Philanthropy
Working with artists, curators, and gallery owners to enhance education, quality of life, and the way people interact with the world.
A significant part of our work is dedicated to philanthropy, supporting projects that contribute to improving education, enriching culture, and preserving nature. We are convinced that art has the power to transform how we relate to the environment around us, reaffirming our commitment to culture and the environment.
Get to know The55Project: www.the55project.com
Marina Weffort
Beatriz Chachamovits
Luiza Gottschalk
2021 | Just Breathe… | The55Project and Mana Contemporary
In a world controlled by algorithms, consumerism, and frenzy, we suddenly found ourselves trapped in our homes, checking others’ lives through small screens and reflecting on what life could be like after we return to normal.
Today, it's been two years since the pandemic started; however, it marks a special day because for the first time, we’re able to get together to celebrate freedom, collectivity, and art again.
Just Breathe... takes us to a pure and intimate place, one where each of the 17 featured artists present their dreams, thoughts, and alerts to the world. A collective exhibition, it consists of mostly women artists, and invites us to reflect on art as a means for communication and transformation.
In the series Brasões (Coats of Arms), by Kika Carvalho, the kites exhibited were actually built and offered to children at Morro da Piedade, in Rio de Janeiro. The kites—which represent Exu and Yansan, entities from Umbanda and Candomblé—give visibility to how Black culture, but they also represent the symbolism of how Black children are kept away from society.
Beatriz Chachamovits, an artist residing in Miami, bases her research on corals and their importance in oxygen production as well as their role in the equilibrium of the Earth. Her series Vital Organs presents these cnidarian animals as vital organs of our planet, and in the installation Carcass we see the bleaching of coral colonies due to the stress of rising sea temperatures.
In Triangles Series, by Vivian Caccuri, brings out the smallest symbol related to collectivity. This element, that has different meanings around the world, is sewn together using pieces of percussion instruments such as strings and drumsticks, thus highlighting how music and art can serve as tools for integration and union.
The fluid and vibrant painting by Renata Egreja, the fabrics that move with the slightest breath by Marina Weffort, canvases with the smell of wet night by Luiza Gottschalk, and dishes made with soil by Bel Falleiros, add more elements to this tour of the senses. Party, by artist Nazareno, alludes to the possibility of new encounters and is supported only by the marks of a wine glasses and the memory of happy days.
Just Breathe... brings together approximately 50 artworks including photographs, collages, sculptures, videos, and paintings by some of the most interesting artists in Brazil. The exhibition is an invitation not only to participate in a dialogue about respect, responsibility, and collectivity, but also to take a breath of conscience, so that we can work together towards a better future.
Felipe Hegg
Get to know Assoiação Cairuçu: www.associacaocairucu.com
João Farkas
Juliana Lewkowicz
Albano Afonso
2021 | Faces do Cairuçu | Exclusive Photo Auction and Collection
When I accepted the invitation to organize and curate this project, it was clear that this was an unique opportunity to bring together three of my greatest passions: art, nature and people.
From the beach of Trindade to Martins de Sá, on the banks of the hill that gives the name to the region, Cairuçu was naturally preserved and protected for geographical reasons. In 1983, however, it was transformed into an “environmental protection area”, where until today it is possible to have an idea of how the Portuguese arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1502. The area holds one of the most important and untouched remnants of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and along with it, the wise culture of the Caiçaras.
During the last few months, 25 artists were invited to explore this paradise and with their photographs, we created the Single Edition Photo Auction - Faces do Cairuçu. The project, designed to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Cairuçu Association, aims to raise funds to continue contributing to preservation and education of this region.
The idea of promoting unique photographs was precisely to give more value and provoke the viewer's attention to how this beauty can end in a flash.
Faces do Cairuçu presents diverse visions of this paradise and brings to evidence the perfection and vulnerability of the region and their people who need our support. Preserving nature, we collaborate not only with the region's fauna and flora, but also with our culture and sense of belonging. I'm talking about subsistent and collaborative communities; practitioners of siege fishing, handicrafts, composed of people like Dona Cida or Senhor Eraldo, who among others, retell and keep alive regional legends such as the Headless Head of Praia Brava, the Fig Tree Demon and the so mysterious Mãe D'ouro, who wisely protects the treasures, rivers and mountains of Cairuçu.
At the height of the most frightening pandemic in which we live, we have recovered some of our sense of community and how we need to come together so that we can coexist. We will take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn from our caiçara friends to share our “fish” with our community and fight together for the coexistence of nature and people, through dialogue, respect and collaboration.
In addition to the works chosen for the auction, we’ve also created the Faces do Cairuçu Photo Collection, with exclusive photographs (edition of 5), enabling the beauties of Cairuçu to enchant the lives of more people and remember how we should be together for the preservation of one of the most beautiful area of our country.
Felipe Hegg
Top to bottom images: JR, João Farkas, Juliana Lewkowicz, Albano Afonso and Njideka Akunyili Crosby.
"Some in the private sector have already come to this conclusion and collected great return on that investment. Arts revive communities and reinforce the economy, create an active and vibrant society, and enhance safety."
Rania Elias