3-Year Artist Occupation in Brazil Launches Documentary

Artists residing at the Cultural Center Ombudsman 63, a state-owned building that had been abandoned for years, are preparing to launch a documentary called "Universe 63," to commemorate their three-year occupation of the building in the center of Sao Paulo.

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“The universes of some residents and the experience of collectivity in day-to-day life have imparted rich colors on this building from the moment it was occupied until today,” read a statement released by the artist collective.

The group went on to classify their experience as a “very intense and diverse path during the past three years, attracting a varied public, including researchers from national and international institutions, worker's unions and the media.”

They added that the 13-floor locale has also served as an incubator for new artists who wouldn't have a space to develop their skills otherwise.

Paulo Ricardo, a designer and musician who resides in the cultural building, recalled the humble beginnings of the center, saying, “A group of people from Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre united to occupy the building with the intention of making art and having a more comfortable life.”

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The once unoccupied public building, which the state of Sao Paulo attempted to sell at auction on several occasions, was occupied on May Day 2014 by a group of artists seeking a space to live and create. It was soon renamed the Cultural Center Ombudsman 63, home to sculptors, musicians, painters, actors, graffiti artists, circus artists and more.

Three years on, the group have remained faithful to their cause, breathing new artistic life, not only into the city of Sao Paulo but also transforming a once defunct, abandoned state building into a thriving socio-cultural hub.

"Universe 63," which was recorded during the second-half of 2016, will be made available on YouTube for public viewing. Other events will also be held in commemoration of the artistic space.