COLORSxSTUDIOS

For the past 5 years, COLORS has provided artists with a blank canvas to perform against, allowing them to share their art free from distraction. However, these artists come from diverse backgrounds that influence and are important to understanding their work. With this in mind, COLORS is launching a new editorial platform which will be home to articles, interviews, and multimedia content digging deeper into the countries our artists come from, reflecting our mission to provide space, accessibility, and representation for all forms of creativity.

As we headed to Sao Paulo for a special production period in October 2021, we sought out inspiring individuals to give us their insights on Brazilian society, visual art, religion, and politics. The result has been a wide range of articles and interviews with Brazil’s LGBTQIA+ community, followers of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé, and female MCs and DJs fighting for recognition in the Baile funk scene to name a few. Watch the introductory video we prepared above or on YouTube, discover the first stories below, and stay tuned for more to come…

Five COLORS community members from across Brazil, captured moments from their everyday lives for us, which will be released gradually alongside our written content. Discover them by playing the video snippets scattered across this page. First up, we have films from Jessica Gaspar, a multi-disciplinary artist based in Minas Gerais.

“I am Samuel Vitor Gonzaga Santos. I am 22-years-old, a Law and Sociology student, an intern at the Children and Youth Court at TJDFT, and the co-ordinator of Emancipa DF. I’m a peripheral activist for the black movement, veganism, and for emancipating education.” – Samuel Vitor Gonzaga Santos, Federal District, Brazil

“My name is Auana Câmara. I’m a racialized woman, a student of social communication, researcher, photographer, visual artist, and independent cultural producer. I use visual art to express my relentlessness, criticize colonization, and to create new imaginaries from my experiences.” – Auana Câmara, Macaíba, Brazil

 

Arthur Scherdien—one of COLORS camera pack participants—is a 26-year-old artist and researcher based in Brasilia. “I am the water, ocean, and sweat. I am the liquid state of being.”

“My dream for the future is that society will understand the power and greatness of art. I want to be able to support myself with my art, thus becoming an agent of transformation for the people around me. I also hope that we that we will start to live in a more integrated way, with ourselves, with each other, and with the planet.” – Arthur Scherdien, Brasilia, Brazil

“Besides providing a better life for my mother and people close to me, I have a great desire to work in politics. My academic and professional choices are directed toward my dream of change in my country and in the world.” – Samuel Vitor Gonzaga Santos, Federal District, Brazil

“To film I followed what I was feeling at the moment.” – Auana Câmara, Macaíba, Brazil

“I saw new places in the city, met new people, and learned new games. To take back the streets of Macaíba is significant: it is to take back and occupy spaces that were previously denied to us.” – Auana Câmara, Macaíba, Brazil

“I’m neither crazy nor ugly nor evil. I am a daughter of Brazilian history and a little child of Africa.” – Jessica Gaspar, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The second COLORS community member to be sent a camera was Ju Midori, a 19-year-old fashion design student based in Sao Paulo. “I’d describe myself as a open minded introvert. I’m interested in the environment and society, and how design can impact the world.”

 

“I long to work in the creative industry, with companies that are concerned about the environment and people. My dream is to express myself and use my voice to share what I believe in: a more sustainable, respectful and a equal world.” – Ju Midori, São Paulo, Brazil

“Because of the pandemic, what I enjoyed most was recording the reunions, the hugs, the hand-holding, the kisses, the affectionate glances, the smiles, and the laughter. I think those things have always moved me as an artist: the purity of humanity, the act of undressing, and just being what one can be at that moment. I believe all those things move me to create art.” – Arthur Scherdien, Brasilia, Brazil

 

“I dream of good food, early morning kisses, birdsong, and a new president, please…” – Jessica Gaspar, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“This is São Paulo through the eyes of an Asian-Brazilian woman during the global pandemic. Every Brazilian has a different story.” – Ju Midori, São Paulo, Brazil

“It has been a little difficult to dream about the future. I prefer to focus on today. I can’t think of the future without acting in the present and responding to urgent needs. I’m currently building and confirming who I am. I dream of, one day, discovering who I once was and to see what I’m achieving.” – Auana Câmara, Macaíba, Brazil

“I wanted to show the life and possibilities that the city provides. Brasilia is a city that was planned, so there is no city in the world like it. I wanted to show why.” – Arthur Scherdien, Brasilia, Brazil

“It was very important for me to be able to do this filming, because it had been a while since I felt like I belonged on the streets because of some attacks I suffered a while ago. The theme I explored was “a body in the world”. I interviewed some people that I admire and they told me a bit about their perspectives being a body in the world.” – Auana Câmara, Macaíba, Brazil

“I’ve never filmed something like this before, or had such creative freedom and responsibility. It was difficult for me to capture on film they way I see the world around me. Because I’m shy, I also found some difficulty approaching people.” Ju Midori, São Paulo, Brazil

“Getting to know people more in depth, including my family, is always special.” – Samuel Vitor Gonzaga Santos, Federal District, Brazil