The area surrounding Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro is home to more than 10 million people. Once a rich and diversified ecosystem, it now suffers from poor waste management and water pollution – issues that are exacerbated by Brazil’s current political climate and a wanton disregard for the environment at an institutional level.
Sensitive Territories is an artistic research project based on performative practices. Immersive residencies in different historical areas of Guanabara Bay have brought together artists, scientists and local communities in collaborative research-creation dedicated to destabilizing conventional thought and investigating possible creative solutions to the waste management crisis. The project strives to awaken a divided community by empowering it to collectively listen, feel and respect its surroundings rather than accept its unwarranted fate.
Invited artists:
- Alessandro Paiva
- Cesar Baio
- Daniel Puig
- Guto Nóbrega
- Marcela Cavallini
- Mari Moura
- Nathalie Fari
- Paola Barreto (a.k.a. paoleb or Dr. Fantasma)
- Patricia Freire
- Patrícia Teles
- Ruy Cézar Campos
- Sofia Mussolin
Walmeri Ribeiro
Walmeri Ribeiro is a Brazilian artist-researcher. Professor at Federal Fluminense University, where she coordinates the Laboratory Research in Performance, Media Art and Environmental issues – BrisaLAB (CNPQ|FAPERJ). FAPERJ research fellow, since 2014, she has been developing the Sensitive Territories project. Her productions are presenting in art exhibitions, seminars and publications in Brazil and abroad.
Alessandro Paiva
Brazilian artist, producer and graphic designer Alessandro Paiva is a master's candidate in visual arts at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a researcher at the Research Laboratory in Performance, Media Art and Environmental Issues (BrisaLAB). His research explores the relationships between the body, social and political territories and environment through the artistic mediums of photography, video installation and performance.
Patricia Freire
Patricia Freire is a Brazilian visual artist and painter. She holds a master’s degree in Contemporary Art Studies from Federal Fluminense University. The focus of her research is on our connection with nature and our ability to observe and perceive nature’s influence on our behaviour. She has exhibited at galleries and art institutions both in Brazil and abroad.
Patrícia Teles
Patrícia Teles is a Brazilian artist who lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. She is a doctoral student in Arts at University of Brasília, holds a master’s degree in Combined Artistic Languages from the National University of Arts in Buenos Aires and a bachelor’s degree in drama from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. In 2019, she participated in SACO 8 - Contemporary Art Festival in Chile.
Ruy Cézar Campos
Ruy Cézar Campos is an artist-researcher. He is a PhD candidate in Media Studies at Rio de Janeiro State University and lectures at the Visual Arts Department of Espírito Santo University. He has exhibited at the 13th Havana Biennial (The Construction of The Possible) and the Digital Art Biennial (Hybrid Narratives, Fields of Invisibility), among others.
Sofia Mussolin
Sofia Mussolin is a Brazilian visual artist. She is currently a PhD candidate in Contemporary Art Studies at Federal Fluminense University. Her video, photo and performance-based work investigates the relationship between human and non-human bodies, including the symbiotic colonies of bacteria found in Kombucha. She has participated in exhibitions in Brazil and abroad.
In collaboration with:
- Alessandro Paiva (photography)
- Uncam (Effemeah Weeps, soundtrack for Landscape Painting by Patricia Freire)