Project 1 / Empowerment Through Music, São Paulo, Brazil

CONFLICT

Brazil is facing multiple crises. Since 2016, repeated attacks on free speech and expression, combined with the spread of misinformation about indigenous people, have created an environment where many Brazilians no longer have that most critical democratic instrument - a voice - nor that most critical human right - a sense of identity. In addition, a lack of resources and challenging political and social factors have meant that Brazil has suffered greater infections and deaths in the Covid-19 pandemic than many other parts of the world.

The far right forces that try to control Brazil are aware of the empowering role of music, arts and culture and work daily to stifle diversity and extinguish the collective memory of Brazilian people, hindering contemporary production. There have been attempts to extinguish the Ministry of Culture, and hate speech is practiced against traditional Brazilian people, Indians, Quilombolas, Women, people of colour, LGBTQIAP+ people, artists and cultural producers, who are seen as threats to the Government.

solution

The project is to support the Nave Coletiva, an artistic and cultural bunker located in Cambuci, a traditional neighbourhood in São Paulo, that acts as a bridge between the centre and the periphery of the city. The space is the headquarters of Mídia NINJA, an independent journalism & activism organisation, and Movimento Fora de Eixo, a cultural collective network. Nave Coletiva brings together social technologies developed over 15 years of grassroots cultural work in Brazil, and is a hub of artistic and cultural resistance that opposes the extreme right-wing ideologies that threaten democracy in Brazil.

The money raised through Around the World in 80 Raves will enable the creation of a Music Operating System with infrastructure for rehearsals and recording, live shows (when possible), online presentations, as well as a ‘Music University’ centre with career planning and digital distribution consultancy for new artists. It will also help renovate and prepare the building for the resumption of events, including offering a free programme of artistic and cultural events for young people who are not offered opportunities by the state, and who live with the constant threat of crime and unemployment. The money raised will also help sustain Nave Coletiva’s weekly food donations to the street population of São Paulo.

“Let's strengthen the struggle in defence of democracy using art, culture and free media as our weapons”