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The Gallery is a collective, independent space, created in 2013 in Boa Vista – Roraima, Brazil. Artist and producer Jaider Esbell, indigenous of the Macuxi people, first opens his studio to host his own research and production researches on the city. Beginning as a writer, the artist receives a Funarte Award in 2010 and promotes the I Gathering of all People in 2013 in Roraima.
Producing in partnership with Federal University of Roraima (UFRR), LB Construções, Renovo Engenharia, Calixto Artes e Molduras e CEJUR – Centre for Juridical Studies, it leaves a mark in supporting creation, dialogue and contexts for autonomous protagonist contemporary indigenous arts in this region of Brazil.
These partnerships made possible the realization of the biggest collective exhibition of contemporary indigenous art putted together voluntarily by representative artists and curated by the artists to show eleven indigenous groups, properly represented, in urban context on the Amazon.
This first collective action brings the desire to have a collective independent space to ensure continuity to production/research/extension actions whit art. A private owned house at Paraviana neighbourhood hosts the production integrated with Jaider Esbell’s studio. That’s how the Gallery experience begins.
The Gallery is conceptualized and built in April 2013 hosting a collection of 8 indigenous artists from Roraima, all participants of I Gathering of all People, plus the artist’s own work. Jaider Esbell Contemporary Indigenous Art Gallery has now 5 years of full time activity. The gallery is not an official juridical institution.
Throughout these 5 years we have been studying the best way of institutionalization to properly fit the nature of our activities. Located in a prestigious residential neighbourhood of Roraima’s capital, the gallery is a residential property whit a 108m2 house in a 600m2 property in constant adaptation. The gallery has a solid work in several integrated activities and prioritizes production-research-circulation-extension of contemporary indigenous art.
We offer an exhibition space for arts and artefacts from local, national and international indigenous artists. There is also a library dedicated to books that cover research with indigenous peoples, about indigenous cultures and by indigenous writers in several fields including the arts.
We have a partnership with UFRR Visual Arts school and previous collaboration on the students internship program receiving them on the gallery. As a stable point in Boa Vista city, we became reference and connexion point for several flows of the practical field of multicultural interactions such as research on indigenous contemporary arts and cultures.
Through Jaider Esbell’s provocative and appealing militant work on the arts, the gallery becomes a practical research in itself. Right now, the gallery holds and cares for multiple collections, both collective and individuals, showing and stimulating artists such as Amazoner Okaba, Carmézia Emiliano, Bartô, Charles Gabriel, Diogo Lima, Isaias Miliano, Luiz Matheus, Mário Flores, Lenice Raposo, Lídia Raposo, Vinicius Kenedy among others.
Functioning permanently since April 2013, the gallery is open to scheduled visits and does not has a fixed program with the presence of the artists. Jaider Esbell’s schedule is very dynamic and eventually includes promoting open to the public cultural activities at the gallery. Demands vary much and we opted to receive visitants with the objective of stimulate the interest in art and indigenous culture.
The gallery offers in limited and experimental character artistic residences in the city, possibly extended to a rural experience (coming soon). Soon, gallery will be consolidated in legal terms as an aggregating and diffusion centre for contemporary indigenous arts. To meet legislation and provide administrative support to our activities is also a political service to the country. Our communication with the world is based on connection, built on constant exposure of Jaider Esbell’s work on several medias.
Working independently and without direct sponsorship we affirm our autonomous and diplomatic existence. We believe that art has the potential to bring forth a particular experience of indigenous peoples whit the bigger world, addressing economic and other issues. Today, our actions are spread over several activities generating products that cross physical spaces and geographical frontiers.
We work in collective and individual actions in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Over these 5 years of work in these many directions, experiences with the gallery showed us a big open field to establish connections. We hope to be juridically officialised soon and be able to use the legal condition to work even more.
We invite everyone to get to know better our work by looking for artist Jaider Esbell on the internet and facebook. Schedule your visit and read more at es.b@hotmail.com +55 (95) 999592025