Celebrations in the midst of life: Sunnseitn goes Brazil

During two weeks in August 2001 the Sunnseitn series „Celebrations in the midst of life“ was part of an Austrian-Brazilian cultural exchange project in Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro (AUSTRIA 2001, initiated by for art Vienna). Together with 20 more artists from Austria, the musicians from Wiadawö!, forestry expert Mr. Ludwig Wiener and Sepp Ortner, president of the Austrian association of organic farmers, went on a Sunnseitn cultural and development mission in Brazil.

We were invited to play on stages and as a contrast performed as well in real life, at the extreme poles of social and cultural realities: Wiadwö! played at accordeon star Renato Borghetti’s fazenda as well as in a camp of the landless movement MST, in the president’s palace as well as in a decayed artist district in Rio de Janeiro. We visited the samba school „Mangueira Estagao“ and Rio’s and South America‘s largest favela „Rocinha“ (250.000 inhabitants).

Sunnseitn sees itself as a cultural development pool and not as a cultural tourism enterprise. This journey was the starting point for a long term co-operation. The results up to now:

Sunnseitn generated the idea of an all Brazilian „Celebration Day of all Landless People“ on the occasion of the visit at the MST camp.

2001 Sunnseitn as the first non-Brazilian organization celebrated together with the inhabitants of the Acampamento dos Arroios, a hutted camp where 600 families are waiting for land which has been lying fallow for years due to ground speculation. Television reported on the event during main station time all over Rio Grande do Sul.

Sunnseitn is building a bridge to Brazilian thinkers and scientists in the area of organic farming. José Lutzenberger, former Brazilian minister of the environment, and Professor Raimundo N. Damasceno, president of the Brazilian-German Forum for the Environment, were the most prominent of our eleven interlocutors.

2001/2002 Sunnseitn organizes 5 benefit concerts to support the MST camp school of the Acampamento dos Arroios and the school in the Rocinha favela. The collected money will be personally handed over to the schools‘ headmasters.

Sunnseitn realizes a workshop on the occasion of the World Social Forum 2002 in Porto Alegre. „Relax and Multilogue“ is a contribution towards the further development of the cultural concept of the WSF, a need that was stressed during talks with co-organisers of the WSF. The World Social Forum develops forms of living together on our planet which will give a fair chance of survival to the poor (the absolute majority of world population) and to future generations. Our point of criticism was the fact that during the first World Social Forum art and culture were seen merely as „decoration“ for the main programme. Art and culture, however, can achieve much more. Art and culture have their place in the heart of change processes: Without our music the doors to the scientists as well as the slums of Rio de Janeiro would have remained closed.