{"id":38085,"date":"2017-08-19T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-19T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=38085"},"modified":"2017-08-23T11:05:47","modified_gmt":"2017-08-23T14:05:47","slug":"horto-residents-association-offers-free-arts-courses-to-foster-community-resilience-and-economic-solidarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=38085","title":{"rendered":"Horto Association Offers Free Arts Courses to Foster Community Resilience, Economic Solidarity"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The <\/span>Horto Neighborhood and Friends\u2019 Association<\/span><\/a> (AMAHOR) of the historic Horto community<\/a>\u00a0located near the Botanical Gardens<\/a>, launched free sewing, crafts and ceramics courses early this year. The courses take place weekly at the AMAHOR headquarters in partnership with three arts organizations and seek to offer both an economic alternative and space for socialization and emotional support within a community that has been fighting evictions for decades.<\/a>\u00a0While most of the students are women from the Horto community, students from communities throughout Rio are encouraged to attend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ceramics teacher and Horto native Tatiana Costa entered her field by accident. \u201cI was offered a job at a studio. In my mind I thought it was a fashion studio, but when I arrived it was ceramics.\u201d Costa immediately fell in love with the art, but while she received training on the job, she quickly recognized the high economic barrier to entering the industry. \u201cThere was a ceramicist who had their own space and gave classes. I saw a group of people who, financially speaking, could pay to take ceramics class, but 90 percent of them were focused on ceramics as leisure. I always asked myself, why not offer a course to people who don\u2019t have the economic resources to pay, but for whom ceramics could help them enter the labor market?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince then I\u2019ve been following my goal of learning everything I could about ceramics, and searching for potential partnerships so in the future I could offer all of my knowledge and teach my process to whomever wants to learn. This is where I am now,\u201d she says enthusiastically. Though Costa currently resides in the Parque da Cidade<\/a> favela nearby, she found at AMAHOR a willing partner and the affordable space where she could turn her organization Cer\u00e2mica Para Todos<\/a> (Ceramics for All) into reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Costa, as well as sewing teacher Cristina Souza and crafts teacher Fab\u00edola Key of the organizations <\/span>Divinas Axilas<\/span><\/a> (Divine Armpits, an NGO created in 2008 by the founders of the carnival <\/span>bloco <\/span><\/i>Suvaco do Cristo<\/a> or Christ\u2019s Armpit in reference to their location under the arm of the Christ the Redeemer statue) and <\/span>Fada Remendeira <\/span>(The Mender Fairy) provide their courses free of charge in exchange for use of the space at the AMAHOR headquarters. \u201cThis project is an exchange without any sort of government or institutional incentives,\u201d ex-AMAHOR President Em\u00edlia de Souza explains. \u201c[The teachers] need a space to develop their work, and they provide job training for the women of the community. So there\u2019s none of that \u2018there\u2019s no money so it won\u2019t happen\u2019 here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur doors are open to other communities who want to participate,\u201d says de Souza. “We all help one another through mutual solidarity. Even students who aren\u2019t from favelas can come. People who have the means to pay and want to take the classes will help finance the course for those who do not.\u201d Community leaders hope students who attend the courses from outside Horto will learn the truth firsthand about the community\u2019s resistance to removal<\/a> rather than believing misrepresentations in the media. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are showing that the community has the potential to assert itself in terms of solidarity<\/a>, sustainability<\/a>, and income generation. We are raising awareness step by step that we are not destructive invaders<\/a>. We are here to contribute to society,\u201d de Souza explains. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

The classes are a revival of a successful sewing cooperative AMAHOR had previously organized in the prized community club Caxinguel\u00ea<\/a>, which the Botanical Gardens closed down in 2014<\/a>. \u201cWe saw the need to do something to benefit the women [of Horto]. There was so much suffering without any sort of therapy or psychological assistance. [We wanted to develop] relationships outside of just the meetings and assemblies, discussions about rights and removals,\u201d de Souza remembers. By reopening the sewing course residents are affirming their dedication to remaining on the land their ancestors were granted while building the Botanical Gardens<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

AMAHOR is considering developing the sewing course into a new cooperative<\/a>, depending on students\u2019 interest. According to de Souza, the classes\u2019 objectives are generating self-esteem and income, two main functions<\/a> of solidarity economic enterprises<\/a>, or <\/span>empreendimentos econ\u00f4micos solid\u00e1rios <\/span><\/i>(EESs), but she voices concern about partisanship. \u201cWe would really like to participate in the solidarity economy project, but we are afraid of the fact that it is a City government project. If the solidarity economy is dedicated to generating income for organizations, then it shouldn\u2019t be flying the flag of party A, B or C.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2013, 68% of the EESs<\/a> mapped in Rio de Janeiro state <\/span>through the <\/span>SIES National Mapping project<\/span><\/a> were informal<\/a>, and only 6% cooperatives, due in part to logistical complications which make it challenging for EESs to formalize and high rates of taxation on cooperatives<\/a>. Thanks to\u00a0protagonism<\/a> among community actors, a key quality of the solidarity economy, the need for government support is minimal, but AMAHOR President Emerson de Souza says commercialization options<\/a> like the<\/span> Rio EcoSol market circuit<\/span><\/a>\u00a0established by the City government are an incentive to formalize a cooperative as they support women in developing their new skills into successful businesses. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

Brazil\u2019s unemployment crisis has reached the worst the country has seen in 20 years<\/a>, recently reaching 15.6% in Rio de Janeiro<\/a>. \u201cUnemployment today is very high so we have to be trained for various jobs,\u201d says Ant\u00f4nia Pereira Alves, who takes Sewing and Crafts at AMAHOR. \u201cThat way if one job doesn\u2019t work out we can move on to the next.\u201d She plans to use the skills she learns to help finance her degree in Oncology.\u00a0<\/span>Alves also appreciates how Key and Souza insist on using repurposed materials<\/a> in their crafts and sewing classes. \u201cI think the sustainable aspect is really cool because everyone is talking about how the country is in crisis, right. Well often the money is in the trash. Trash which can be turned into treasure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Costa hopes some of her students will find themselves in ceramics the way she did. \u201cWhen first I saw my work on display in the MAM (Modern Art Museum) and the MAR (Rio Museum of Art), I saw the possibility that exists of finding hidden talents tucked away around here. Maybe in the future we will do an exhibition with the students, to show another perspective on ceramics.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

AMAHOR is hosting an <\/b>Arte de agosto<\/i><\/b> (August Arts) open house at their headquarters showcasing the artwork residents have produced in their classes, starting today:<\/b><\/h3>\n

August 19, 20, 26 and 27 from 12-8pm
\nEstrada Dona Castorina, 69
\nHorto – Jardim Bot\u00e2nico – RJ<\/h4>\n

For more information about taking classes at AMAHOR, please contact:<\/b><\/h3>\n

AMAHOR President Emerson Souza<\/strong>
\nPhone\/WhatsApp: +55-21-99923-5885
\nEmail: associacaodemoradoresdohorto@gmail.com<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas The Horto Neighborhood and Friends\u2019 Association (AMAHOR) of the historic Horto community\u00a0located near the Botanical Gardens, launched free sewing, crafts and ceramics courses early this year. The courses take place weekly […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":38092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1293,1267,1288,1268,1271,1503,329,452,1329],"tags":[1448,1976,396,2251,779,756,258,1063,2250,504,427,397,445,221,2319,65,884,26,894,865,2297,2500,618,415,152,10,388,520,2248,1403,453,471],"writer":[2121],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-38085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-evictionswatch","8":"category-gentrificationwatch","9":"category-highlight","10":"category-favelaculture","11":"category-favelaqualities","12":"category-opportunities-to-support-favelas","13":"category-solutions","14":"category-rio20","15":"category-by-international-observers","16":"tag-favelasareassets","17":"tag-adaptive-reuse","18":"tag-art","19":"tag-asset-based-development","20":"tag-community-leaders","21":"tag-community-organizing","22":"tag-community-solution","23":"tag-cooperation","24":"tag-cooperative","25":"tag-culture","26":"tag-economy","27":"tag-education","28":"tag-entrepreneurship","29":"tag-favela-culture","30":"tag-fiscal-crisis","31":"tag-gentrification","32":"tag-horto","33":"tag-housing-rights","34":"tag-jardim-botanico","35":"tag-micro-business","36":"tag-museu-de-arte-do-rio","37":"tag-museu-de-arte-moderna-mam","38":"tag-neighborhood-association","39":"tag-parque-da-cidade","40":"tag-participation","41":"tag-real-estate-speculation","42":"tag-recycling","43":"tag-solidarity","44":"tag-solidarity-economy","45":"tag-solution","46":"tag-stigma","47":"tag-sustainability","48":"writer-sophia-zaia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38085"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=38085"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=38085"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=38085"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=38085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}