{"id":324211,"date":"2023-02-02T09:57:05","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T12:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=324211"},"modified":"2023-02-06T12:57:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T15:57:26","slug":"tribute-to-arabs-a-beacon-in-downtown-sao-paulo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/tribute-to-arabs-a-beacon-in-downtown-sao-paulo\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribute to Arabs: A beacon in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 A 444-square-meter arabesque <\/strong>sculpture was installed at a height of 70 meters from the floor on the front of Edif\u00edcio Garagem Autom\u00e1tica Senador, which had its 2,000-square-meter surface painted with golden paint, in addition to lights that make the building glow at night to illuminate S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Historic Center, just around the corner of Rua 25 de Mar\u00e7o and Avenida Senador Queir\u00f3s.<\/p>\n

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Artists finishing the work<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The artwork Ahlan<\/strong>, produced in tribute to the Arab immigration<\/strong> in Brazil, was finished by Kleber Pag\u00fa <\/strong>on January 25, on the anniversary of the city of S\u00e3o Paulo. The arabesque is running for the Guinness World Records of the world\u2019s largest arabesque in the shape of a sculpture, with 21 meters in diameter. Ahlan is Arabic for welcome<\/em>. The artwork honors the 70th<\/sup> anniversary of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> (ABCC) celebrated last year.<\/p>\n

The sculpture was made in EPS, a type of Styrofoam covered, covered by a fiberglass mesh, sealed with cement and mortar, and fixed to the front of the building. The arabesque arrived in 160 parts, but they were so big they were higher than people working in the project. So Pag\u00fa had to cut some of them to work better. The 160 parts became 240 parts of a giant puzzle that was assembled up high.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve sent some images and data to the Guinness [World Records], and we\u2019re in the process of sending documents as they ask, Pag\u00fa told ANBA. If the artwork is recognized, the artist said he\u2019ll ask the Guinness World Records judge to make assessment of the artwork on March 25<\/strong>, the day of the Arab Community in S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cIt would be the perfect day to acclaim this artwork. The expectative is very positive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Front of the garage building at night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The work stated in July 2022 and ended in January 2023. Three thousand hours were spent in some 75 nights, with five people a night, all rappel workers. The operation took place at night, always from 7 pm to 2 am, as the garage building usually worked as a parking lot during the day.<\/p>\n

The whole team was composed by an artist, two cultural producers, an engineer, three architects, 11 artist\u2019s assistants, a firefighter, a rappelling instructor, a content manager, two cameramen, an accountant, and a lawyer, as well as two drones to film the behind-the-scenes of the monument.<\/p>\n

For the golden<\/strong> result on the fa\u00e7ade, they used 369 liters of black base preparer, 850 liters of a special golden paint, and 425 liters of varnish. The illumination is on account of 33 warm yellow LED spotlights that light up the 88 meters of the building.<\/p>\n

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Front of the garage building at night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a Taj Mahal in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo. It lights up the center of the city. The golden color refers to the gold not only in the sense of cash but also the value of the Arab contributions to S\u00e3o Paulo and Brazil. Gold can resist fire, so it speaks to the resilience of the Arab immigration. Even though I am not Arab, I see [the artwork] as a beacon in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo. It was a monumental work,\u201d Pag\u00fa said.<\/p>\n

The artist also has a bill pending approval in the Chamber of Deputies of S\u00e3o Paulo that establishes the city as an open-air gallery<\/strong>, with hubs, or sets of artworks, across different parts of the city. The set of artworks in the region of the Rua 25 de Mar\u00e7o in downtown would be called Ahlan, after the artwork.<\/p>\n

ABCC president Osmar Chohfi said \u201cthe purpose of the artwork is paying tribute to the high profile of the Arab immigration in Brazil, as well as embellishing downtown S\u00e3o Paulo.\u201d Chohfi believes the term Ahlan was used to name the artwork as a way of thanks to the warm, friendly way the Arab community was welcomed in Brazil. \u201cIt refers to such a fraternal welcome,\u201d the ambassador said.<\/p>\n

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Detail of the arabesque<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a representative of the Arab family who runs the garage building, Helo\u00edsa Abreu Dib said they are very proud, and now Pag\u00fa and she are seeking sponsorship to carry out works on the other three gables of the building. The artwork will only be considered a monument<\/strong> when all four gables are finished.<\/p>\n

Dib also plans on establishing a coffee shop or restaurant on the rooftop of the building, which has a unique view of the city. \u201cI\u2019m super proud of the completion of the artwork. Now we have the opportunity to offer this monument to the city of S\u00e3o Paulo,\u201d Dib said. The complete project pays tribute to the Arab culture.<\/p>\n

Sponsored by the ABCC in partnership with certifiers CDIAL Halal and Fambras Halal, the artwork is located near the corner of Rua 25 de Mar\u00e7o and Avenida Senador Queir\u00f3s. The project is curated by Fernanda Bueno, who carried out the research together with Helo\u00edsa Abreu Dib. The project was created by Ax\u00e9 no Corre Produ\u00e7\u00f5es, a company run by Pag\u00fa and Bueno.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/em><\/p>\n

Pag\u00fa\u2019s art installation pays tribute to Arab immigrants<\/a><\/p>\n

Delegation attended unveil of art to honor Arab immigrants<\/a><\/p>\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Felipe Birdun<\/div>\n
Felipe Birdun<\/div>\n
Felipe Birdun<\/div>\n
Felipe Birdun<\/div>\n
Felipe Birdun<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artwork celebrating the Arab immigration in Brazil was created by Kleber Pag\u00fa on the front of the Edif\u00edcio Garagem Autom\u00e1tica Senador in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo and finished on January 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2305,"featured_media":324188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[32718,34223,38450,6074,8492,38451,38452,29031,38449],"class_list":{"0":"post-324211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"tag-25-de-marco-en","9":"tag-25-de-marco-en-2","10":"tag-ahlan-en","11":"tag-arab-immigration","12":"tag-arabesque","13":"tag-edificio-garagem-automatica-senador-en","14":"tag-edificio-garagem-senador-queiros-en","15":"tag-imigracao-arabe-en","16":"tag-senador-queiros-garage-building"},"wps_subtitle":"Artwork celebrating the Arab immigration in Brazil was created by Kleber Pag\u00fa on the front of the Edif\u00edcio Garagem Autom\u00e1tica Senador in downtown S\u00e3o Paulo and finished on January 25.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}