Arte, identidade, território: relato de uma residência artística no noroeste de Minas

Abstract

Report of an art residency in Buritis, in the Northwest of Minas Gerais. The focus of the work at the residency was to rescue and to recover the memory of the city and its inhabitants, in an effort to reaffirm their local identity. So, the actions sought to involve the community by collecting reports on the history of the city and by promoting interventions in public space. Three groups of works were made: a program on the local radio with reports on the history of Buritis – striking episodes, important characters, picturesque stories – described by elderly residents of the city; a series of paintings on the walls throughout the city, depicting events on the history and the memory of Buritis that appeared repeatedly in the reports; an intervention inspired by the tradition of collectively celebrating weddings in the city, sharing in public space a table with coffee, sweets and biscuits, produced by residents. The affirmation of differences and local particularities, based on the activation and enhancement of the memory of the city and its inhabitants, contribute to processes of (symbolic) territory reconstruction, which is needed in a world ruled by homogenization and elimination of specific features that define the identities of the various places.