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About BCA

Who we are

Brazilian Contemporary Arts (BCA), has been promoting Brazilian arts and culture in the UK, since 1981. It seems like a long time, but we keep up with the pace of the country: fresh and new, with open minds and open hearts, bringing all aspects of the diverse Brazilian cultural production to the diverse London cultural life. Through gigs, cinema, visual arts exhibitions, lectures, workshops and a rich range of educational activities, we bring over from Brazil to the UK, the best of what is being produced in the country's super creative arts scene.

What we have been doing

BCA has been celebrating the best of Brazilian arts in the UK for the last 26 years. Our prerogative is to innovate and to bring the most cutting-edge aspects of the culture of Brazil to the UK-based audiences. The organisation was the first to bring to the attention of the London audiences such Brazilian artists as Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Chico Buarque, Elza Soares, Milton Nacimento , João Donato, Jairzinho Oliveira, Patricia Marx, Patricia Mello and Max de Castro, to mention just a few. Beyond music, BCA was the first Combined Arts organisation to produce in London plays adapted from the work of some of Brazils's most important writers, as Jorge Amado, Machado de Assis and Nelson Rodrigues; the first to bring over to London such dance and theatre groups as Grupo Corpo, Bahia Ballet and Grupo Galpão; the first to produce comprehensive festivals on the culture of Brazil as a whole, such as, In Floodlight Brazil (1981) and Festival of Brazil (1983) and to focus on the diverse culture of specific Brazilian regions: Festival of Bahia (1994), and Festival of Minas(1996). We were the first to introduce Brazilian cinema to the UK through Brazilian film festivals; the first to offer an on-going Brazilian Cine Club to Londoners; the first to bring masterpieces from painters and sculptors as Amilcar de Castro and Nilson Pimenta, and the list goes on.

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What we are presently doing

Parallel to the organisation's artistic programme, BCA has a strong educational edge, putting together lectures and workshops by such names as Lula da Silva and Gilberto Gil, and focusing on such controversial themes as The Black Brazilians in the Literature of Brazil and The Brazilian Rainforest India;the first to introduce the work of Brazilian children's writers, such as the theatre workshop "Monteiro Lobato for Kids" - activities for all, to give London's diverse communities the opportunity to enjoy and learn about Brazil.

In 2006 the BCA House - Brazilian Contemporary Arts' first building-based cultural centre in London specializing in Brazilian arts, culture and education- was founded. The House offers the following facilities: books and dvds library, a the BCA Cine Club, an auditorium for talks and small concerts, language classes (Portuguese as a second language, English for the migrant communities), Life Traditions courses for Portuguese-speaking kids, and the busy Café Brazil, where you can sample delicious Brazilian snacks and drinks. But our projects are not restricted to the BCA House alone. BCA has produced massive events in the most respected London arts venues, such as the Barbican Centre, the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, ICA and Dominion Theatre, among others. So keep your eyes open, because when you least expect, a ground-breaking Brazilian event will be staged by BCA, either at its House or in venues all around London!