On a wall in the Cantagalo favela, in Rio de Janeiro, graffiti shows a woman carrying a can on her head. Memory of the times when there was no water supply and each one managed as they could. A little further ahead, already in the Pavãozinho favela, the image is of five serious policemen. There was a time when they watched over residents who were forbidden to build masonry houses. And, with a little more breath, you arrive at the house in Pavão with references to children’s games in the community: marbles, kites and hopscotch. This is the description of visiting a museum. It’s not one of those traditional ones, with paintings by Renaissance artists or archaeological artifacts, but a museum nonetheless. In the collection, houses, walls, streets, about 20 thousand residents and their way of life. Museu de Favela is one of the organizations that make up the Social Museology Network of Rio de Janeiro, a group that will complete 10 years in 2023. The network defends a broader concept of museum, including memory spaces, collective experiences and actions aimed at education , entertainment and knowledge. The museums of Maré, Sankofa da Rocinha, Horto, Art and Urban Culture and the Rural Ecomuseum of Barra Alegre are part of the network. In monthly meetings, there is an exchange of experiences about the communities and social movements they represent. For the group, memory is a factor of inclusion and social transformation. Therefore, the objective is to expand the diversity of voices and historical narratives of society. “Traditional museums started from a distant perspective in relation to the other. When they spoke about indigenous peoples, quilombos and favelas, they always spoke in the third person. Social museology brings an experience in the first person singular and plural. They are community museums that talk about themselves and break with any intermediation. They don’t need someone to speak for them”, explains the museologist, poet and director of the Museum of the Republic Mario Chagas, who is a member of the network. Graffiti recalls the time when it was forbidden to build masonry houses in Pavãozinho – Eviction Museum/Disclosure Territory The Favela Museum was created in 2008 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) led by residents of Cantagalo, Pavão and Pavãozinho. As streets and alleys received frequent visits from tourists, they decided to tell the story of the communities through graffiti on the walls of the houses. Curated by the artist Acme, they painted the walls and inaugurated the Circuito das Casas-Tela in 2010: a guided tour, lasting up to three hours, which includes observation of 27 homes. The organizers understood that the project was consistent with the concept of social museology. On the museum’s screens, there are references to the first residents and cultural transformations over time. Indigenous, Afro-Brazilian and Northeastern heritages are highlighted. In building these memories, the Favela Museum leaders needed to include the entire community. The owners of the houses participated in the decision about what would be graffitied on the walls. “We spent a year mediating with residents to find out if they agreed or not. It was, in fact, a collective work. There were residents who didn’t think it was cool the way the story was being designed for his wall. And then, the conversations took place to reach a consensus. The paintings have been there for 13 years. Residents do not paint anything over it. And they are the ones who often tell you when you need to restore some graffiti”, says Márcia Souza, one of the founders of Museu de Favela. Resistance In Vila Autódromo, on the shores of Lagoa de Jacarepaguá, the museum has a different configuration. A good part of the collection does not consist of houses, but of rubble and memories of those who lived there. In the years leading up to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, hundreds of families were removed for the construction of the Olympic Park, the Media Center and expressways. Only 20 managed to stay. The Evictions Museum was created in 2016 to prevent such events from being forgotten. The exhibition route through the streets of the community is one of the main activities, and includes listening to the stories of violence and resistance from the remaining residents. They remember the neighbors who had to leave the place. They talk about physical and psychological aggression by the Municipal Guard and intimidating measures by the city hall, such as cutting public lighting and suspending garbage collection and mail delivery. There are material supports of this memory along the way: sculptures made in 2016 from rubble, with the support of architecture and urbanism students. Some works were destroyed by tractors during removals, but others were saved by residents, who created new activities for the museum. Temporary photography exhibitions and art festivals are some examples. Soon, the inauguration of a cultural center is expected, which will help expand the number of attractions. “We started looking at museology in a different way. We thought of something from the rubble and chaos and also reflected on the impact that society suffered due to real estate speculation. And we began to realize that it was possible to organize our own memory and take care that it was not erased, as happened with so many other favelas evicted in the city, whose history was lost”, points out Sandra Maria, one of the founders of Museu das Removações. It is possible to organize one’s own memory so that it is not erased, says museum founder The first institutions date back to the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, when criteria today considered elitist and exclusive defined what a museum was. The pattern was hegemonically replicated in different parts of the world until the first half of the 20th century, and was marked by a colonialist and imperialist heritage. The 1970s marked a moment of greater discussion and revision of these concepts. The most current and comprehensive definition dates back to August last year and emerged at the 26th General Conference of the International Council of Museums (Icom), in Prague, Czech Republic. “A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution at the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums promote diversity and sustainability”, says the main text. In addition, museums act and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences of education, entertainment, reflection and knowledge sharing. According to Mario Chagas, social museums are consistent with this reality, although they are not trapped in rigid definitions, nor do they depend on international organizations or academic criteria to be legitimized. Thus, a museum can be understood as any community initiative that involves spatiality, temporality and commitment to memory preservation, explains the museologist. Within this perspective, the Social Museology Network promotes exchanges with more than 50 initiatives in Rio de Janeiro, and the diversity of environments and content does not prevent the group from having common commitments. “We do a work of articulation and unity. It is a political work, which involves culture, art, and is designed from the bottom up”, adds Chagas. “Our commitments are very clear. We are committed to fighting racism and LGBTphobia, defending indigenous peoples, women and universal land rights. We are also interested in guidelines on work, health, housing, human rights. We have causes that bring us closer together and unite us strongly”. The thought is shared by those who live and build social museums on a daily basis. “Our biggest goal is to bring visibility to the favelas and make these stories circulate. May these territories be recognized as city heritage. That’s what drives us: keeping that memory so it doesn’t fade. Often, time passes and people forget. And these stories will not be found in magazines, newspapers, on the internet”, emphasizes Márcia Souza. “Social museums avoid erasing social groups and cultures. We are talking about the preservation of our people. Museums are powerful tools of struggle, they value identity and strengthen the rights of a people. We live in an unfair and unequal society. With the organization of memories, people also preserve their rights. Traditional museums value more the stories of kings, presidents, lords, nobles. In social museology, groups that do not feel represented can organize and preserve their traditions, memories and heroes”, emphasizes Sandra Maria, from the Removals Museum.
Agência Brasil
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