Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: BARBARA SILVEIRA ABRIL

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : BARBARA SILVEIRA ABRIL
DATE: 09/10/2025
TIME: 15:00
LOCAL: Sala virtual de videoconferência WEB
TITLE:

INDUSTRIAL-CULTURAL-COMPLEX: AN ATTEMPT AT A CRITICAL EXHAUSTING OF THE DRAGÃO DO MAR AND THE ESTAÇÃO DAS ARTES

KEY WORDS:

Museums and the city; Architecture and power; Cultural policies;Fortaleza

PAGES: 175
BIG AREA: Ciências Sociais Aplicadas
AREA: Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SUBÁREA: Fundamentos de Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SPECIALTY: História da Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SUMMARY:

This work arises from a series of questions about how museums and cultural facilities fit into
their territories, often reproducing dynamics of exclusion and urban spectacularization. This
concern gave rise to a broader investigation that seeks to critically analyze the relationship
between museum architecture, cultural policies, and social demands, taking as case studies the
Estação das Artes Cultural Complex and the Dragão do Mar Cultural Center, both located in
Fortaleza. The methodological approach of this work is inspired by the thinking of Georges
Perec, particularly in his work Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris (1975), in which the
author seeks to capture the invisible aspects of everyday life through detailed descriptions.
Following this perspective, the research proposes a “critical exhaustion” of these cultural
spaces, articulating museum, urban, discursive, and architectural dimensions. The method
adopted is Henri Lefebvre's regressive-progressive method, which allows for the analysis of
space as a historical process in constant transformation. This approach combines documentary
research, participant observation, and analysis of public policies to understand how the past
conditions the present and how urban contradictions manifest themselves in these cultural
facilities. The central objectives of this research are: (1) to investigate the contradictions
between museum architecture and its territorial insertion, questioning the extent to which
these spaces dialogue with or distance themselves from the communities that surround them;
(2) to understand the impact of Fortaleza's cultural policies on the urban configuration,
analyzing how official discourses on “requalification” and “modernization” operate in
practice; and (3) to explore museological alternatives that challenge neoliberal logic, taking as
reference cases that seek a more organic relationship with their territories. Organized into six
chapters, each addressing a specific dimension of the problem. Chapter 2 (Urban Dimension)
discusses the historiography of Fortaleza, tracing the connections between cultural planning
and urban transformations. Chapter 3 (Discourse and Institutional Offerings) examines the
heritage and tourism policies that shape the city's image, often to the detriment of local
narratives. Chapter 4 (Complex-Continuum-Aesthetic) focuses on the architectural analysis of
the Estação das Artes and its relationship with the Dragão do Mar, exploring how these spaces
reflect projects of power. Chapter 5 (Museum Dimension) discusses the historical evolution of
museums and alternative models, such as social museology, while Chapter 6 (Other Ways of
Dreaming) offers reflections on community integration and new museographic possibilities.
In addition to theoretical and methodological challenges, the research also faces political
obstacles. The dismantling of cultural policies between 2016 and 2022, coupled with
conservative attacks on spaces such as the Pinacoteca do Ceará, accused of promoting
“pornography” and “ideology,” reveals fierce disputes over who defines legitimate culture.
These conflicts show that museums are not mere repositories of art, but battlefields where
issues of memory, identity, and power are decided. The conclusion of the work does not point
to an “ideal museum,” but explores possible paths for a more dialogical and social
museography that recognizes the contradictions inherent in these spaces without losing sight
of the territory in which they are inserted.

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1345114 - JOSE CLEWTON DO NASCIMENTO
Interno - 1720813 - GEORGE ALEXANDRE FERREIRA DANTAS
Externo à Instituição - MARIA CRISTINA OLIVEIRA BRUNO - USP