Some time ago I visited CRAB - Centro Sebrae de Referencia do Artesanato Brasileiro - The SEBRAE reference center for Brazilian folk art. SEBRAE is an organ in Brazil that offers support to small and medium enterprises.http://www.crab.sebrae.com.br/
Crab is located at Praça Tiradentes in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Sebrae has restored three old buildings so that they are now interconnected and together they form Crab.The biggest building is what used to be the Solar Visconde do Rio Seco, it was bought in 1812 by the Count of Rio Seco to be his family home.It was later used by the Secretary of State and the Ministry of Justice, it now belongs to the City of Rio de Janeiro.
It was a rather grey Saturday morning that I ventured down to Praça Tiradentes:
The square is a short walk from the metro station Carioca. It is a beautiful square with a statue of Dom Pedro the first high on his horse.
The square has turned into a cultural center of Rio with two theatres, a music school, a cultural center, a library and more. The area has been rather abandones and run down, but with the restoration of the three buildings that form CRAB, the square already looks different.
As a great fan of Rio de Janeiro's old buildings it always makes me happy when I see a building that is carefully restored. These three buildings are gaining new life, and they look great!
The day I went there was an exhibition of Brazilian folk art, showing art from all over the country.
I just loved the way they showed how the material used turned into an object.
These are made of rubber from the Amazon.
And then there were lots of animals, but I especially loved the birds:
Another thing I liked was that the public was allowed to touch the objects, and to feel the materials. There was a whole "forrest" of seeds and nuts of different kinds:
There was also an exhibition called "Retratos Iluminados" - illuminated portraits - where traditional embroiderers from Sergipe and Alagoas together with the Campana brothers - two famous Brazilian designers - have created embroideries of faces:
The faces are the faces of the embroiderers themselves, so that they were for once the protagonists.
After seeing the exhibitions I visited the store, since the idea is to create new businesses, the store was, of course, wonderful!
After shopping, and deciding to come back for presents whenever I need something authentically Brazilian, I stopped to look at some more details in the building - it really is great!
CRAB is hereby reccomended! A great iniciative, a beautiful place and with the possibility of great buys.
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