The Creative District and the Political Crisis in Rio De Janeiro after 2013

In times of social change in Brazil, this research investigates the emergence of exhibitory institutions as instruments for intervention in the urban space. I shall here analyze the creation of a criative district in Rio de Janeiro and the foundation of the Museu de Arte do Rio, in March 2013. Conceived in times of optimism and prosperity in expectation for mega events such as the Olympic Games, in 2016, the creative district and the museum were built as new icons for the city.

Nevertheless, just when the museum was founded in March, 2013, it became the target of demonstrations that anticipated the massive protests that spread in the country since mid-2013. As a target of new disputes in the city, museal institutions in the creative district were challenged to incorporate new categories to face the demands for change. The critique of artivism and outsider artists have, then, received unexpected attention.

However, since the worsening of the political and economic crisis, impredictable consequences might have been taking place. In one hand, from the political point of view, financial support to critical discourses has become uncertain and private groups are withdrawing controversial exhibitions. On the other hand, from the economical perspective, although the construction of the creative district still generates new audiences for the region, the project has been threatened by the interruption of capital flows, postponing processes of gentrification and generating dystopic scenarios.