity, the issue of gender and   of difficulties in financing many actions...
        mutual respect”. Read the full interview below.  I’m not saying at Sesc, internally, but from   I remembered an interview with you in which
                                             the point of view of society, especially in the   you said that we live in a very materialistic
        arte!brasileiros – The Sesc units, even though   world of culture. There were already serious   reality, where things are considered only from
        they are private spaces, have always been   constraints before the pandemic. And so   the point of view of economic development,
        located in the city almost as extensions of   getting back to normal means going back to   but that, more and more, it is realized that
        public space. They are open to everyone,   that? It doesn’t interest us. So let’s go back   the search for quality of life depends on a
        designed for a creative and democratic   to our habits, but also look for this new path,   lot more things.  And then you talk about
        coexistence, in short, linked to a project of   which has nothing to do with the pandemic   education and culture in a broad sense, as
        “social well-being and good living”, in their   period, but neither with the previous period.   they are the foundations of Sesc-SP’s work.
        own words. For a year and a half these units   We want deeper changes.  Could you talk a little about this?
        had to close their doors, on account of How   Because I think that, despite everything, at    For us, the concept of culture has always
        was this experience of trying to keep SESC’s   that time we have enriched our understanding   been very broad and closely linked to the
        mission without physical spaces?     of things, under certain aspects of   educational issue. In this sense, the concepts
           It was sorely missed, as space is vital for us   coexistence, solidarity, consideration for   of culture and education are even confused,
           to be able to fully fulfill our mission. Meeting,   others, mutual dependence between us.   because they mean preparing for a better
           socializing, face-to-face activities, this is   These are things that have been incorporated,   life, the search for greater well-being for
           essential for our daily lives. I used to say   even if in a very strong, almost forced way,   everyone, in all aspects. That’s where the
           that our great specialty is bringing people   and we need to be more aware that we live in a   question of knowledge, the worldview, the
           together. Now, given the facts, the new   society where solidarity must be incorporated   perception of things, the aesthetic sense, the
           situation, we had to reinvent ourselves,   - regardless of political or religious positions,   sense of community and belonging comes
           change things. Then the units were closed   but from a point of view purely human.   in. But there are also issues of personal
           and we started to do a multitude of activities   And in this aspect, some points were very   character, physical issues, health, food,
           through our remote system, with great reach   exacerbated. The environmental issue, the   way of life, and also environmental issues.
           on our pages. We had a very strong action   diversity issue, the gender issue, the issue   In fact, our indigenous peoples put it in a
           in terms of content, with emphasis on Sesc   of mutual respect, they all come together.   very integrated way, everything is part of
           Digital, which is a platform that was already   These are not new things, but responses   everything: we are part of this whole, and
           ready and was launched right at the beginning   to all of this began to be demanded more   what this whole is is also part of us. And so,
           of the pandemic, in April 2020. We have a lot   from us. So a great number of institutions,   going back to Sesc, we have this very holistic,
           of collection material there - more than 20   organizations and companies are more aware   very broad, very comprehensive vision, we
           thousand items - a very large complement   of this, all over the world. Governments too,   act with this perspective.
           from the point of view of providing services   but that’s not our case. We are an exception,
           and a lot of information. And that was getting   a total nonsense.  Is this broad vision of culture, among other
           better. Little by little, we were providing some                  things, what the country’s current federal
           pre-scheduled face-to-face services, in the   In a conversation we had at the beginning   government lacks?
           food, dentistry and, later on, even courses,   of the pandemic, when the epicenter of this   I have no doubts. The current government
           exhibitions, concerts, etc. We are only now   crisis was in Europe, you said that if the   has no idea what culture is, not even the
           fully reopening.                epidemic was serious there, it would be even   traditional, classical one. It has no idea of
                                           worse here. In fact, we are now about 620,000   what the more restricted concept of culture
        From now on, Sesc-SP starts to work in a   dead. Has the pandemic further exposed   is, the one aimed at the arts and the symbolic,
        hybrid model between virtual and in-person?   global inequalities?      nor the broader concept, of an anthropological
        How are the plans in this regard?    No doubt. There is a huge imbalance, this is   nature, which concerns everything that is
                                             remarkable. If we look at what happened here,   human creation. These are not people who
            Yes, we are going to mix the two, which   but also in countries in Asia, Africa and other   are dedicated or who immerse themselves
           will make our performance even more   poorer parts of the world, especially in the   in this concept. When they put, for example,
           effective. I already said, a few decades ago,   southern hemisphere, it is quite different from   culture as part of an action aimed at tourism,
           that everything possible should be done   what happens in the northern hemisphere.   they undoubtedly did not understand anything
           at a distance. And we didn’t even have a   This is true for economics, politics, culture,   about what culture itself means.
           dimension of how much this represented,   diplomacy… and it is also true for health. It’s   With this in mind, five secretaries of culture
           of where the technologies would arrive. I   very serious.            have passed through the government so far,
           was thinking mainly about the bureaucratic    And thinking internally, in our country,   all of them with highly controversial actions.
           part, with information, scheduling and   there is also great inequality. In the city of São   We then arrived at the current secretary,
           registration, so that people would arrive at   Paulo, we have 100% of the adult population   Mário Frias, who seems to be increasingly
           the units with things made easier. But this   vaccinated, while in other parts of Brazil there   restricting his activities in the area, paralyzing
           has been exacerbated, especially now in the   are still very inadequate situations, numbers   the Incentive Law, among other things...
           pandemic, and the virtual has gained much   much lower than that.      It’s a sequence of progressive worsenings,
           greater momentum, and we will also work    Now, from then on, things went a little   unfortunately. The Rouanet Law is a law
           with this reality.                unforeseen. Here in Brazil, in fact, we have   envied by other countries in the world, since
              At the beginning of the pandemic, a lot was   reached a very serious situation, including a   it deals with the issue of tax incentives from
           said about the need to learn something from   total lack of control at the beginning of this   companies, with business projects linked to
           what was happening, that is, an idea that we   year, but since then - mainly due to society,   the issue of public culture. It is something
           should leave this period knowing how to deal   the press and politicians from levels other   that must be deepened, improved, advanced,
           better with the world around us. Now, when   than the federal level - we have managed   without a doubt, and I am not saying that the
           we see a big advance in vaccination and the   a process of vaccination quite broad. And   law is perfect. There were problems, above
           resumption of most activities, do you think   this today puts us in a situation that even   all, in terms of the geographic issue and in
           we’ve actually learned something? Do we   has a certain advantage over a large part of   terms of a mixture between advertising and
           change our way of being or do we go back   Europe itself, where there is much greater   culture, but even so, it was a law that had
           to the same place?                denial about the vaccine. So things changed   wide participation of businessmen, artists,
             Institutionally speaking, at Sesc-SP we   a little and that’s why we can also have this   cultural promoters, creators and managers,
           made a great effort in this regard. Many   perspective of reopening at Sesc. At the   with a committee representing society. When
           things we have accumulated in this period   same time, we have every reason to be very   you cut that and make everything decided
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