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“Além da Rua” Festival Sails the Sea by the Port of Pecém, Brazil

“Além da Rua” Festival Sails the Sea by the Port of Pecém, Brazil

Imagine swimming with your art in the ocean, bobbing up and down in the blue waves and buffeting breezes in the sun just off the coast of Brazil.  Bright and bouncing like beacons while paying tribute to the fishing community just inland, those bikinied and briefed beauties who are cavorting with victorious hands in the air are the artists who painted these sails, and photographer Martha Cooper was there to capture them for BSA readers to enjoy today.

The sails and the artists. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)

The Além da Rua festival saw its first edition in 2010, founded by Duo Acidum Project in collaboration with Ato Marketing Cultural. This year’s edition was organized by Marcelo Pimentel and Marina Bortoluzzi of Instagrafite and the concept of painting on sails is the first of its kind that we know of. One that speaks directly to the community and the history of the fishing trade in this Port of Pecém District, in São Gonçalo do Amarante. This two-week experience during September on the northern coast of Brazil included painting sails for the typical fishing rafts that fishermen/women have used on the ocean here for a long time.

Fitz Licuado. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Fitz Licuado. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Not strictly Street Art, this oceanic open-air gallery is created by Street Artists who hail from this region of the world – Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and of course Brazil.  The program also included murals painted on walls of the homes of the fishing people, further connecting neighbors, place, pride, and a sense of community.

Ana Marietta. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Ana Marietta. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)

We have been observing a gradual evolution in the practices of the so-called “mural festivals” that evolved from the illegal Street Art scene in the last few years and we have spoken many times here and in presentations and panels about being leery of what we call a certain “cultural imperialism” that accompanies many of them today. The mural works are simply foisted by a starry-eyed fan-curator upon a neighborhood based on their knowledge of an edgy art movement. Nearly anyone can curate events and exhibitions with the BIG names – a grab bag of stars takes very little creative acumen and the results are often as cohesive as the offerings on folding card tables at your local flea market that sells iPhone 6 cases, 8-pack packages of athletic tube socks, and velvet paintings of Elvis and horses.

By involving artists with the community, as Ms. Bortoluzzi and Mr. Pimentel artfully did, the resulting artworks can have more meaning to the folks who must live with them long after the artists leave. It’s a tricky area to discuss sometimes though because everyone reading this has seen that the worst public art in almost every city often results from the choking, stultifying, uninspiring effects of bureaucratic “design by committee” processes, so we aren’t advocating for that either.

Here photographer Martha Cooper captures the energy and enthusiasm of the artists and fisherpeople and the natural beauty that inspires them all in at Além da Rua.

Nodoa. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Nodoa. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Luci Sacoleira. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Luci Sacoleira. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Serifa. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Serifa. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Ever Siempre. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Ever Siempre and Bozo Bacamarte. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Bozo Bacamarte. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Evoca and Ever Siempre. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Ever Siempre and Serifa. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Auxi Silveira. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Poni. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Camila Siren . Wes Gama. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
The sails. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
The sails. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
The sails. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
The sails. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
The sails and the artists. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Evoca. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Evoca is here painting Ednardo Palmeira’s portrait,” Martha tells us. “The portrait is on the outside of the place where Mr. Palmeira trims, preserves, and sells freshly caught fish. Ednardo seems to be the main person to
do that in Pecém. Fishermen bring their fish to him.”

Evoca. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Evoca. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Ramon Martins. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Ana Marietta. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Bozo Bacamarte. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Luci Sacoleira. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Luci Sacoleira. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Nodoa. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Wes Gama. Alem Da Rua Festival. Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Pecém, Brazil. (photo © Martha Cooper)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.31.16

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.31.16

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This week we bring you fresh stuff from Berlin where the final Project M/10 was debuted with a collection of artists curated by Instagrafite and we had an opportunity to ride the streets looking for interesting art, to avoid getting swept away by a sudden massive flood, and to visit Urban Spree for some great prints and paintings, and even to hang out in a boxing club for days with a cluster of curators.

Our special thanks to Yasha Young and the entire UN Team for their UNflagging support as we collectively are bringing a new institution that recognizes a wide swath of history and influences forward. More to come…

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring A Squid Called Sebastian, Anarkia, Axel Void, Hop Louie, JAZ, Marshal Arts, Mindaugas Bonanu, Nafir, Olek, Panmela Castro, RoboSexi, Roxi, Speto, Uriginal, and Various & Gould.

Our top image: Panmela Castro AKA Anarkia. Detail. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Panmela Castro AKA Anarkia. Detail. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Panmela Castro AKA Anarkia. Detail. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Panmela Castro AKA Anarkia. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Various & Gould. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Olek in collaboration with Robosexi. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

New interventional pieces of objects in clear resin from the Polish duo Robosexi in collaboration with Polish/Brooklyner artist OLEK placed IN the streets of Berlin this week. An anagram of their first names Roxi and Sebo, the duo say their “Time Capsules” are an effort to freeze the truth about this time and people today. They say that they also do performances and video art in addition to these installations, but this week they are in town with OLEK for PM/10 at Urban Nation.

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Olek in collaboration with Robosexi. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Olek in collaboration with Robosexi. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Olek in collaboration with Robosexi. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Olek in collaboration with Robosexi. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A selfie gun from Hamburg based stencillist Marshal Arts. Berlin, Germany. One source tells us the title is “How to Take a Great Selfie.” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Uriginal in conjunction with Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nafir is having some rather explosive ideas lately. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Squid Called Sebastian in conjunction with Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Squid Called Sebastian in conjunction with Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Squid Called Sebastian in conjunction with Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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An unidentified artist’s painting of these two amorous lovers appears under the train tracks that lead across Oberbaum Bridge (German: Oberbaumbrücke), a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin’s River Spree. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Axel Void. Detail. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A new sculpture by Franco JAZ Fasoli commands the center exhibition space at Project M/10, which opened last evening in Berlin. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Curated by Instagrafite.(photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Beards and man buns are the default fashion accessory for men who would like to give an air of hipness at this moment. Arguably however, they are probably considered mainstream. Hop Louie. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Speto. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Roxi. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Project M/10. Curated by Instagrafite. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-sreet-art-jaime-rojo-berlin-07-31-16-webAlleged ties between US Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimer Putin made it to the street via Lithuanian artist Mindaugas Bonanu and this week on the cover of Frankfurter Allgemeine. Although the German newspaper doesn’t credit the creator of this image (which happens a LOT with street art), we can tell you that the significance of the image is directly tied to Berlin Wall art history. As writer and art critic Carlo McCormick notes in a recent PAPER magazine portfolio of Trump-related art, this piece refers to ” a famous fraternal kiss in 1979 between Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev and his East German counterpart Erich Honecker that gained fame as a painting by Dmitri Vrubel on the Berlin Wall.”

Untitled. Berlin, Germany. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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