Olympic Siblings London & Rio Museum come together

MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: HSBC

Leading international museum and cultural heritage experts gather to discuss “tidal wave” growth of the Brazilian museum sector and the support UK and Brazil can offer each other.

Brazil looks to UK on topics of visitor and community engagement and forthcoming 2012 Cultural Olympiad experience but leads UK on the protection of intangible culture.

As part of HSBC’s Festival Brazil, an international celebration of Brazilian business and culture, the Museum of London hosted HSBC’s Living Cultures Seminar on Thursday 22 July. Described as “Olympic siblings” by Munira Mirza, Mayoral Advisor on Arts and Culture, delegates from the UK and Brazil explored the challenges of the Brazilian museums sector’s rapid growth and the growing cultural relationships between the UK and Brazil.

The seminar was attended by delegates from across Brazil and the UK including Munira Mirza, Mayoral Advisor on Arts and Culture, José Nascimento Jr., Director of IBRAM (Instituto Brasileiro de Museus) and Dr Carlos Roberto F. Brandão, President of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) – Brazil. Hosted by the Director of the Museum of London, Professor Jack Lohman, the event was also attended by the British Museum, the Horniman Museum, UNESCO UK and sponsor HSBC.

With Brazilian museums now working closely with British institutions including Kew Gardens, Tate Modern and the Museum of London, it was agreed that the two countries would continue mutual dialogue and support over the next decade as both countries host significant global events. Starting with London hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Brazil then hosts the international meeting of ICOM in 2013, the FIFA World Cup in 2014, with the Olympic and Paralympic Games then welcomed to Rio de Janiero in 2016.

Accompanying the economic development of the past fifteen years, Brazil has seen unprecedented cultural sector growth. 214 new institutions were established between 2003 and 2008, with 2,819 museums now holding more than 142 million cultural items and responsible for more than 27,000 jobs. Visitor numbers are also at an all-time high with a 196.6 per cent increase from 2001 to 2008.

However, despite looking to the UK to support aspects such as community engagement and curation, Brazil has raced ahead in protecting intangible culture through legislation. Recognised in Brazilian law since the late 1990s, Brazil even preceded UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which was signed in 2003 by ratifying countries including Brazil. One absent country of note was the UK, a point highlighted by UNESCO UK General Secretary, Harry Reeves, to his disappointment.

Professor Jack Lohman, Director, Museum of London, said: “Brazil has changed dramatically over the past two decades and has a rich cultural heritage. There is a number of challenges now facing our rapidly expanding sector, not least the move toward digital access for all. However these challenges bring opportunity for exploration and experimentation.”

Dr Carlos Roberto F. Brandão, President of ICOM – Brazil, said: “Brazil is experiencing a tidal wave of growth within the museum sector. With this growth brings great responsibility as these museums will shape how the Brazilian people are seen – we are dealing with peoples’ minds, identities, passions, heritage and hopes. This is our challenge. We have much to learn from the British museum sector, especially the ways in which they involve and interact with their public and this exchange has been of great use to us.”

Zarir J. Cama, Group General Manager, Group Management Office, HSBC Bank plc continued: “I am delighted that HSBC is working with the Museum of London to facilitate this cultural exchange between the UK and Brazil. As the world’s local bank, working in 88 countries around the world, we see the exchange of ideas and cultures as central to successful cross-border business. This year our global Cultural Exchange programme, which supports this belief, has focused on Brazil, which by 2025 is predicted to be the world’s fifth largest economy.”

HSBC’s Living Cultures Seminar is part of HSBC’s Festival Brazil, an international celebration of Brazilian business and culture. The centrepiece of these celebrations in London is Southbank Centre’s Festival Brazil - a three-month festival of the best in Brazilian music, performance, literature and visual arts – created in partnership with HSBC.

Other programme highlights, across more than ten markets including the UK, USA, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and China, are: over 15 Brazil-focused business events; a bespoke Time Out Guide to Brazilian culture around the world; and the launch of a business intelligence report, commissioned from the Economist Intelligence Unit.