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Photography show Amrik: The Arab Presence in South America, which was developed by the Brazilian Foreign Office for exhibition in the sidelines of the Summit of South American - Arab Countries, in May this year, opened Monday, November 14, at UN offices, in New York.
The exhibition marks the Brazilian presence in the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the UN, and will remain in the United States up to December 08.
"It is a privilege to bring this exhibition here to New York, where the flow of people is very big," stated the curator of the expo, André Botelho Vilaron.
There are 155 pictures that show the Arab influence on the customs, architecture, cuisine and culture of the South American countries.
According to Vilaron, the show had such repercussion in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, that it has already been taken to Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and Bogotá, the Colombian capital.
The next destination is Cairo, Egypt. The exhibition will open at the offices of the League of Arab States on November 29. "After that it will also go to Argentina, Lebanon, Spain and Chile," he said.
Vilaron believes that the success of the show is due to the theme. "It is a theme that has never been worked on very much, and that is why people have shown such interest," he said.
The exhibition's catalogue is already written in four languages: Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish and English. "My expectations for this exhibition are very great," he added.
The pictures were made by 23 photographers from ten countries in South America, all recent, except for the historic pictures. The exhibition is divided into four moments. The first shows the cultural presence of the Arab habits brought from abroad.
Then, the pictures show immigrants going through difficult moments when leaving their country. Then come images that show Arab and South American integration, and last of all comes the Arab identity.
"What is good about the exhibition being here in New York is that many people may learn about this influence of Arab immigration on the South American countries," stated Vilaron. "People who come here are from Norway, Australia and Denmark... so it is being seen around the world," he added.
America
Amrik was how the Arabs pronounced the word America, the destination of many immigrants who left their countries after a better life. The text presenting the exhibition was written by professor Oswaldo Truzzi, a specialist in Arab culture.
Apart from Amrik, the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty) is also going to exhibit "Meetings and Re-meetings of Naif Art: Brazil-Haiti", a painting exhibition, which was shown in June at the Banco do Brasil Cultural center, in Brasília.
The UN was established in 1945 to help stabilize foreign relations and supply a more secure base for world peace. Apart from that, the organization works in the promotion of democracy, human rights, environment, international law and banishment of nuclear weaponry, among others. The current secretary general is Kofi Annan.
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