The occupations project art, space and reinvention of everyday life in the cultural occupation Ouvidor 63 in São Paulo

Abstract

This project explores the significance of occupying of a building for the simultaneous purposes of housing and artistic production. It asks what such kinds of occupation make possible in terms of artistic practices and everyday life, and what might be learned from the experience. These questions are explored through the specific experience of São Paulo's Ouvidor 63, an 8-year long occupation of 13-story building of the 1940s in the centre of the city. Ouvidor 63 is currently largest artistic occupation in Latin America, and it houses 100 resident artists, organized collectively. The project locates its experience in a longer, global history of artistic occupations, with reference points to occupations in Europe and United States from the 1960s to the 1980s, as well as Brazil's own long history of occupations.The project identifies, explores and maps a number of processes of "world making" at Ouvidor 63: social and aesthetic practices that the occupation specifically makes possible. These include art training practices that take place in the building's spaces and workshops, some unique hybridizations of artistic languages, new practices of management and decision-making, and new forms of international exchange. The project shows how the unique experience of Ouvidor 63 can contribute to the development of art history, theory and criticism, challenge its traditional methods and narratives in art history, bringing new elements, practices and contexts to the public debate. The project's outcomes include an exhibition, a website, and major publications including a book. (AU)