São Paulo – A trip through time is the feeling one gets in entering the villa on Florêncio de Abreu Street, 123, in the heart of São Paulo. The Municipal Heritage Building built in 1909 is home to Casa da Boia (something like the ‘Float Valve House’ in Portuguese), a museum-like outlet that tells a bit of its own history. The shop is about to turn 120 years.
To mark the date, the Rizkallah family, which owns the business, is converting the store and the villa’s second floor into a cultural space that’s open to the public. The launch will happen on May 14, with the exhibition Entre papéis, fotografias e objetos: o acervo de Rizkallah Jorge Tahan (Among papers, photographs and objects: the collection of Rizkallah Jorge Tahan), featuring building documentation, papers from the Syrian artisan who founded it – including his nationalization certificate –, old photos, and even a handcrafted catalog from about 100 years ago.
ANBA made a visit to Casa da Boia and spoke with Rizkallah Jorge’s grandson, Mário Rizkallah, who runs the business these days; Casa da Boia Cultural director, fine artist and Mário’s wife Adriana Rizkallah, and historian and project curator Renata Gereissati. “The exhibit will be four-pronged, covering the founder’s personal history, his urbanization work, his charity work, and Casa da Boia itself,” said Gereissati.
(story continues after photo gallery)
“The history of Casa da Boia is one of family, migration, the business, the villa, and at the same time there’s room for art and culture,” said Adriana. According to her, the shop’s resignification process has been going on since 2014, starting with a cleaner, more sensory-oriented product presentation. “Now, people can touch and interact with the goods, everything’s more clearly arranged, and the copper piping, the company’s trademark material, connects past and present, permeating the whole store as a décor item and providing a unifying thread to its history,” she explained.
Adriana explained that over-the-counter service is another of the store’s trademarks, so she set out to highlight it by having the counter stand out. “The cultural space is the entire store,” said she, who’s planning to eventually open a café on the second floor. Over time, there will be workshops, lectures, exhibitions and art events. “Through this work we want to bring back the trade, the art, the craftsmanship, and we’re reconnecting with all of the communities that revolve around Casa da Boia: artists, architects, artisans, engravers, to make this a gregarious environment, she went on.
Upon entering, customers see hydraulic and electric items, gardening tools and kitchen appliances alongside historical objects, ancient plaques and the building’s very architecture, all of which makes for a bona fide museum.
Initially a foundry and store, the business now distributes and sells non-ferrous metals, construction items and handicraft. “Our business was no longer able to distribute as fast as other bigger companies, so we couldn’t compete in industry anymore,” said Mário. Casa da Boia distributes raw material to small manufacturers and artisans, and then sells their finished products at the store and wholesale.
History
Born in Syria to Armenian parents, Rizkallah Jorge arrived in Brazil in 1895. He had been a blacksmith in his homeland. In Brazil, he started out as janitor at a foundry, because he didn’t speak the language. In 1898, after learning Portuguese, he opened his own business – São Paulo’s first copper foundry –, where he’d sell décor items. In 1909, he opened the store and foundry in the villa where it until this day.
Rizkallah was a prominent member of the Arab community in São Paulo and is held in high esteem by the Armenian community as well. Apart from his artistic work and his flair for business, he became known for his generosity and charity work, as well as for his contributions in urbanism.
Quick facts
The exhibition will be open from May 14 to to 29, Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 4?30 pm, and admission is free. Anniversary celebrations will also include a lecture by historian Renata Gereissati, Um artífice na urbanização paulistana: a atuação de Rizkallah Jorge em São Paulo, de 1895 a 1949 (A contributor to urbanization: the work of Rizkallah Jorge in São Paulo, from 1895 to 1949), on June 6 from 2 pm to 4 pm. Registration is available on the Casa da Boia website.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
