OVER 15 THOUSAND PEOPLE
were enraptured by the exhibition “Egito Antigo na cidade do sol”
Conceived and carried out by Inspirar-te in a great social impact initiative linked to art education, after 4 months of intense work the exhibition “Egito Antigo na cidade do sol” came to an end on September 6th.
Endorsed by the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, in the formation and content of the educational material and by the Dutch curator and historian Pieter Tjabbes, Inspirar-te was chosen to receive the donation of dozens of didactic works that made up the award-winning exhibition “Ancient Egypt: From Everyday Life to Eternity” that roamed Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB) between 2019 and 2021.
The Egyptian Museum in Turin has the second largest collection of artifacts from Ancient Egypt in the world.
Two relevant Brazilian museums also supported the initiative: The Egyptian art collection of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), and the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo (MAE-USP), São Paulo, were part of the exhibition with Egyptian works exhibited for the first time in photographic records, in addition to institutional support from Itaú Cultural, a significant institution in the art world.
Life, religiosity, and the after-death civilization that was concentrated along the lower course of the Nile River (North Africa), from 4000 BC. to 30 BC, composed the exhibition “Egito Antigo na cidade do sol”.
An important educational group in the country, Escola Concept was the master sponsor of this initiative, reflecting its desire to transform society through art, and reaffirming its role in promoting wide and quality cultural access for all.
In this pedagogical context, the public received guided tours and activities developed by the Inspirar-te team aligned with an educational, playful and sensorial proposal, for both children and young people, as well as for adults.
The exhibition was an absolute success among the public, at both Instituto Baccarelli and Escola Concept, venues for the initiative, impacting around 15,000 people in total, including spontaneous public, municipal schools, state schools, private schools and NGOs.
The idea of carrying out the initiative both in Heliópolis and Jardins, came from the unique methodology we developed to enable social transformation through art: All the activities of the non-profit association Inspirar-te are destined for children in a position of social vulnerability, in a one-to-one relationship, which means that for each child from a private school that is impacted by Inspirar-te, one child from a public school is also benefited with the same cultural experience and through the funding of sociocultural programs in communities.
It was following this same logic, now on a different scale, that we were able to conceive the exhibition as widely and inclusively as possible. Our objective is, through this one-to-one relationship, to decentralize art and democratize its access, so that the same exhibition could be held both in the central region of the city and in the outskirts.
The name of the exhibition, which translates to “Ancient Egypt in the city of the sun”, was a tribute to the community of Heliopolis, the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian city Iunu, one of the oldest religious centers in the land of the pharaohs dedicated to the cult of the sun god Ra.
Thereby, together, we take the role of leading social transformation through important and expressive exhibitions with didactic works from national and international museums.
By idealizing this initiative, the non-profit association Inspirar-te celebrates seven years of intense work through the transforming power of culture with Instituto Baccarelli, in the community of Heliópolis, and with the main Private and Public Schools in São Paulo.
All this because art transforms, and we see it daily.
Sincerely,
Priscilla Benvenuti Parodi - Founder President of Associação Inspirar-te
I loved (Instituto) Baccarelli's initiative to bring a little bit of Ancient Egypt to the community. Everything is organized, with attentive and well-informed people. A wonderful exhibition, with interactive areas, tombs that we can enter. Another part my daughter loved was the excavation. Congratulations, it was great.
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Mayra Berger
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The girl's dream: Once upon a time, there was a girl who was studying about Egypt in school. She started studying at home and discovered that Egypt is interesting because it has several kings. After studying a lot, her dream is to visit Egypt.
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Escola Concept - Student - Grade 1
Check out video reports from teachers
Check out video reports from students
Message From the Education Team
The connection between art and education allows the formation of ways of thinking about the world. It is individual transformation united with collective and inclusive thinking, the opportunity to live a more creative life, with citizenship, sensitivity and emotion.
Since its founding, Associação Inspirar-te has aimed to bring children and young people closer to cultural institutions. We enable schools to include cultural experience and contact with the universe of the arts in their students' daily lives, as a way to expand their knowledge, repertoire, critical thinking and creativity.
We plan and develop activities that are aligned with the school curriculum, aligned with the topics discussed in the classroom with the teacher. In a playful and sensory way, students of different age groups expand their cultural awareness and put themselves in touch with diversity.
The web of interdisciplinarity is encouraged in our methodology as well as the encounter of theory and practice. Expanding the understanding and perception of the world, as well as inserting cultural and aesthetic knowledge, are important pillars in our methodology. Developing perceptive capacity, and, mainly, developing critical and creative capacity, is our proposal with art education.
And our vision wouldn't be complete if we couldn't offer the same experience to kids who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it. Therefore, 100% of the profit from all Inspirar-te activities is reverted to children in socially vulnerable situations to visit museums and have access to cultural experiences. This is our way of contributing to a fairer and more inclusive society.
Art and education as a means of social transformation, let’s go together?
Priscilla Benvenuti Parodi - Founder President of Associação Inspirar-te
Throughout 2022, the exhibition “Egito Antigo na cidade do sol” allowed a deep immersion in the history of Ancient Egypt for approximately 15,000 people, including general public, municipal schools, state schools, private schools and NGOs.
It is important to point out that through Inspirar-te’s methodology, all visitors participated in mediated visits and activities aligned with a ludic and sensory educational proposal for all age groups, which demonstrates Inspirar-te's commitment to passing on historical and artistic knowledge to everyone in the best possible way.
We thank the entire educational team and all the professionals involved in the exhibition. The beauty of art education lies in the possibility of expanding our gaze through historical and artistic objects that reveal customs of past civilizations and that lead us to think about building a sensitive and poetic future.
Important issues related to the history of Egyptian society were addressed and discussed in a variety of ways, including topics and positions that impact our society today, such as racial issues and women's rights. Thank you to everyone who devotedly took part in highlighting such relevant themes that tell our story.
Leonardo Lubatsch Ribeiro - Art Education Coordinator
Being part of the educational team for the exhibition “Egito Antigo na cidade do sol” was an exceptional experience. By accompanying the assembly of the exhibition, the in-depth studies on Ancient Egypt and the preparation of the activities of the educational team, I was able to witness the commitment and dedication of all participants in the process. This commitment came entirely from a force that I believe is unanimous here in the Inspirar-te team: the possibility of carrying out profound, effective and uplifting transformations in society through art.
Even more amazing was watching this force taking shape and being put into practice. The perception that we were going down the right path came about through the eyes of the children when they entered our large exhibition rooms for the first time. While her eyes sparkled with wonder and inspiration, mine filled with pride and gratification.
Taking part in the execution of the activities developed by us with the children was an invitation to understand the sensitivity of the playful look of each one we met during these 4 months. Observing how each one captured the exhibition in a unique way reinforced the profound character that the Inspirar-te methodology is capable of producing from both an individual and a collective perspective.
The results obtained at the end of the exhibition – more than 50 schools, 15,000 impacted visitors and countless smiles - reiterate the importance of democratizing art and art education in the most diverse social strata, provoking awareness and reflection on extremely relevant themes, as well as such as the decentralization of its access.
Art transforms!
Isabela Lassance da Rocha Brito - Art Education Team
One cannot speak of the power of art without speaking of its democratic aspect; or at least shouldn't. Likewise, one cannot speak of the importance of education in building a society without it being effectively accessible to all. In favor of a democratic cultural orientation, the fruits of art education must be reaped by all. This is Inspirar-te's mission.
With the exhibition “Egito Antigo na cidade do sol”, we were able to apply everything we have always believed in on an exceptional scale. Embraced by great supporters, we were able to impact thousands of people from different locations and social strata. And not just with expressive numbers, but the quality and integrity of our work always prevailed.
Watching a child get emotional when entering the exhibition room; talking to a student at the end of the visit and hearing about how thankful he was because it was his first time at an exhibition; receive a statement from a teacher saying that his students had been enraptured and wanted to carry on with the theme when they returned to the classroom; these were some of our experiences with the public that we received daily for months. Hearing words like this from one person alone would be powerful enough, but knowing that the initiative made this experience possible for so many is truly moving.
This is our essence as an association, and it was based on this that we were able to carry out the exhibition in such a unique way. Cultural access transforms lives, this is what we witness on a daily basis, and democratic art and education must go hand in hand, enabling everyone to enjoy its impact without distinction.
Alice Benvenuti - General Assistant
Educational Activities
The Inspirar-te methodology believes in the power of sensorial ludic activities as a way of understanding different themes studied within an art exhibition. Aligned with the mediation carried out by specialized art educators, the museological space brings new learning possibilities.
Throughout the exhibition, more than 10 different activities were carried out, in addition to interactive areas that invited the public to have fun. All activities were developed and applied according to the age range and study focus of the groups.
The Inspirar-te methodology believes in the power of sensorial ludic activities as a way of understanding different themes studied within an art exhibition. Aligned with the mediation carried out by specialized art educators, the museological space presents new learning possibilities.
Throughout the exhibition, more than 10 different activities were carried out, in addition to interactive areas in which the public was invited to play around. All activities were developed and applied according to the age range and study focus of the groups.
1 - Construction of Egyptian Amulets
Inspired by everything we had learned at the exhibition about Egyptian amulets and their meanings, we held workshops to build such pieces with materials like acetate and adhesive. The activity presented images of different gods and was a great way of learning more about their meanings, something that attracted the children's attention.
2 - Building a Pyramid with pillows
In a playful way, we began the visit talking about the main constructions carried out by the ancient Egyptians. For this, we focused on the pyramids, as well as their format, construction method and functions. As we were dealing with early childhood, we performed an activity with pillows to warm up.
After understanding the construction and shape of the pyramid, each student took one of the colored pillows and together, we stacked them all until we reached a triangular shape. The activity was a great way to bond with the group and became a big game.
3 - Sandpaper Drawing
Inspired by the Egyptian paintings seen throughout the exhibition, we carried out a mural activity on sandpaper sheets. At that moment, the children drew on the sheets glued to the wall while standing, getting in touch with their own bodies from a new perspective. The act of drawing or painting on sandpaper is representative of the porous textures of stone walls previously created by the Egyptians.
The materials available were crayons, chalkboards and colored pencils - utensils with different materials that provided students with new ways of thinking about the drawing itself and how it appears on the page, as well as the wear and tear of the materials and the weight of the painting line they should apply to the sheets.
4 - Encrypted message translation
Inspired by the hieroglyphs of the Book of the Dead, all groups carried out a creative activity on Egyptian writing. For the 13 to 15 age group, we held hieroglyphic symbol translation workshops.
5 - Archeology
In the exhibition's excavation tank, we proposed a thorough activity on archaeological practices carried out up to the present day in Egypt. Within the exhibition, we were archaeologists completing all stages of discovering a piece hidden in the sand. After learning about the profession, we excavate the tank for parts in the most professional way possible.
Steps:
1. Site survey: We observed the sand and defined which area would be excavated.
2. Grid: With string and toothpicks, we marked which area would be excavated.
3. With work materials such as shovels and brushes, we excavated the area in search of the lost object.
4. After finding the object within the demarcated area, we carefully analyzed the details of the piece without taking it out of the tank.
5. With the mdf board and paper attached to clips, we drew and wrote all the object's information.
6. After collecting the information, we removed the object and talked about its destination: Where should it go? To the museum? To a research center?
6 - Cheeky Egyptian Mail
Inspired by the hieroglyphs of the Book of the Dead, all groups carried out a creative activity on Egyptian writing. For the adult age group, we performed a more complex activity regarding the interpretation and creation of coded messages. Each participant created their symbols, wrote a coded message to another person and then translated the message they received from their colleague.
7 - Animal Mummification
After the tour through the exhibition rooms, we went to the education room to carry out a big final workshop inspired by everything we learned together. For the adult age group, we carried out a more complex activity that covered the theme of mummification, in particular the mummification of animals.
Materials: Felt, stapler, pens and gauze.
Length: 20 minutes.
Activity location: Education room.
Steps:
1. Cut out the pattern of a cat on the felt.
2. Combine and staple the ends to bring the two pieces of felt together.
3. Collect the discarded pieces to use as stuffing for the object.
4. Draw the details you prefer with pens.
5. Wrap the object with gauze strips.
All participants got to take their works home.