Rio de Janeiro was the first city to launch calls for proposals under the Aldir Blanc National Policy (PNAB) and did its homework in using the resources received, ranking among the Brazilian municipalities with the best performance in applying the Federal Law for the Promotion of Culture. In 2024, the city received a total of R$37.862.551,62, which the Municipal Secretariat of Culture (SMC) applied to three major calls for proposals: Local Actions (R$6.600.000) and Rio Capital Mundial do Livro (R$2.840.000), as part of the Cultura Viva program, in addition to Pró-Carioca Linguagens (R$25 million), aimed at promoting the arts.
Before the turn of the year 2025, the SMC will launch three new calls for proposals, using the revenue from the PNAB resources, estimated at R$2,3 million. The new calls for proposals have undergone public consultation and will focus on the area of literature, as part of the preparations for the Rio de Janeiro World Book Capital 2025 Agenda, a title granted to Rio by UNESCO.
Following the regulations established by the Ministry of Culture (MinC), a portion of the PNAB resources received by the municipality were applied to the operationalization of the public notices, with the hiring of reviewers and producers. Another amount (R$2.642.398,26) was directed to renovations in cultural facilities in the municipal network. All investments, also in accordance with MinC guidelines, were approved by the Municipal Council for Cultural Policy.
– Rio de Janeiro reaffirms its place at the forefront of implementing public policies aimed at the cultural sector, executing 100% of the PNAB resources. Our calls for proposals not only strengthen the city’s cultural and artistic production and the entire ecosystem that accompanies it, but also promote inclusion, representation and income generation – stated the Secretary of Culture, Marcelo Calero.
Cultural capital of Brazil
In 2024, 363 projects by artists and cultural producers from Rio de Janeiro were selected in the PNAB calls for proposals, and financial transfers are already underway. Those responsible for the successful proposals have up to one year to execute them, which should generate a virtuous cycle in the cultural scene of Rio de Janeiro, reinforcing the city of Rio de Janeiro's vocation as the cultural capital of Brazil.
In addition to valuing and strengthening local culture, the implementation of projects financed by PNAB will impact social inclusion, education, training, job and income generation, stimulating cultural tourism and the occupation of public spaces.
Democratization and representation
More than meeting the deadlines and other legal requirements of the MinC, the SMC managed to meet the PNAB goals, with regard to democratizing access to artistic and cultural production and enjoyment.
The Territories and Cultural Diversity Coordination, responsible for the Local Actions and Rio World Book Capital notices, promoted a solid consultation process with the populations of the various territories of Rio to identify priorities and define the best investment strategies aligned with the National Policy for Living Culture.
In the Rio World Book Capital Call, of the 21 selected proposals, 77,8% are led by black people, 43% by LGBTQIAPN+ people and 44% by women. In Local Actions, 180 projects were selected, of which 123 are led by black people, 49 by LGBTQIAPN+ people and 16 by indigenous people.
Analyzing the territorial scope, in the Local Actions Notice, AP (Planning Area) 3, neighborhoods in the North Zone, concentrated the majority of the approved proposals (37,5%), followed by AP 5, West Zone (23,1%) and AP 1, central region (16,9%). In Rio, the World Book Capital, AP 5 achieved the highest approval rate (38,9%), followed by AP 3 (27,8%) and AP 1 (22,2%).
Pro-Carioca – Languages
In Pró-Carioca – Linguagens, the number of projects registered is noteworthy: 3.037, which reflects the tradition of the call for proposals. The ethnic-racial analysis is another relevant aspect. Of the 162 selected, 53% declared themselves black or mixed race, while 8,02% registered as indigenous. Regarding age group, the majority of those selected (32,7%) are between 37 and 46 years old. People aged 65 or over correspond to 9,9% of the total.
An important fact is that 63% of the people included in Pró-Carioca Linguagens have culture as their only source of income. In the analysis by category, the theater area was prevalent, with 31 proposals included, followed by exhibitions, festivals and multilingual projects (23), dance (20), music (19), popular culture and heritage (18).
– The Pró-Carioca – Languages call for proposals is strategically important in strengthening Rio de Janeiro’s cultural policies, in full alignment with the objectives of the PNAB. The languages call for proposals not only fosters the aesthetic development of cultural production, but also advances in the democratization of access to public resources. Examples of this include the possibility of registering as an individual or legal entity and the results of those selected reflecting in all areas of the city’s planning – said SMC’s promotion coordinator, Veruska Delfino.
She also highlighted the range of languages covered, ranging from theater to popular culture, reflecting the city's cultural richness and encouraging continuity and innovation in artistic practices.
– Another important fact is that 57% of the selected proposals are original artistic products. This not only enhances cultural development, but also the dynamization of the creative economy and the expansion of the population’s access to cultural goods promoted by public policies.
Reading city
As the first Portuguese-speaking city to receive the title of World Book Capital from UNESCO, Rio de Janeiro will be responsible for further enhancing its policies and programs of excellence in encouraging reading. In the context of this international recognition and considering the high demand for support for literary languages, highlighted in the process of listening in the territories, the new calls for proposals from the Municipal Department of Culture will focus on the segment of books, reading and literature.
One of the calls for proposals will propose a literary program for Rio's facilities, squares and parks, promoting the occupation and circulation in different spaces in the city. In another aspect, the idea is to open space for new authors, training and promoting talents for the Brazilian literary market. Finally, the third call for proposals will be aimed at promoting literary fairs throughout Rio's territories.
