Culture workers celebrate packages of actions for the sector in AM

Bruno Pacheco – from Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – The governor Wilson Lima (PSC) launched, this Friday, 27, the program +Cultura, which gathers a package of actions for the culture sector and creative economy with an investment of R$ 6 million, benefiting about 2,800 people from the capital and countryside of Amazonas. For the culture workers in the State, the initiative arises to diminish the impacts of the pandemic that directly affected the class in Brazil and in the world.

Since March 2020, the country has been facing Covid-19. The State of Amazonas was the one that suffered most from the crisis and the peaks of the disease prevented the realization of large events because of the risk of infection with the agglomerations. For artists and professionals of Culture who work with the public, the period of the pandemic has been one of the hardest moments of their lives and it is necessary to encourage the class.

“The cultural sector was the first to stop. We went through a difficult time, with artists going hungry for not being able to work, because the sector is agglomerative, it needs stage, audience, people, and to interact. When the pandemic came, we didn’t have a structuring public policy for this category and with the launch of the public notice the government will distribute resources, especially in the countryside, which is extremely important”, said Michelle Andrews, activist and cultural producer.

The program also plans to hold the first circus festival in Amazonas and also the entire program in honor of the 125th anniversary of the Teatro Amazonas, which will include exhibitions, magazine and book launches, installation of a replica of the dome, film shows and performance tours. The idea, according to Wilson Lima, is that the initiative helps with the recovery of the State’s Culture sector.

To this end, the Government of Amazonas opened a public consultation for professionals to express their opinion about cultural projects, with the launch of three calls for proposals: “Amazonas Criativo”, “Amazonas Cultura em Rede”, and “Equipa Cultura”. The projects must be presented until September 2nd by e-mail: [email protected].

The indigenous artist and children’s literary teacher Jaime Dikara, from the Dessana ethnicity, is from the Igarapé Kukura community, which belongs to the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, in the Upper Rio Negro. To CENARIUM, he tells that he seeks to teach his students traditional and cultural knowledge so that the children understand the importance of indigenous literature.

“Literature for us is in early education, in indigenous culture, telling stories. The old people educate their children, that’s why we have to bring the memory into writing, for the school students to understand what indigenous literature is”, he stressed.

With the +Cultura program, Jaime says that participating in the initiative will help, especially, the children of his people in the historical rescue of millenary indigenous traditions.

“It is with enthusiasm that we welcome the launch of this program. The +Cultura will bring other perspectives to revive and experience in culture the literary life and the life of indigenous artists. In the initiative, I intend to launch a children’s literature and I will evaluate launching a project about indigenous plastic art, the drawing with graphics”, he pointed out.