ART THAT TRANSFORMS
This is the column Who Makes Redes, a compilation of the stories of people who build our organization and who work hard every day to do what we do best: actions and projects for residents of Maré. Learn about these stories, trajectories, experiences and the history of Redes da Maré itself - and how this work and the challenges faced since the pandemic have transformed them.
Marcos Diniz (34) is a writer and actor from Maré, born and raised in Parque União. His first approach to Redes da Maré took place at the extension workshop of Cia Marginal, a company that has a trajectory marked by its political commitment to taking the art of favela to the rest of the city, the country and even the world, which gave rise to Grupo Atiro. Today, he works as a producer and cultural mediation assistant at the Maré Arts Center, a space that is the headquarters of the Company. “The Arts Center is, in a way, an oasis for the territory”, he summarizes.
Participating in the workshop was not Marcos' only experience in social projects. He was part of ‘Rap da Saúde’, a health promotion project aimed at young people; the international project called ‘Bairros do Mundo’, which consisted in creating actions and giving voice to young people in their territories. He also took a course and did an internship at the Museum of Life, in Fiocruz, and was a young health promoter of the ‘Adolescentro’ project, which led him to get to know and participate in the art workshops of Redes, according to him.
However, even before accessing the Maré Arts Center to participate in training in theater, Marcos was already attending the space to watch shows with friends and saw the facility as a “place to have access to art”. This recognition is what continues to motivate the actor to join the work of this team. “Being an art person, I am extremely happy and fulfilled to see that in the territory of Maré there is a space that thinks and proposes to bring art to the favela in which it is located, since not every favela has a place that can provide culture to its residents.”
Marcos also highlights the importance of investing in art in peripheral territories. "The slums produce theater, music, literature, audiovisual, crafts, graffiti, gastronomy, design and much more", emphasizes the writer. “We are power, and more than anything, we resist with our art, so more than ever I believe that we should invest in art and culture in the favelas”. For him, it is important that the city starts to consume what the favela produces as well, and not just the opposite movement that is generally thought of.
During the ‘Maré says NO to Coronavirus’ campaign, Marcos worked with the coordinator of the Art, Culture, Memories and Identities axis, Pâmela Carvalho, in the daily monitoring and receipt of donations. He also participated in customer service, and the delivery of food baskets and cleaning kits. He says that even though he already had experience working with the public, it was challenging and rewarding to deal with people in a situation of extreme fragility and need: “for me, it was transforming in many aspects. There were days when I left a different person than I was when I arrived”. For Marcos, it was impossible not to reflect on how much that territory is abandoned by the State.
The actor and writer believes that Redes da Maré has played an important role in transforming the territory into a place of assured rights, and he hopes that with this work, Maré will suffer less damage in this difficult period. He looks forward to the time when Maré's residents and artists can safely return to occupying the Maré Arts Center and hopes to be able to be close to his family as soon as possible. “That we can use our indignation to fight for better times and that we are not resigned”, he concludes.
