Expanded Northeast

Over the course of three days, in November 2023, o Banco do Nordeste held the first seminar Expanded Northeast: strategies for (re)existing, in Recife (PE), where he presented and debated diversity in the visual arts of the nine states of the Northeast, and also in parts of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. 

Open to the public, the seminar took place in the traditional space of Galeria Janete Costa, in the Dona Lindu Cultural Complex, on Boa Viagem beach, where, during conversation circles, performances and socializing cafes, artists, curators and cultural producers were invited to participate and present their work, experiences and projects. 

Among the artists and researchers were present Nicolas Soares (ES), curator of the Museum of Modern Art of Vitória, as well as artists, curators and cultural producers Arissana Pataxó (BA), Ariana Nuala (PE), Geoneide Brandão (AL), Kauam Pereira (BA), Luciano Feijão (ES), Lins (PE), Samantha Moreira (MA), Gustavo Wanderley (RN), Rayana Rayo (PE), Aslan Cabral (PE), Tieta Macau (MA), Adriano Machado (BA ), Dinho Araújo (MA), Ziel Karapotó (AL), Consuelo Véa Coroca (RN), Ani Ganzala (BA), Josi (MG), Tieta Macau (MA), Samantha Lira (PE), Diogo Viana (PE), Carlos Melo, Aslan Cabral (PE), Yacunã Tuxá (BA), Simone Barreto (CE), Clara Moreira (PE), Liliana Sanches (ES), Guga Carvalho (PI), Iris Helena (PB), Alan Adi (SE) , Charles Lessa (CE), Bruna Rafaela Ferrer (PE), and, from Minas Gerais, the Curtume Embroiderers/Women of Jequitinhonha (MG), Viviane Fortes, Andressa Guimarães, Marli de Jesus Costa, Maria da Aparecida Leite and Celina Hissa . 

Luciano Feijão, Anti-Black Anatomy

The objective of the seminar was to show, based on the diversity of participants, the collective construction of the exhibition, which brings together more than 216 works, the product of horizontal work between curators from each region and the management of BNB Cultural, which resulted in a sensitive exhibition, concerned with welcoming diversity. 

The closing of the seminar was attended by a special Sandra Benites (MS), director of FUNARTE. Jacqueline Medeiros (EC),  visual arts coordinator at the Banco do Nordeste Cultural Center, and also general curator of the collection, spoke of the importance of the project that brings together recent acquisitions of Banco do Nordeste in all states of operation. The works were also part of the exhibitions commemorating Banco do Nordeste's 70th anniversary.

“In these new acquisitions, equality of territories, gender, race and ethnicity was sought for the BNB Collection, with an indigenous curatorship and curators representing each State and region. It covers woodcuts, what is called popular art and all visual arts techniques such as video, objects, sculptures, paintings, drawings and installations that, despite being geographically distant, are linked to each other, as can be seen in the exhibition”, he explained.

This project is part of a strategy to strengthen cultural production chains in BNB's areas of operation, called Banco do Nordeste Cultural. The different actions are programmed and carried out in an integrated manner, involving the cultural centers present in the cities of Fortaleza and Juazeiro do Norte, in Ceará, and Sousa, in Paraíba, the artistic, historical and bibliographic collections, in addition to structured projects, such as the the case of the Musical Ecosystem, the Urban Galleries and the Visual Arts Ecosystem. 

“Banco do Nordeste Cultural has been playing an important role in the process of visualizing the artistic production of agents in the Bank's area of ​​activity, through programs such as Galerias Urbanas, Ecossistema Musical and Ecossistema das Artes Visuais. These are actions, in addition to the supply of credit, that strengthen the institution's brand and fulfill the role of promoting agent for the arts production chains”, stated Murilo Albuquerque, Culture Management Manager at BNB.

Work by Maranhão artist Gê Viana

Some speakers brought cultural experiences from their home state, as in the case of Samantha Moreira, founder of CHÃO, in São Luís (MA). “Meetings like this confirm our intention to make things happen, to create a space of affection. CHÃO is not a project that starts just with me, it starts with a group of artists, educators, managers, with the desire to think about processes from Maranhão. It has great partners and previously had Tiago Martins de Melo, Márcia Araújo and Nova Frente. Today it is me, Dinho, Camila Grimaldi and Tadeu Macedo who, in short, manage the space, always bringing new partnerships for the programming to happen, to be a space open to receiving articulations, thoughts and traditions from Maranhão.” 

CHÃO today is a warehouse located in the Historic Center of São Luís, where the old Saber warehouses in Praia Grande were located, listed at the end of the XNUMXth century. “It’s open, it’s on a street in Passa Carro. This is wonderful, because we have an expansion of a square, which allows performances to be held for the public. It is a space for experimentation that lives from our way of being, from the desire to make things happen with the artists who are there, with our other partnerships. In CHÃO’s programming we receive many residency projects to host. There are partner institutions that enable other projects to take place, such as the Verbo Festival of performances, alongside the Galeria Vermelho from Sao Paulo. This year, we expanded to Fortaleza, and performed at the new Pinacoteca. In Rio, for example, CHÃO has been a partner residence of the ArtRio fair for five years now. We welcome the award-winning artists, as well as other residency projects with other selected artists, in a public call that we did nationally and with artists also from Maranhão.”

Tannery Embroiderers
Tannery Embroiderers, Vale do Jequitinhonha, Belo Horizonte – @mulheresdojequitinhonha

The artist Luciano Feijão, graduated in Fine Arts and master in Art from the Federal University of Espírito Santo, was a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at UFES. He worked with illustration and engraving in Vitória, São Paulo, Mexico and Slovakia, with emphasis on the actions of the Museu Capixaba do Negro. Feijão also explained his journey: “I have been working on the body, especially the black body, since 2016. It was exactly the year that I assumed that my work, as a visual artist, would fundamentally talk about the black body.” 

The exposure Expanded Northeast: strategies for (re)existing It will be open to the public until January 5, 2024, during which time it can be visited from Wednesday to Friday, from 10am to 17pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10am to 16pm. Access is free.


Sign up for our newsletter

Leave a comment

Please write a comment
Please write your name