JOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC, ART EXHIBITION OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS

Note to Correspondents

JOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC, ART EXHIBITION OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS

The rich cultural ties between Brazil and the Arab world, as well as the closeness between Brazil and Haiti, will be celebrated in a joint exhibition which will be opened by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg, in the Main Gallery of the General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby on Monday, 14 November, at 6 p.m.

“AMRIK”, the photographic exhibition of the Arab presence in Brazil and other South American countries, is curated by Andre Vilaron, a photographer who has documented Middle Eastern culture in South America.  This detailed documentation portrays various aspects of the Arab immigrant legacy with images from 22 photographers from all over South America.

“Encounters and Re-encounters in Naïve Art:  Brazil and Haiti” is an art exhibition curated by Jacqueline Finkelstein of the International Museum of Naïve Art of Brazil.  This exhibit traces the roots and directions of naïve art in Brazil and Haiti, and includes photographs showing aspects of the current situation in Haiti and the Brazilian presence in that country.  Artists represented in this exhibit are Hector Hypolite, Pierre-Joseph and Préfète Duffaut of Haiti; and Gerson, Elza O.S., Lia Mittarakis and Miranda of Brazil.

In addition to 90 paintings, there is one mural, painted by three Brazilian artists and three Haitian artists.  The first joint project of its kind, the mural, originally divided into six equal parts, one for each artist, ended up with the artists also painting a small segment of their neighbours’ space, in a true mixture of colours and cultures.  Also on display are photographs and a video documenting all stages of the mural creation, done in an army tent in the heart of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  The Haitian artists are Préfète Duffaut, Frantz Zéphirin and Etienne Chavannes; the Brazilian artists are Aparecida Azevedo, Ermelinda de Almeida and Odoteres Ricardo de Ozias.

The exhibit also includes ritual objects used in the native religions of Brazil and Haiti, showing the cultural similarities between both countries.  In keeping with this theme, the opening reception will feature food and beverages from Brazil and Haiti, as well as live Brazilian music performed by Leonardo Cioglia & the Quizamba Group.  Both exhibitions are sponsored by the Brazilian Government, in cooperation with the Department of Public Information.

High-resolution photographs of AMRIK may be viewed online at www.amrik.com.br.  For a virtual tour of the naïve art exhibit, go to www.naifbrasilhaiti.com.br.  For more information on this exhibit, visit the website:  www.one-step-beyond.de.  For more information on United Nations exhibitions, call Jan Arnesen, tel.:  (212) 963-8531; or Liza Wichmann, tel.:  (212) 963-0089, or visit the website at www.un.org/events/UNART.

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For information media • not an official record