Remembering  BCA - Until we meet again

 

Brazilian Contemporary Arts (BCA) was the creation of German-born Horst Troege. His vision was that Brazil and its vibrant culture deserved more than the stereotyped image of the Banana Republic it used to enjoy in the UK. In the early ‘80s, for most of the British, Brazil was the land of carnival and football, where street children where exterminated by the police, corruption was rife, the official language was Spanish, Samba was Salsa, and indians and snakes paraded the streets of Rio and Sao Paulo.

Horst introduced Brazil to the British in the format of festivals in 1982 and 1983, where the music, dance, theatre, cinema, cuisine and folklore of the country invaded London, captivating the audiences. He founded the Rose of London, the UK’s first School of Samba (which later became the London School of Samba); introduced Brazilian music and dance workshops to an eager audience; graced the exhibition halls of the 1982 newly opened Barbican Centre with the Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection of works by Brazil’s most important contemporary painters and sculptors; introduced the work of cinema directors Glauber Rocha, Ruy Guerra and others; promoted Rio-style carnival balls; brought Gilberto Gil to prominence for the first time in London, as well as the then Workers Party leader, Lula da Silva. In 1985 Horst emigrated to his beloved Brazil, leaving BCA in the hands of a new team. He was to die in the land that he so loved, a couple of years later.

The burden of the pioneering, large-scale festivals that Horst and his directors promoted in order to introduce Brazil to the UK audiences, was felt in the organisation’s balance sheets, after his departure to Brazil.  The organisation was crippled, in debt and could only count on a nominal grant from the Greater London Council, of which Ken Livingstone was then chair.  Horst’s appointed team created the Gafieira Music and Dance project, in order to bring the genres to light in the UK and  to raise funds for the organisation. It travelled England for 10 years, making the music and dance of Brazil indelible in Great Britain. BCA brought over for the first time most of the musicians who are today household names in London, introduced ballet groups, cuisine, visual arts, theatre groups, cinema directors, writers and religious leaders, and dedicated part of their efforts to the teaching of Brazilian Portuguese. From 1985 to 2007 BCA promoted some of the most cutting-edge Brazilian events and festivals that the UK had ever seen (please visit About Us, on this site, for an idea of the work undertaken by BCA since its foundation), headed by people who dedicated themselves to the cause purely out of love, and who had to do numberless odd jobs and free lance work, in order to make ends meet. Nobody was on a salary and this situation prevailed until 2005, when a grant increase by the Arts Council England, allowed 2 senior members of staff to go on pay roll. Throughout the 27 years of its existence BCA brought to the UK, the vibrancy of Brazil, every aspect of its arts, and was of paramount importance for the change of attitude by the British public towards Latin America’s biggest and most prominent  country. For years, BCA operated mainly from a tiny office in Hammersmith. In 2004 the organisation achieved accreditation from the Brazilian Ministry of Education for its long-running Language Courses, considered by most, as the best in the UK. In 2005 it moved to offices in West Kensington, freeing much needed space for in-house events and classes. Amidst running the multi-disciplinary Brazilian Cutting Edge Festival (in celebration of 25 years of Brazilian Contemporary Arts), as well as its regular programme of activities, BCA relocated to Chiswick in June 2006. In September it opened the doors of the BCA House to the London audiences. The BCA House was a further step for the organisation to accomplish Horst Troege’s biggest aspiration- that of leaving for the future generations, a self-contained Brazilian Arts, Culture and Education Centre that would house concerts, plays, visual arts exhibitions, lectures and other events. This centre would also provide space for small and medium-sized arts organisations, who like BCA throughout its existence, faced enormous difficulties finding  space in London for their one-off major projects, festivals and large-scale concerts.
Horst’s dream of such a centre of excellence for the arts dated from the days when he was the ICA’s administrator, from where he founded BCA.

Keeping the BCA House afloat was a huge effort. Outgoings with rent and rates went up from £10.000 per annum at Palingswick House in Hammersmith, to £20,000 at Charles House in West Kensington, to £50,000 in Chiswick. Moreover,  loans had to be taken to refurbish the new premises and equip them with stair lifts to accommodate people with disabilities. But, to their own financial detriment, the BCA staff embarked full-hearted on this project. The House opened with a complete new artistic programme of lectures, themed cinema screenings, activities for children and the Escola dos Brasileirinhos, teaching Anglo-Brazilian kids, the art and folklore, history and customs of Brazil. It would obviously take a couple of years for BCA  to settle down and recover financially after taking this huge step, get rid of debts incurred, and accomplish its final goal: the BCA Centre. The Arts Council was aware of this and of the difficulties that we were facing. Our Vision and Strategy Draft Document was presented to ACE in October 2006. However, from the moment it relocated to Chiswick, BCA noticed a change of heart from the Arts Council  regarding the organisation’s proposals. Following years of a cordial working relationship with the Combined Arts Department of ACE, all of a sudden, BCA’s projects were scrutinized and deemed uninteresting. There was no longer appreciation of our achievements. The warmth we were used to from our arts officers turned into near-hostility. Our new premises did not interest ACE, neither did our in-house programme of activities, nor our struggle to overcome the impact  that the move to  the BCA House had on the organisation’s scarce financial resources and its staff. We were under constant pressure from our funding body, and worse of all- there was no appreciation of our attempts to overcome the new hurdles.  Talks of changes for regularly funded organisations were constantly brought about. In August, at its Annual Assessment Meeting, BCA lead officer stressed the fact that ACE was expecting a reduction in their government fund allocation, and that this would impact on their clients. Alarm bells started to ring, but BCA was quite confident that its gradual and steady expansion would count and that, in a worse case scenario, the organisation would be on a stand-still position for the next three years. BCA could not, in its widest dreams, have anticipated that on 14 December 2007, it would receive a letter from ACE heralding the end of Brazilian Contemporary Arts. Despite saying BCA had the right to appeal against their decision to cut the BCA grant 100%, it was clear from the tone of the letter that the assertion was just pro-forma. This proved to be the case when BCA received ACE’s reply to its letter disputing the Arts Council extreme measures. BCA had lost its main source of funding overnight.

BCA fought hard to ascertain support from the Brazilian Ministry of Culture for the continuation of its work, to no avail. The Minister of Culture and BCA first appointed patron, Gilberto Gil, referred our letter asking for support, to a department within his Ministry, who wrote back acknowledging the request. This was the only time that BCA heard from them. Ambassadress Janine Bustani fought for BCA. She approached several companies on behalf of Brazilian Contemporary Arts, but the time scale was against the organisation. There simply was no time for requests to be processed. BCA is extremely grateful and indebted to Mme Bustani and Ambassador Bustani for their trust in the work developed by Brazilian Contemporary Arts. BCA is also, ironically, grateful to the Arts Council for their support over the years. It is however impossible to accept graciously, their decision to exterminate the so called ethnic minorities organisations that they had nurtured for some many years, at a stage when they were branching out. The Arts Council managed to destroy projects, aspirations and lives overnight, privileging large-scale British institutions, such as the Opera House, Barbican Centre, South Bank Centre and commercial promoters as Serious International. Their decision went against the grain of everything that they had been preaching for so long: inclusion, diversity, arts for all.

The consequences of the cull for BCA were horrendous. It had to postpone all of its artistic and educational projects while it looked for other sources of funding. Its paid members of staff became unemployed without advanced warning. The BCA House closed its doors. BCA soon found out that without any financial support to help towards overheads and the bills piling up, the best option at this stage, would be to cease trading. Our members of staff had to go back to Brazil, bare-handed, to start anew. The ones who remained in the UK are trying to pick up the pieces. In order to honour debts, BCA had no option but to accept the Arts Council offer of a winding up grant. Looking back at all that BCA did on behalf of Brazilian Culture in the UK, it can only be proud of its achievements. It opened the path for the art of Brazil to establish itself in the UK. It took risks throughout its existence, where no other British promoter ever dared. It was responsible for launching all of the big Brazilian musicians on the British market, as well as for giving opportunity to hundreds of artists in every field, to expose their talent in this country. BCA changed the image of Brazil in the UK. Its work and projects greatly contributed for a steady flow of tourism from Britain to Brazil. It kept the Brazilian community in London in touch with their homeland. It educated thousands of people on the intricacies of Brazilian culture. It forged some of the best and long-lasting relationships with the British media, collaborating towards some of the major documentaries produced by the BBC about Brazil in the ‘80’s and 90’s. It expanded the knowledge of the Portuguese language to thousands of people. It is quite pathetic that despite all this, BCA could not attract the interest of the Brazilian government, nor of Brazilian companies to its pledge, at this moment of crisis. That is why, despite the brutality of the Arts Council’s latest actions, we have to thank them for their support up to 2007. They gave BCA the opportunity to bring Brazil to light in the UK. But then, when the spotlights were firmly focused, they took away their support and gave it to their fellow-countrymen, so that they continue to explore the now profitable Brazilian arts market, without risk. This resembles olden times of piracy and looting, when new cultures were discovered, and the colonisers took from the natives all that they could get their hands on. With bits of make up here and there, history continuously repeats itself, and there is no fighting political decisions. BCA leaves this sad scenario retaining its dignity and is working towards restarting some of its projects at a smaller scale, at some stage soon. A heart-felt thank you to our members and supporters for your trust in our work over the years, and for sticking with us during the difficult days that followed the Arts Council decision to wipe out Brazilian Contemporary Arts to benefit the established arts centres and promoters. BCA shall return someday, somehow! Until we meet again, bless you all.