The Popular Institute for Art Education
Grassroots Initiatives in Porto Alegre
Art Education for the People
Melissa workes as an English teacher for a program that was organized under the Popular Institute for Art Education, which I wanted to know more about during my stay in Porto Alegre. Melissa introduced me to Fatima Flores who was the director of the “Popular Institute for Art Education” in Porto Alegre. Fatima has a MA in law. She studied Community Law in a Catholic School, Pucci in Sao Paolo. I was able to ask Fatima a number of questions about how the schools she helps run were created, how they were organized, led and what impact they had on the community and the children in the schools.
In 1998 there was a theatrical performance, a play about “Gaucho” culture, which shapes many aspects of identity for people in the South of Brazil. The play was called “Negreo do Pastorea” which in translation would be “The Pastor’s little black boy”. For more than a century Gaucho culture has been distinctive of the region, which formed out of the cattle ranchers and farmers of this area. They are the cowboys that have been living here and working the land and maintaining their distinctive cultures as “Gauchos”. The turn out and participation of the community was received at the play went very well and was quite intense. After the play there was an acknowledgment by many that there was a need for an institution to serve some of the needs for artistic expression. A group of people formed by mainly teachers and people from the community were the ones that led this initiative. What was formed was a 3rd sector grassroots led initiative of an art education institute. The program currently has 14 paid staff as well as 43 volunteers. The volunteers do it for many personal rewarding reasons of their own but hey also enjoy more access to resources at the schools.
One of the impressive things I learned about the school was its resourcefulness. For example, the library for the community, which is housed in the schools, was created by mainly a collection of donations by teachers, professors, community residents as well as books that were scavenged out of the trash. The library itself is rated one of the top 5 libraries in Porto Alegre! The library is housed in 3 locations in which the institute runs out of which are all working class neighborhoods in Porto Alegre. They include Bom Jesus, Lumbo do Pinerro and (Para de Sues??) Literature is promoted as one of the key components in the schools. The library helps as a major resource for many residents in the neighborhoods because there is a lack of public resources made available to them by the state in their specific neighborhoods. “People think the poor can’t read or don’t want to read” Fatima said, as she explained the importance of literacy in these neighborhoods. People read everything from philosophy to classic literature Shakespeare, Sophocles, Etipus as well as reference books. The library has been a huge success. 1000-2000 books are borrowed every month. The process of borrowing the books is very accessible and people outside of the schools can have access to it as well.
The school explained Fatima is for the children who don’t have access to the arts. There are no music schools. There are no music bands in high schools. It is not something that is funded at the municipal level. The program has an agenda and goal to accomplish within 8 years. The goals is to encourage students to pursue their talents and passions in the Arts so they can build skills, experience resources as well as discipline so they can become professionals within their fields.
The organization is registered as a philanthropic organization so all taxes are tax-exempt. The work that went into that took a lot of time. The beauracracy and paperwork was extensive explains Fatima.
The students are extremely driven. They study outside of their normal schooling for an additional 4 hrs. Officially the program has lasted a year and a half. Some students have more experience working with the program before it was completely up and running. The qualifications for students to get into the schools are that they have to want to study. They have to want to put the time and energy into the program. The expenses that they have at the school are donated cleaning materials for the school. Soap and sponges are sufficient. These items are used to keep the schools clean. Keeping the schools clean and appealing help boost the people’s spirits in the neighborhood. I couldn’t help notice how clean, peaceful and tranquil the schools grounds were. The music school in Lumbo de Pinherio had and amazing garden. Fatima was explaining that a project to start an herbal garden as well as an education program about herbs, flowers and remedies was under way. Some other projects underway included a recycling project where people from the community are encouraged to recycle newspapers. The money received from the newspapers is used to pay the water and electricity for the school! Porto Alegre has excellent recycling programs!
Curious about how foreign volunteers come to participate I asked Fatima how they find volunteers. The Volunteers come through the program in which Melissa helps organize “Children Brazil” which is promoted on idealist.org. In the past volunteers have taught English, music and multi media. Kaya one of the volunteers in the past made a psychological map of the community doing some research on the demographic of community.
I also asked what kind of volunteers are attracted to the program and what benefits have they received from it. The schools are looking for teachers that can teach dance, English, arts, creative movement, multi-media, as well as other forms of arts, plastic arts for example. Volunteers receive an amazing opportunity to work within these dynamic schools. When they are done they can receive certification, which can be included in their resumes/C.V. Many of the volunteers that teach in the program are foreign. Many of them were from Europe as well as the U.S. Fatima said that there is an additional benefit of having cultural exchange, which allows the children to open their eyes and learn about people who live in other places in the world. It also gives them the motivation to think about living abroad or wanting to know more about other places themselves.
I wanted to get an idea of what lessons Fatima experiences during her experience working with a program which is essentially grass roots, by the people, for the people and using creative innovative ideas to solve their problems. I wanted to know what kinds of problems; obstacles and complications have been learned. The vision of the program is to create a generation of people that can contribute to society. People that come out of the program are more aware of issues in their community and feel empowered to change them. Teachers that teach in the normal schools express that they see such a huge change in students that attends the programs and those those don’t. They say they don’t see them yell as much, they are more likely to help collogues and professors as well as be more engaged in classes. They like to read and study more.
Fatima also addressed what things the children get out of the program. She has seen the unique aspects of every child and what they have to offer. Through the program children gain respect for others and nature. They learn ethical traits that change their attitude and give them a positive look at things, some things that are lacking from many of their lives.
After spending a day at both locations, I felt the creative energy and positive affects myself by seeing how warm and enriched the kids were. I followed Melissa around for a day where she teaches in the school in Bom Jesus. The students are different age groups. Melissa uses her singing ability and love of music to help them learn English by singing songs with the students. A wonderful exchange and process occurs with her and the students and as the class goes on you see their individual personalities come to full bloom. The students love it and enjoy it immensely. It helps them annunciate the words as well as give them a fun way to learn together. I wanted to stay there and spend more time with them. Each school is truly a special place. I learned a great deal from this visit to IPDAE. I would encourage people to check out the website. I will also attempt to see how the program works itself into the political and social culture of Porto Alegre. A city that has been regarded as a city of change with people-based initiatives on the forefront of the agenda. IPDAE is one example of the ways that civic engagement has been able to change the constructs of their realities.
WEBSITE: ipdae.org
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