Sao Paulo City to Invest in ‘Window Shows’ after Halting All Cultural Events

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – With all cultural centers, movie theaters, shows and cultural events suspended, the city of São Paulo announced on Thursday, March 19th, that it will invest R$ 10 million for ‘artistic productions out of windows of buildings and houses in the city’.

The project, dubbed ‘Janelas de São Paulo’ (São Paulo Windows), will include about 8,000 initiatives, and will cover, among other visual arts, theater, music and poetry, say officials. They noted they obtained the inspiration after seeing dozens of social media accounts from Italians, who, when faced with strict quarantine restrictions, opened their windows, went out on their balconies, and sang to their neighbors.

“The creative economy was growing; we are in a dramatic moment,” stated State Secretary for Culture and Creative Economy of São Paulo, Sergio Sá Leitão earlier this week.

According to Sá Leitão, the cultural sector is responsible for 3.9 percent of the state’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). With the already announced closings and the rapid acceleration of the spread of the coronavirus in the state, officials estimate there will be a loss in business related to Culture of around half of the annual revenue, about R$34.5 billion. The loss is expected to be equivalent to 1.7 percent of the state’s GDP.

“We went from 100 to zero in two weeks. We were in a good moment and now the expectation is that this situation will last at least another three months,” added the official.

On Tuesday, São Paulo governor, João Doria, announced the immediate closure of museums, libraries, theaters and cultural centers in the State of São Paulo for up to 30 days.

On Wednesday, the state government announced it was releasing credit lines of R$275 million exclusively for the sectors of tourism, culture and the creative economy and commerce, noting that they would be the most impacted during the crisis caused by the increase in coronavirus cases.

“A subsidized credit line aimed at companies in the cultural and creative sector, tourism and commerce in general will be created through Desenvolve SP, with an interest rate of 1.2%, a grace period of 12 months and payment in up to 60 months,” said Sá Leitão.

Working capital financing will be available to companies in São Paulo with annual revenues between R$81,000 and R$90 million.

An author of studies on the impact of the cultural industry on the Brazilian economy, the coordinator of FGV Projetos, Luiz Gustavo Barbosa, warns that the sector will need help from the government to survive.

“What is crucial is that the loss of culture directly affects other sectors of the economy, such as tourism, construction, architecture, gastronomy, transport. All these supporting actors in the cultural scene amplify this negative impact. And, in the same way, if the sector is reactivated, they will amplify the positive economic results,” said Barbosa in a recent interview to a local magazine.

Among the events scheduled for the next two months and now postponed to the second semester are the Lollapalooza festival and DJ McFly. The SPArte, one of Latin America’s most important art events, has been cancelled and no future date has been set. The spring Sao Paulo Fashion Week, to be held in April, is cancelled this year but the organizer says they will only host the summer SPFW in October, as scheduled.