Painting Murals in the Slums of Brazil

To Americans, the entire nation of Brazil is one giant sports illustrated swimsuit edition. How couldn't  we be envious of an exotic, spicy, paradise populated exclusively by freshly waxed and tanned beach goers and the occasional sassy helper monkey ? Ok, maybe the typical American doesn’t automatically associate Brazil with butler-monkeys. Nevertheless, the fact remains that in our national conciousness, Brazil= tropical paradise. As such, many Americans would be shocked to hear that Brazil is also home to  drug-cartel fueled violence, crushing poverty and government corruption.

Combating this ignorance of the reality of Brazilian life is just one of the Firmeza Foundation’s goals. This non profit organization, started by two Dutch artists known as Haas&Haan, attempts to better the lives of Brazilians living in some of the country’s many shanty towns. These slums, known as favelas, are home to an estimated twenty percent of the population and they are the centers of crime and poverty in Brazil. In addition to having to face daily violence, the favela dwellers are also discriminated upon by the larger population.  Firmeza is founded on the principle that a coat of paint- something seemingly superficial- can help to ease these deeply entrenched problems. The process is relatively straight forward; the artists find a favela in need and paint large scale murals throughout the town with the help of some local youths. In comparison to other non-profits, who’s goals are to help women start farms, provide schooling for children or build orphanages, simply painting a facade seems far too unsophisticated to have a lasting impact on these communities.

           However, as artist Dre “Hahn” Urhahn explained in a 2008 interview, the simplicity of the project is actually key to it’s success, "I think it is a political statement to make something unpolitical. There is a social and political statement in saying, 'In this slum where there are so many difficulties and so much bad press, let's make something that is totally detached from that, something that's just beautiful.'"

As Hahn’s statement suggests, the pair aims to select scenes purely for their asthetic value and not for their social comentary. While the project also helps teach some community members how to paint and pays them for their time, the main function of the Firmeza Foundation is to bring a symbol of hope to communities that have never been given anything. The murals serve as a point of common pride and each one acts as an affirmation that something constructive can even be built in a place notorious for destructive activities.

              These large scale works are absolutely stunning and they will hopefully start to attract the attention of Americans - albeit in a slightly different way than a lounging beach babe does.