It’s been 25 years of Loucura Suburbana, the traditional Carnival block in Rio’s North Zone and the first cultural center dedicated to mental health in the city. So, to celebrate the date, the bloco is hosting a free exhibition about its history. The exhibition starts on July 19 at the Futuros – Arte e Tecnologia cultural center. Find out more!
More than two decades of the block that raises the banner of the anti-asylum struggle
Curated by Izabela Pucu, the exhibition recalls the history of the carnival block, which raises the banner of the anti-asylum struggle. There are allegories, props, puppets, videos, documents and more than 250 items collected throughout its 25-year history!
For those who don’t know, Loucura Suburbana was founded in 2001 as part of the process of deconstructing the asylum model of the Nise da Silveira Institute. A model that replaces the asylum form of treatment with more humanized approaches.
In 2009, the project also became a point of culture, called “Loucura Suburbana: Engenho, Arte e Folia”, in the Engenho de Dentro neighborhood. The culmination of the cultural and training activities carried out there is the bloco’s parade, which always takes place on the Thursday before Carnival begins.
Satires and more highlights from the Loucura Suburbana exhibition
Among the highlights of the exhibition are the bloco’s colorful banners produced from drawings by artist Francisco Noronha.
In the 1970s, when he suffered from a mental disorder, he attended the Casa das Palmeiras, an outpatient clinic founded by psychiatrist Nise da Silveira, where he wrote plays, painted and drew.
Later, he joined the Museum of Images of the Unconscious, also created by Nise, and, in 2012, produced 10 drawings on fabric that served as the basis for the Loucura Suburbana banners.
Another attraction of the exhibition are the satirical and humorous puppets dedicated to the most varied characters who traditionally go out with the bloco. Among them is the mummy that parades annually on a stretcher, making reference to the psychiatric treatments of the past.
As the Oi Futuro Institute’s culture manager, Victor D’Almeida, reinforces,
Loucura Suburbana’ is a democratic space for meeting and collective construction of citizenship, art, culture and health. […] we want to present the public with a valuable history of the anti-asylum struggle, political change and citizen innovation through revelry and the technology of care.
Loucura Suburbana 25 years
📌Futuros – Arte e Tecnologia | Rua Dois de Dezembro, 63 – Flamengo
📅From 19/07 to 14/09 | Wednesday to Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
💵Free