British artist Annabel McCourt performs installation in a historic building in downtown São Paulo

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The Social Organization Diversa Arte e Cultura will hold guided tours of downtown São Paulo on Thursday, June 16, in celebration of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. The tours take place in three hours: 11am, 1pm and 3pm, with concentration for the historic tour in Largo do Arouche, in front of the tent of the British Council, where the public can ask questions about studying in the United Kingdom (UK), the IELTS exam and having the LGBTQIA+ tour guide done by VisitBritain, which can also be accessed at www.visitbritain.com/loveisgreat.

The journey will be made to the Hotel Selina, former Bourbon hotel, where the public will come across the new work of the British artist Annabel McCourt, called “More Love, Less Hate, Equals Life”, a celebration of life through a playful idea that contains a powerful message.

PLURAL PROGRAM

Diversa Arte e Cultura was selected by the British Council to be part of the Plural Program, which focuses on the LGBTQIA+ population. Through the Artists in Residence project, artist Annabel McCourt was selected to attend an online residency with the aim of developing ideas, experimenting with new practices and creating connections. Annabel had contact with Brazilian culture, artists and LGBT+ activists with the mediation of Diversa.

At Sao Paulo’s LGBT+ Pride Week, when symbols such as the rainbow show support and subvertion, their collective responsibility for violence against the LGBT+ population, McCourt, with this simple demonstration of human spirit overcoming hatred, wishes to pay tribute to the brave and pioneering people of the LGBT+ community.

Annabel, a lesbian woman, creates at the Selina Hotel an installation in which people become part of the work. Its goal is to confront, through artistic discourse, the hatred and violence experienced by the LGBT+ community.

“With the explosion of colors and atmosphere of celebration and pride, it is important to remember where we came from, how we got here and never take anything for granted. There is a long way to go for equality,” says Annabel McCourt.

The installation, with a black and white background, reflects through its darkness appearance the rainbow-washing practices experienced in society. The expression concerns the emptying of LGBT+ guidelines in favor of the commercialization of products, capitalizing on issues and symbols that are expensive for the community. It is through this reflection on collective guilt and also a demonstration of affection overcoming hatred that McCourt pays tribute to the bold pioneers of the LGBT+ community.

During the visit, participants learn about historical facts and resistance of the LGBT+ population, as well as to learn more about the various emblematic spaces of coexistence and interaction for the community in the central region of the city.

Service:

LGBTI+ Historic Tour and Annabel McCourt Installation
June 16, Thursday, 11:00, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm
Location: Largo do Arouche, in front of the British Council tent.
Duration: up to 60 minutes
Rating: Free
Ticket Fee: Free Entry.

About Diversa, Arte e Cultura

Social Organization created, maintained and managed by LGBTI+ people. Its main mission is to preserve the memory of the LGBTI+ population through collaborative practices and participatory processes. Over almost 10 years of existence it has constituted a collection with more than 60,000 items of various typologies, given by the community itself.

Diversa also promotes actions and activities to enhance and visualize LGBTI+ art and culture, such as the Queer Art Fair, focused on the creative economy and the incomes of LGBTI+ artists, the Diverse Exhibition that presents new LGBTI+ artists and the Lusophone Museum of Sexual Diversity with the participation of entities from all Portuguese-speaking countries.