Paginário
Our idea tackles a situation that is the root of disrespect: the way the public space treats citizens and citizens treat the public space. On the streets, we see and read all the time. But what? Signs, bus information and store names and publicity banners. We are much more than people who want to move around and buy things. People –the homeless even more —don't feel catered to, recognized and participant. Urban intervention can be used to improve the relationship between streets and citizens, so that streets are no longer only used for passing but also for staying. Our proposal is to make murals in public places with copies of the favourite pages of people's favourite books. This can be reproduced in any place and it is a lasting transformation. Its reproduction cost: glue, rolls, printing ink, photocopier, as well as time. The project we created based on that idea is Paginary. We produce murals with specific designs and also meetings and workshops, where we talk, prepare and assemble murals with people from each place. For meetings, project, preparation and assembly, Paginary requires funding. The idea is replicable. The intervention becomes a legacy. The street is no longer only a functional space, and it becomes a place for pleasure, positive surprise and knowledge, and more: an element of development and participation. We create ties between people and places. A mural is a place of exchanges between those who choose the pages, those who assemble the mural and those who pass by it. The wall relegated to forgotten landscape is renewed; it becomes a rich point of meetings, affection and care. In it, differences live together. Culturally, people get a new offer; socially, they get a sense of community and recognize their own value — printed on the pages —, establishing a new relationship with neighbours and the public space.
Leonardo Villa-Forte is a writer, artist, researcher and collaborator. Author of the books “O princípio de ver histórias em todo lugar” (Oito e Meio, 2015), “O explicador” (Oito e Meio, 2014) and “Agenda” (7Letras, 2015). Created the series of collages MixLit – The Literature DJ —, which had national and international acknowledgement. His short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies in Brazil and translated for magazines in England, such as Litro and Modern Poetry in Translation. Participated in exhibitions such as Feira Plana, 3a Bienal de Arte da Bahia, FILE – Festival Internacional de Linguagem Eletrônica. Conducts literature workshops. Participated in FLIP, FLUPP, Festivais de Inverno do SESC. Developed the concept for Paginary and, along with his partners, produced it at the invitation of institutions such as FUNARTE, SESC (Petrópolis, Três Rios, Cuiabá), Instituto Moreira Salles, Festival de Arte do Leblon, Observatório das Favelas, FUNCEB (Salvador), Imperator and others, besides independent venues. Has a degree in Psychology from UFRJ and a master's degree in Literature, Culture and Contemporaneity from PUC-RJ.
Rodrigo Lopes is a producer, stand fitter, artist and maker. He started a partnership with Leonardo in 2011, when they organized the “Escritor de Parede” exhibition at the lobby of the Glauce Rocha Theater, at the city centre/RJ, a space he managed as member of the Junto: Práticas de Proximidade project. As a producer, he has a long-standing partnership with the Brecha collective and managed two federal theaters, Glauce Rocha Theater (FUNARTE/Rio de Janeiro) and Plínio Marcos Theater (FUNARTE/Brasília), besides premieres and tours of several shows, performances and urban interventions. As a stand fitter, the assembly of two opening exhibitions for museums are highlighted: “A Potência do Objeto” (CRAB/Rio de Janeiro/2014) and the permanent exhibition at Museu de Congonhas (UNESCO/Congonhas do Campo-MG/2015).
Aryana Almeida has a degree in Language from UERJ, is a literature teacher and a former bookseller at Livraria da Travessa. She is cultural producer and curates reading.
