Videobrasil

In 1983, despite the fact that electronic art had just arrived in Brazil, Associação Cultural Videobrasil (or simply Videobrasil) organized the first edition of what would later become the International Electronic Art Festival, directed by Solange Farkas, gathering a whole generation of Brazilian pioneers. More than 20 years later, the Festival has established itself as an event of international relevance. Every two years, the Festival brings groundbreaking work by cream-of-the-crop artists from all over the world to São Paulo. In keeping with the constant transformations in media and support, the curatorship has added installations, performances, VJs, CD-ROM art, and internet art to the programme.

The Festival includes a competitive exhibition of so-called southern circuit and an extensive parallel programme. Art shows, debates, and meetings introduce new ideas and art work, setting new guidelines for contemporary art in Brazil.

Exhibitions featuring work by prominent electronic artists are also part of the Festival. Brazilian pioneers such as Rafael França and Olhar Eletrônico, and international guests such as Nam June Paik, Bill Viola and Gary Hill, have featured in the event’s past editions. Each edition has a theme of its own.

Associação Cultural Videobrasil was established in 1991 and, since then, became the major reference center for electronic art in Brazil, as well as one of the most active centers for international interchange among artists, curators, and theoreticians. The Videobrasil collection features nearly 4-thousand pieces that illustrate the fast-paced changes of electronic art. One of Videobrasil’s main activities is the International Electronic Art Festival, promoted every two years in São Paulo, which presents a panorama of contemporary artistic output, especially that of the so-called southern circuit.

The collection is also exhibited in itinerant curatorships, enabling the diffusion of the pieces. International collaborations yield innovative projects: the partnership that was recently established with Latin-American curators, for instance, enriches the Dossier project, which presents monthly profiles of emerging artists. This alliance makes it easier to map out the appearance of new artists all over the area.

Videobrasil also produces an annual series of documentary films, promotes research and educational activities, and has a complete on-line electronic art database, chiefly with information regarding the southern circuit. The database can be accessed at http://www.sescsp.org.br/sesc/videobrasil/vbonline/