Artigos

First of all, I’d like to acknowledge the nations Karijó (or Guarani), Tupinikim, Tupinambá, Kaiapó, and Guayanás. These are the indigenous peoples that have lived and managed, for generations, this land where I am today, the East Side of São Paulo. I acknowledge these peoples as the true keepers of this land in the past, present, and future.

The objective of this declaration is to show respect for the indigenous peoples and to acknowledge their long-standing relationship with the land. To practice the acknowledgment of the land is a traditional custom that has been done for centuries by many nations, and indigenous and non-indigenous communities, to increase the awareness of histories that are often suppressed or forgotten. I bid everyone to reflect on the idea of always starting public events and gatherings with an acknowledgment of the land, as a form of acknowledgment of the traditional native inhabitants of the colonized lands where we find ourselves.

The presence of transvestigender audiovisual artists in the Brazilian visual arts circuit is still minute. On this matter, also weighs the fact that transmasculine artists are less represented in cultural spaces than trans women. What kind of strategies and actions are needed to generate more visibility and professionalization for trans artists – especially transmasculine artists?

Digg Franco is a transmasculine curator and audiovisual artist, and founder/president of Casa Chama (São Paulo) – an institution that, since 2018, has welcomed and provided dignity, and affection to the transvestigender population of Brazil. In a conversation with Renata Martins, Digg reflects on the social causes for this lack of transmasculine artists in the contemporary art market in the country, as well as on possible measures to change this situation, with dignity and in a professionalizing manner.

It might seem obvious that contemporary art has become more and more an important weapon and shield in the fight against the oppression of trans and non-binary people in Brazil.

Transvestigender artists use their audiovisual creations not only in the struggle to protest against violence and transphobia in the country with the highest rate of murder of trans people in the world, according to the NGO Transgender Europe, which monitors data in 71 countries. These creations also serve to establish partnerships and support networks for collectives or artistic associations channeled by the LGBTQIA+ community – which is constantly silenced and discriminated against – and end up forming an important platform for artistic expression and visibility.