Day 9 - Museu Da Maré / Mini Bus to Sao Palo

Day 9- Museu Da Maré

Tuesday June 3, 2008

10:00 Am
On the way out of Rio De Janeiro
Favela museum of Jamac.
Museum stories created and curated by the fishermen of the Favela
Organization Planned and co-designed with the following organizations
Centro de Estudos e Açoes Solidárias Da Maré
Infraero Aeroportos Brasileiros
Brasil Um Pais De Todos Governo Federal

Day 9
Minibus to São Paulo

Today we checked out of the hostel to board the mini bus to São Paulo. But on our way out we stop by one more favela in Rio which has created a museum of its culture. It was started by a university whose faculty came together to make an organization to create funding for a museum. This was the anthropology department. Once they got approval and a little funding from the government the group of faculty that created the organization dismantled and gave the museum back to the community to run and curate.

The museum is about the history and life of the favelas. It was organized by the fisherman of the community. This favela in particular is by a swamp and rivers where the homes are built on stilts above the water.

In the 60's the fishermen photographed parts of the community and it was mixed in with the current photos of the community. Unfortunately not much has changed. But the stories they have recorded from the oral histories of the elder fishermen help create installations in the space. there were examples of how children play and what games they come up with to stay away from the violence. And there was an installation of a dark room that had a spotlight of a platform with bullet shells in Plexiglas we had to walk on these planks of wood that represented the bridge of fear.

I think what was powerful about the museum was these were the stories and the interpretation of what this community wanted to present. I felt like a visitor I was invited into the home, life and culture of a people in the favela.

Rather than an intrusive tourist that is coming in and then making my own interpretation of the environment. The museum is an opportunity for the people who live there to educate the visitor. It is like coming into someone's house and respecting the privacy of their place. In other words, you wouldn't come into someone's house and go through there bedroom drawers and closets and wander in every part of the house as a guest, you respect the rules of the home and hosts.

What I also found powerful about the museum is that the faculty from the university gave the people of the favela the power of full autonomy over this museum with that autonomy comes a since of pride. So much that it is fully run on volunteered staff from the members of the community. The museum has a donation box at the end of the exhibit.

This trip transpired by a conversation at lunch with the director of the MAC de Niteroi when I told him about my interest in further research of the favelas. Drea found a way to fit it into the schedule at the last minute.

There were concerns that if we go we will end up traveling to São Palo at night which is not a safe thing to do. But when we hit the road the bus broke down anyway and we were stuck for at least an hour at a gas station so we ended up traveling at night anyway. We didn't get into São Palo until 10pm.

http://sobradocultural.blogspot.com/2007/11/nossa-visita-ao-museu-da-mar.html