{"id":18449,"date":"2014-10-09T09:48:20","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T12:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=18449"},"modified":"2015-12-21T15:27:36","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T18:27:36","slug":"sos-museu-da-mare-community-speaks-out-against-museum-eviction-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=18449","title":{"rendered":"SOS Museu da Mar\u00e9: Community Speaks Out Against Museum Eviction [SLIDESHOW]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

After seven years providing an\u00a0<\/span>acclaimed<\/a>\u00a0space for historic preservation, culture and art in\u00a0<\/span>Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a>, the\u00a0<\/span>Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0has been marked for\u00a0<\/span>eviction<\/a>, with 90 days to vacate the premises. Read the first of this two-part series here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are four\u00a0petitions to stop the eviction: three\u00a0online (on\u00a0<\/span>Meu Rio<\/a>\u2018s \u201c<\/span>Pressure Cooker<\/a>\u201c,\u00a0<\/span>Peti\u00e7\u00e3o P\u00fablica<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Avaaz.org<\/a>) and one paper-based, as well as a mailing pressure group. In addition to all these actions,\u00a0<\/span>there will be a march<\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0<\/span>Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0on October 18, that aims to block the nearby Avenida Brasil highway. There are also weekly Twitter events with the\u00a0<\/span>next one<\/a>\u00a0today,\u00a0Thursday\u00a0October 9 at 7pm, Rio de Janeiro time.<\/span><\/p>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em> visited the museum to document its importance and impact on the community. The following testimonials are from visitors, curators and collaborators of the museum.<\/p>\n

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Ana Carolina Geronimo<\/b>, 21, history student at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), has collaborated with the university’s program offering scholarships to initiating teachers (PIBID<\/a>) and the Museu da Mar\u00e9 in planning activities with university students and professors:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so varied it surprised me. I don\u2019t live here: I came with an image, and by talking with residents, ended up with a completely different one!\u201d [The museum is important]<\/span> to recount and reclaim the stories of people who actually lived in Rio de Janeiro, and really took part of its history.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Sylan Anderson<\/b>, 30, has been working at the museum for seven years. He started as a contemporary dance teacher and is currently coordinating its Cultural Workshops. Sylan expressed his disappointment in receiving such disappointing news just as the museum was revitalizing and re-occupying spaces:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still don\u2019t know the actual reason why they want this place back. Personally, it gives me a feeling of uncertainty: we don\u2019t know what will happen, but we have to keep working, because the projects cannot stop. It generates tension. And it\u2019s a mix of tension and calmness that I need to continue resisting… The museum is the community\u2019s home, Mar\u00e9\u2019s home. People have it as a reference for all their lives, as a preservation of memory!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Elisabette do Espirito Santo<\/b>, 52, born and raised in Mar\u00e9’s Morro do Timbau, is a frequent visitor to the museum:<\/p>\n

\u201cI take the Zumba course here, but today I came to do some research and I\u2019m helping with the petition, sharing it among friends, colleagues\u2026 and online! The museum is a reference, for our children, nieces and future grandchildren. This museum is not just important for the community, but for everyone.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alan Silva<\/b>, 19, and Linique Oliveira<\/b>, 17, are students from Mar\u00e9’s Vila do Pinheiro<\/a>. They have been awarded an 18-month scholarship to study the history of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and favelas.<\/p>\n

Alan: \u201cThe museum tells the stories of Mar\u00e9 residents up until now. So many things and projects are happening here: if they remove this, a piece of us will go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linique: \u201cAfter all the hardships they\u2019ve been through, it\u2019s important for the youth to have these many projects here.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Felipe Abrah\u00e3o Monteiro<\/b>, 26, started working as a volunteer in the museum last year and currently works in the communication department. Felipe said there has been a lack of space for dialogue and negotiations, or even explanations for the eviction:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe guess it\u2019s because of the real estate speculation and Pacifying Police Unit (UPP)<\/a> phenomena. [The UPP] could give value to the area… This museum is not just a museum. It’s not just an exhibition. There\u2019s a library, handicrafts, workshops, a theater group, and educational programs.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Serji<\/b>, 26, and Marcelo Naz de Lima<\/b>, 27, are from the Northeast of Brazil and have lived in Morro do Timbau<\/a>, one of Mar\u00e9’s neighborhoods, for the last 14 years.<\/p>\n

Serji: \u201cIt\u2019s a hotbed of resistance<\/a>, not built by one person, but by the whole of Mar\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcelo: \u201cIt\u2019s our culture, our identity, our home. They want to eradicate our culture<\/a>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Carlos Henrique Paulo<\/b>, 15, was born and raised in Morro do Timbau:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the place where we train capoeira.<\/em> We can\u2019t abandon the museum, because of capoeira and other things that would hardly take place without it… Our roda<\/em> (performance) today was in support of the museum, we wanted to show how much it means to us: without it, we wouldn\u2019t be here!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Markito<\/b>, 50, is an architect and curator. He was born in Minas Gerais State but studied in Rio and soon got involved with the creation of Museu da Mar\u00e9:<\/p>\n

\u201c[Museu da Mar\u00e9] connects with everyone: everyone that had a childhood, played in the streets, everyone who has such memories to go back to. And these origins are important and, sadly, too often born with a feeling of shame<\/a>. It\u2019s the history of the many, of the poor many that constitute the majority of Brazil. And it\u2019s special because there\u2019s no one else to tell that story, only us.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fatima<\/b>, 48, is a psychologist working in Museu da Mar\u00e9\u2019s education area:<\/p>\n

“[Museu da Mar\u00e9] challenges the naturalization of poverty, showing how poorness is constructed, and how, within this group of people, there are immense capabilities.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place was abandoned. It was a good deal for the owner to have us keep it in good condition. The current pacification<\/a> discourses and events and militarization of favelas are noteworthy. Along with those \u2018social policies\u2019 they want to remove this place–a cultural center<\/a>? The museum is a social good, there\u2019s no owner: it\u2019s by the favela and for the favela.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"2_gesto\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Marcelo<\/b>, 47, was born in Morro do Timbau and is an art professor and the museum’s co-founder:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 1980s a team was organized to film daily lives and record stories especially from the elderly, the first generations of fishermen. Common themes and stories were repeating themselves, and after further researching in archives, discussions and debates, we ended up with the project of museum.”<\/p>\n

\u201cEven now I dream about what we could do next–there\u2019s a lot of material waiting for new exhibitions!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isabella do Nascimento<\/b>, 18, is a student from Mar\u00e9’s Baixa do Sapateiro<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a place full of culture<\/a>, all this history is a part of us. Besides, all the workshops and courses are precious opportunities given [to the residents]. They can\u2019t remove the museum! It\u2019s our history, even if we have to leave, we\u2019ll have [the museum] with us our whole lives.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To view full album see below, or click here<\/a> to see on Flickr with captions:<\/h3>\n