lDB Cultural Center Art Gallery

February 21 – Apri l 12 , 2002

Faces of Northeastern BrazilP o p u l a r a n d F o l k A r t

n keeping with tradition, the lDB Cultural

Center presents an art exhibition in honor of the

city and country that are hosting the Annual

Meeting of the Board of Governors of the

Inter-American Development Bank. This

year, the Bank’s 42nd Annual Meeting

will be held in the City of Fortaleza, Brazil.

The art exhibition, Faces of North-

eastern Brazil, displays contemporary

handicrafts from the State of Ceará in north-

eastern Brazil. These works demonstrate the

imagination and abilities of the people of the region,

and represent a major part of the economy of the handicraft

communities. Many objects may be familiar to those who have

strolled along Beira Mar Avenue in Fortaleza. These handicrafts attest to

the synergistic amalgam of native, Iberian and African influences and credit

the entrepreneurial spirit and inventiveness of the artists. The Cearenses

demonstrate how it is possible to reconcile economic sustainability with cultural

identity and tradition for the benefit of thousands of people in the region.

This year we are also offering a concert in honor of the host country. The

music of the São Paulo String Quartet complements this celebration of the creativi-

ty of the people of northeastern Brazil. The program will feature some of the finest

Brazilian composers, including Carlos Gomes, Mahle and Jobim.

I am pleased to invite you to enjoy

the art and music of Brazil.

Mirna Liévano de Marques

External Relations Advisor

l

Ceará, to encourage production and pro-vide training for beginning craft artisans.

CEART organizes craftspeople intocommunities and cooperatives, providesfinancial help, and advertises, promotesand markets the products. ln addition, ithelps to stimulate innovation through train-ing and improvement of techniques withoutdepleting the environment or destroyingthe regional characteristics and styles.Thousands of craftspeople have benefitedfrom this program.

The success of CEART is the resultof a well-established and trustwor-

thy partnership betweenthe government and thecommunity. The chal-lenges are constant,

however, and there isalways room for

improvement, aswell as for fresh

capital to invest inand expand the program.

The people of Ceará are famous for theirskills in making handicrafts. Some of theartists transform palm leaves into hats,others weave and embroider, or work withwood, clay or anything that may be trans-formed into a beautiful, functional or deco-rative object.

lt is common throughout Ceará, from thecoast to the mountains, to find small townsand villages where hundreds of people areengaged in the manufacture of handicrafts.Men, women and entire families along withtheir neighbors make imaginative objectsusing materials from the environment.Their techniques and styles are rooted inthe traditions, customs and culture ofpast generations.

CEART supports many of thecraftspeople in the communities ofCeará. CEART is an organizationsponsored by the govern-ment of Ceará tostrengthen the social,economic and culturalimportance of theregion. lt is workingto stimulate andpreserve the cul-ture and welfareof the people of

EART and the Power of HandicraftsC

Renata IereissatiFirst Lady of Ceará

Their techniques and styles are rootedin the traditions, customs and cultureof past generations...

Renata IereissatiFirst Lady of Ceará

The São Paulo String Quartet debuted inthe São Paulo Municipal Theater’sConcertos do Meio Dia series. lt has per-formed in prestigious halls throughout thestate of São Paulo, including the MunicipalTheater of Piracicaba, the MusicConservatory of Piracicaba, the MunicipalTheater of Bauru, the Urca Theater inPoços de Caldas at the ll MontanhasMusic Festival, the Maria AntoniaFoundation in São Paulo City, the Centrode Convivência de Campinas, the OurinhosMunicipal Theater, and the OscarAmericano Foundation of São Paulo.

The Quartet comprises violinist CelisaAmaral Frias, who has recorded thecomplete works of Ernst Mahle, and isconcertmaster of the Piracicaba Conser-vatory Chamber Ensemble; violinist IeanReis, who studied in the United States

and played with the Riverside andRedlands Symphonies before returning toBrazil as violinist for the São Paulo CitySymphony; Valdeci Merquiori, who hasbeen assistant principal viola of theCampinas City Symphony since 1988and plays with the Solo Quartet; andErico Amaral Iunior, who has been cel-list with the Campinas City Symphonysince 1980, and teaches at the ErnstMahle School of Music in Piracicaba.

The Quartet’s repertoire features pre-dominantly Brazilian composers. TheQuartet often invites guest artists to per-form with it, such as Brazilian guitaristFabio Zanon, Argentine pianist MirtaHerrera, and pianist Maria IoséCarrasqueira. The Quartet’s spring 2002tour will include performances in Paris,Rome and Washington, D.C.

he São Paulo String QuartetT

he objects included in thisexhibition were selected

from the Central Craftsmaking

Association (Central de Artesanato

do Ceará) in Fortaleza, and the

Master Noza Center of Popular

Culture of Juazeiro do Norte

(Centro de Cultura Popular de

Juazeiro do Norte Mestre Noza,

Associação dos Artesãos do Padre

Cícero), in southern Ceará, where the

Father Cícero Craft Association sells

their products. Eight pieces come from a

private collection.

T

Brazil, the largest Latin American countryin area, population, and the size of itseconomy, has the fifth-largest territory in theworld. lt is the only Latin American countrythat was colonized by Portugal, and wherePortuguese is the official language.

With a land area of 8.5 million squarekilometers and a population of 166 million,the country is, in fact, sparsely populated,since most of its inhabitants live on or rel-atively close to its 7,400-kilometerAtlantic coast. More than 80 percent ofthe population lives in urban areas, mainlySão Paulo and Rio de Ianeiro. The coun-try’s new capital, Brasília, was built fromthe ground up in 1960.

The country’s enormous geographicaldiversity spans the Amazon Basin, thelargest river basin in the world; the aridnortheast; the industrial southeast; the fer-tile pampas of the south; and the center-west, a largely agricultural region thatincludes Brasília. Brazil borders FrenchGuiana and every country in SouthAmerica except Chile and Ecuador.

Brazil’s political organization is char-acterized by states with strong traditions oflocal government under a federal system;widely different economic, social and politi-cal conditions; and rich local cultures. Theethnically diverse population has preservedcultural products and traditions from all

areas of the world. At the same time,Brazilians have created their own pro-foundly original artistic expressions, whichenjoy worldwide respect and popularity.

Endowed with a wealth of naturalresources, skilled workers and well-trained professionals, Brazil has devel-oped a diversified economy with a strongmanufacturing sector that includes manyhigh-technology industries, such as auto-mobile and airplane production. lts exportsfeature a growing proportion of high-value-added products that are expandingtheir share of world markets.

Foreign investment remains highbecause investors have identified Brazil asa country with great opportunities and lowerrisk than other emerging markets. Grossdomestic product per capita, at purchasingpower parity, is about $6,500.

Notwithstanding important advancesin economic growth and social indicators,large gaps between the economic devel-opment of regions and states persist, asdo gaps between the living standards ofdifferent population groups. lnequality andpoverty remain major challenges.

The State of CearáColonized by the Portuguese in the 17thcentury, Ceará twice repulsed Dutchinvaders, in 1644 and 1654, who never-

razil and the lnter-American Development BankB

the addition of lndian and Portugueseinfluences. Handicrafts and popular artsbased on wood and other products employlarge numbers of people, many of themwomen, who mostly work at home or insmall workshops.

The lDBBrazil is one of the founding members andhad a key role in the creation of the lDB,now the largest and oldest of the regionalmultilateral development banks and themain source of international developmentlending to Brazil. The country is tied withArgentina for the position of largest share-holder in the Bank among its developingcountry members, with each having 10.75percent of capital and voting power.

The Bank has approved 290 loans fora total of $23.4 billion for Brazil, makingthe country the institution’s largest borrow-er. Bank lending has benefited industry,tourism, science and technology; trans-portation and communications; health andsanitation; social investment and microen-terprise; energy; and policy reform andpublic sector modernization.

The Bank’s overall strategy, consistentwith the Brazilian government’s economicprogram for 2000-2003, supports sustain-able growth in a context of stability, aimingat lessening inequality and poverty.

Carlos BrezinaExternal Relations Office

theless managed to found the state’s cap-ital, Fortaleza. Located just below theequator, Ceará has an area of 148,016square kilometers and a population ofapproximately seven million.

For centuries, the state’s economy wasbased on primary commodities. Over thepast few decades, Ceará has become animportant industrial development center.Manufacturing represents 36 percent of thestate’s GDP and features textiles, footwear,furniture, food production, mining and relat-ed activities, and printing and metalwork-ing, among others. Agriculture remains akey sector and includes production of rice,bananas, sugarcane, nuts, cocoa, beansand mandioca (cassava). Located on whatis called the northeast’s “drought polygon,”Ceará has an enormous capacity to collectand store water in large dams. Tourism isthe fastest growing industry in the state,thanks to spectacular beaches and sanddunes, as well as other attractions, such asthe National Park of Ubajara.

Ceará has a rich handicraft tradition,rooted in the peoples that have formed itspopulation. The Portuguese brought lace,embroidery, leather and metalworking.lndians contributed the manufacture ofrope and straw-based products.The rela-tively few Africans who came to Cearádeveloped ceramics, which evolved with

rtistsA

Francorli (woodcuts)

Iosé Lourenço Gonzaga (woodcuts)

Other artists (woodcuts)

Cícero Ferreira Cardoso (polychrome wood sculpture)

Mauro Gomes (straw and wood)

Abel Teixeira (straw, wood and other materials)

Francisca Lopes (wood relief, polychrome sculpture)

Severino Silva de Souza, a. k. a. Virino (polychrome wood sculpture)

Iosé Eugênio Ribeiro (polychrome wood sculpture)

Cícero Simplicio do Nascimento,a. k. a. Cizim (natural wood)

Flávio Alves Gomes (polychrome wood sculpture)

Raimundo Caetano Rodrigues,a. k. a. Racar (polychrome wood sculpture)

Diomar Freitas Dantas (polychrome wood sculpture)

Antônio Nunes da Silva (polychrome wood sculpture)

Francisco Cardoso Graciano (polychrome wood sculpture)

Perpétua Cecília da Conceição (polychrome wood sculpture)

Ioão Cosmo Félix, a. k. a. Nino (polychrome sculpture)

Maria Cândido Monteiro (polychrome ceramics)

Maria Lourdes Cândido (polychrome ceramics)

Maria do Socorro Cândido (polychrome ceramics)

Cícero Santos (wood relief)

Adalberto Soares da Silva,a. k. a. Beto (polychrome ceramics)

Cícero Caetano Rodrigues (polychrome sculpture)

Edson do Nascimento (natural wood sculpture)

Iosé Maurício dos Santos

Other unidentified community artists (fabric, natural fiber, glass, tin, clay, twigs and horsehair)

lDB Cultural Center

Félix AngelGeneral Coordinator and Curator

Soledad GuerraAssistant General Coordinator

Anne VenaLectures and Concerts Coordinator

Elba AgustiCultural Development and Administrative Assistant

Susannah RodeeIDB Art Collection Assistant

Exhibition Committee

Félix Angel and Dodora Guimarães

Curators of the Exhibition

Elba AgustiLogistics Coordinator

Caroline PorzioCatalog Designer

Gentil BarreiraPhotographer

lDB Photo/Video Unit

Inter-American Development Bank

Enrique V. lglesiasPresident

K. Burke DillonExecutive Vice President

Paulo PaivaVice President for Planning and Administration

Daniel OliveiraExecutive Director for Brazil and Suriname

Frederico ÁlvaresAlternate Executive Director for Brazil and Suriname

Mirna Liévano de MarquesExternal Relations Advisor

Inter-American Development Bank

1300 New York Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20577

www.iadb.org/exr/cultural/center1.htm

Acknowledgments

The Cultural Center thanks the following individuals and institutionsfor their cooperation and support:

Ambassador Maria Celina de Azevedo RodriguesNilton Melo Almeida, Secretary of Culture and Sports of the State of Ceará

and the staff under his supervisionMarcos Pompeu, Deputy, Secretariat of Tourism of the State of Ceará

Dodora Guimarães, Chief of the Center of Visual ArtsRaimundo Cela, Secretariat of Culture and Sports, State of Ceará

CEART