Portrait Artists of the Morro

The Retratistas do Morro collective aims to contribute to the construction of a narrative of the recent history of Brazilian imagery, based on an understanding and recognition of the existence of a movement of photographers who have lived and worked in the favelas, documenting the daily lives of their communities over the past 50 years.

« A photography project that asserts its right to exist in history. »

It operates through a range of initiatives related to the fields of image research, historicity, community-based initiatives, the preservation of oral and visual memory, collection conservation, and digital restoration, offering insights into the fundamental shifts in perceptual models brought about by these photographs.

The project focused on studying the collections of photographers João Mendes and Afonso Pimenta, which include approximately 250,000 black-and-white and color negatives in 120 mm, 35 mm, ½ 35 mm, and single-lens formats, produced beginning in the late 1960s in the Aglomerado da Serra, located in the city of Belo Horizonte. In the 1960s, an artistic movement emerged within Brazil’s favelas, led by photographers living and working in the neighborhoods whose daily life they captured on film.

The initiative, launched in 2015, was conceived by artist Guilherme Cunha and includes cultural producer Kelly Cristina, photographers João Mendes and Afonso Pimenta, and Dona Ana Martins.

He received the 30th Rodrigo Melo Franco de Andrade Award from IPHAN, received support from the Itaú Cultural Rumos program, was awarded the Funarte Solange Zúñiga Grant for the Promotion of Photographic Preservation, and has been featured in national and international magazines such as ZUM , Six Months and Aperture Magazine .