Many forms of artistic expression have stemmed and taken inspiration from favela culture. In this post, Simone Kalkman introduces Morrinho, a grassroots NGO based in Rio de Janeiro, to argue that the distinctiveness of this venture lies in its giving voice to favela dwellers, and in effectively showing that these voices should be taken seriously

Kalkman, Simone

LSE Research Online

Communicating bottom-up social developmentCredit: Simone KalkmanA little hill with big impact: Favelas, art and social relevanceMany forms of artistic expression have stemmed and taken inspiration from favela culture. In thispost, Simone Kalkman introduces Morrinho, a grassroots NGO based in Rio de Janeiro, to arguethat the distinctiveness of this venture lies in its giving voice to favela dwellers, and in effectivelyshowing that these voices should be taken seriously.We portray the favela by making art, trying to show what a favela is and what itdoesn’t have yet. When you are creating, it becomes your own world. So you dowhat you want. It is a place of reflection on the favela but also on ourselves.We hear Nelcirlan Souza de Oliveira, founder of Morrinho (literally translated as little hill), a 350square feet miniature favela model in the Pereira da Silva neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. In1997, he started using bricks and recycled materials to make miniature reproductions of thehouses in his community. Seventeen years on, the project has been part of prestigiousinternational art events (including the 2007 Venice Biennial) and has become an official NGO.The combination of visual art and favelas isby no means new. Major Brazilian artists suchas Tarsila do Amaral and Helio Oiticica havebeen inspired by favelas. More recently, theinternational “hype” surrounding favelas hastriggered both Brazilian and internationalartists to do projects in theseneighbourhoods that combine artistic andsocial goals (e.g. Vik Muniz, JR, JeroenKoolhaas and Dre Urhahn as Favela Painting).In a different but related development,various NGOs are now employing artistictechniques such as photography to give residents a means of self-representation amidst thevariety of favela representations circulating the world (e.g. Olhares do Morro). What makesMorrinho stand out, however, are its grassroots origins combined with its current position in the(global) world of so-called ‘high art’.The Morrinho Project has four ‘branches’:1. TV Morrinho: producing short films and documentaries in and about the model.2. Exposição Morrinho: making reproductions of the model in both local and internationalexhibitions.3. Turismo no Morrinho: guiding tourists through the original model and its community Pereira daSilva.4. Morrinho Social: organizing temporary social projects (often in collaboration with other NGOs.Home About Book Links News and Events Resources This site is supported byBookUndergroundSociabilities waspublished byUNESCO in 2013.Click on theimage for freedownload .Social media A little hill with big impact: Favelas, art and social relevance | Favelas at LSE1 of 4Credit: Simone KalkmanAs such, the project facilitates a two-way crossing of the borders of Rio’s so-called ‘broken city’.Tourists visit the favela, guided by its artists rather than by foreign tour agents, and focusing onthese youngsters’ achievements rather than on their poverty. Morrinho’s participants not onlytravel the world, but also participate in prestigious artistic events in Rio itself, which – consideringthe stigma favela residents still bear in the city – might be even more significant. In exhibitions andfilm festivals, they bring the favela to the art world, not just symbolically but also literally by theirown presence.In this context, the project’s participants, especially its founder Nelcirlan, occupy an interestingposition. Valued as artists and social workers, but still (in other situations) discriminated as favelaresidents, they are continuously shifting roles and actively reflecting on this process. From thisposition, they provide us with a highly original and creative representation of their neighbourhoodand of favelas in general. They incorporate common stereotypes, turn them around andupside-down, mix them with fictive elements, and do so in a highly humorous manner. Morrinho’sfavela models make us aware of how we see the favela – often through prejudice and stereotypes– and show us how we might see it without these preconceived ideas.To realise exactly how unique this is, at least in the domain of visual art, a short comparison withother social and artistic projects in Rio’s favelas is relevant. Looking firstly at ‘outside’ artistsworking in favelas, we clearly see a distinction. For while these artists raise awareness of both thefavela’s problems and its qualities and strengths, often by collaborating with local people, thevoices of favela residents remain embedded in a framework provided by the artist. By this I do notmean that local artists automatically provide a more ‘authentic’ representation. However, nomatter how nuanced and informed ‘outside’ representations may be, these projects ultimatelyreproduce existing power relations in which favela residents are silenced because others do thetalking for them.What about social organisations and NGOsthat use art as a means of self-expression?Without a doubt, these projects are valuablein many ways and quite often bottom-upinitiatives. Nevertheless, the images theyproduce are usually presented only in theirsocial and often therapeutic contexts. Inother words, they are not taken seriously asartworks in their own right. To a certainextent, the same can be said for Morrinho. Inthe words of Bianca Freire-Medeiros and Liade Mattos Rocha (2011): “Morrinho’s artistsare never just artists, but always necessarily ‘artists-favelados’”. Considering the exhibitionsMorrinho has been part of, however, it is clear that their international reception is inherentlydifferent than the majority of works produced by artists from favelas.Should we conclude, then, that Morrinho houses the most talented artists to be found in Rio’sfavelas? Well, probably not. Rather, we should consider how they got to this point. These favelateenagers did not appear at the Venice Biennial unexpectedly. A few years after they started, theywere ‘discovered’ by two Brazilian film producers who decided to start working with them on shortfilms in and about the model. This led to an exhibition in Rio de Janeiro and the ball kept rollingfrom there. Throughout this process, Morrinho’s participants developed into clever and articulatespokespersons for their project. At this moment, Nelcirlan talks as seriously and reflectively abouthis art as any artist. In other words, mediation is no longer necessary for him to frame his project’ssocial and artistic relevance.In most accounts, Morrinho is mainly praised for its temporary projects with favela children andLSE Latam is a joint effort of @lseargentinasoc @LSEsuColombia @LSESUMexicanSoc @CASAUK_org  Chile. Inviting Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and all!Retweeted by Favelas atLSELSE SU Latam @latamlseExpandThere is need for subsidised or free #healthcare for the growing population of older people living in #slums ow.ly/FUTrNFavelas at LSE @FavelasatLSE2h11hTweets FollowTweet to @FavelasatLSELike us on FacebookFavelas at LSE: Adialogue betweenthe UK and Brazil904 people like Favelas at LSE: Adialogue between the UK and Brazil.Facebook social pluginLikeArchiveSubscribe to Favelas at LSEvia EmailEnter your email address tosubscribe to this blog andreceive notifications of newposts by email.A little hill with big impact: Favelas, art and social relevance | Favelas at LSE2 of 4June 26th, 2014 | Art, Brazil, English, Featured | 0 Comments Previous postLeave A Commentfor serving as a positive example to local youth. While these concrete social projects are the leastactive branch of the project, their significance lies in the way participants redefine their role as‘artists-favelados’ in an international and city-wide perspective. The importance of this redefinitionbecomes evident when considering the recent (and often problematic) popularity of artistsworking in favelas and social programmes employing art. What distinguishes Morrinho in thiscontext, as I have tried to argue, is that they not only let the world hear their voices withoutmediation or framing, but also prove that what they have to say should be taken seriously.Perhaps even more than an example to local youth, Morrinho should thus serve as an example tothe art world and international NGOs, whose members, albeit unwillingly, still all too oftenunderestimate and silence the favela residents they are trying to help.ReferencesFreire-Medeiros, B. & de Mattos Rocha, L. (2011) “Uma pequena revolução: Arte, mobilidade esegregação em uma favela carioca.” XV Brazilian Sociology Congress, Curitiba, Brazil, 26-29 July2011: 1-20.Kalkman, Simone. (2013). Reality in Miniature: The Morrinho Project as a Community-based andSite-specific Artwork from a Rio de Janeiro Favela. World Art, 3(2): 275-295.Simone Kalkman has an MA in Art History and an MSc in Latin American Studies. She will start herPhD, focusing on participatory art projects in Rio’s favelas, at the University of Amsterdam thisSeptember. The views expressed on this post belong solely to the author and should not be taken as theopinion of the Favelas@LSE Blog nor of the LSE. Please read our comments policy before commenting.Share this:Next post Favela Painting: Buildingcommunity, social changeand emancipation throughan OrgansparkZ/ArtinstallationRepresenting Brazil's favelasthrough the lenses ofcommunity photographersTypes of favela mediaactivismA little hill with big impact: Favelas, art and social relevance | Favelas at LSE3 of 4 Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.CONTACTfavelas@lse.ac.ukCopyright © 2014 LSEA little hill with big impact: Favelas, art and social relevance | Favelas at LSE4 of 4

A little hill with big impact: Favelas, art and social relevance

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