One “Symbolic embassy of Northeast Brazil in Europe”. The words and desire are from Wilame Lima Vallantin, from Sergipe from Aracaju, who has lived in Lisbon since the beginning of this year. The project in question began inside the house itself and took physical form on Rua Passos Manuel, in Arroios, where it opened its doors in September Casa Oxente, an art gallery dedicated to northeastern artists and the region’s multiple forms of expression.
“We have a vision in Brazil that is very reductionist of what the Northeast is and what the Northeast is capable of producing and delivering. This is part of a Brazilian whitening project”, says Wilame in an interview with DN Brazil. “Besides, in Brazil we often have the idea that what we have doesn’t work, we need to bring it from outside. I have always believed that we should look more carefully at other regions, which is what we propose here“, he complements.
A true wanderer of the world, Wilame, now 43 years old, has traveled to various places inside and outside Brazil since leaving his “peaceful life”, as he puts it, at the age of 20. He passed through Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, then Switzerland, France, the United States, Austria and, finally, Portugal. In the interview with the newspaper, he makes a point of, firstly, explaining this concern.
“I think the first thing I like to say to people nowadays is that I’m a neurodivergent person. I discovered, when I was 40, that I’m on the autism spectrum and there’s also an issue of hyperactivity there that was never diagnosed. I explain this because when I tell my story, people don’t really understand the back and forth“, he reflects.
Casa Oxente was born from one of Wilame’s concerns and also from Sergipe’s re-encounter with art — and with himself. A journalist by training, since leaving Aracaju he has worked with marketing, programming and artificial intelligence before recently deciding to dedicate himself fully to artistic creation. “I worked a lot in communication, when I got tired I went to learn how to program. Then I became a programmer, I also got tired, until I realized that I really needed to go back to the artistic field.”
The idea of transforming his passion into a gallery was developed at home, in Lisbon, the city he chose to live in to “be closer to a culture he knew”, after spending three years between Florida, USA and Vienna, Austria. With a large collection of works focused mainly on the Northeast, he heard from his husband, Frenchman Gwenäel Vallantin, the suggestion of opening his own gallery. “I accepted the challenge and, from then on, we really started the project”, he recalls.
The new house
Casa Oxente literally started inside Wilame and Gwenäel’s house, in the center of Lisbon, with the first exhibitions and meetings in March this year. “I organized it in the form of a gallery and, at the same time, I welcomed people to visit, see the pieces, participate in soirees and projects that I call ‘tira-tasto’‘: someone talks about art, while we drink wine and eat something”, he explains. “I wanted a place where people could feel at home. I think it was this quest I had — to travel so much and do so many different things — and I ended up finding it in this project”, he reflects.
With the growth of the public and the desire to give more visibility to northeastern production, he decided to open a physical space six months later, when he acquired a space in Passos Manuel streetnear Jardim Constantino, in Estefânia, parish of Arroios. In September, the new space officially opened its doors. “Casa Oxente is a space where we try to escape all stereotypes. What we show here are works made by people who lived in the Northeast, were born there or research the Northeast in the most different ways.”he explains.
According to Wilame, the initial challenge was precisely to break some stereotypes associated with the northeastern region. “People confuse or reduce things a little. I receive a lot of calls from people asking if we have a popular crafts fair, something that, whether we like it or not, is reductive. And what I explain is that here we don’t necessarily represent that Northeast, which is often associated with cangaceiro, cracked soil, dry ox heads and beaches. We want people to discover more”, he highlights.
More than a gallery, Casa Oxente emerges with the vocation of being a northeastern cultural platform and a space for sharing knowledge. “What I wanted was to remove this negative view that is already permeated within Brazil: Here we start from scratch, to let people build their own image of what the Northeast is”.
The programming in the new space, in fact, goes far beyond exhibitions, also featuring workshops, debates and meetings — since September, the space has already hosted names such as Lucia Santos (daughter of designer Janet Costa), Filipe Campello and the curator Orlando Maneschy. Between aces masterclasseslast week, for example, Casa Oxente received the artist Pri Ballarin for a free calico embroidery workshop, while, in November, it will be the photographer’s turn Márcia Homem de Mellowhich proposes a poetic dive into belonging and ancestry.
There is also a study group on computational art — an intersection between Wilame’s technological trajectory and the artistic universe — and a free artistic residency program, with accommodation in your own home. “As I have a spare room, we decided to make it available to artists. There is a call for proposals on the website, and people can apply to stay between a week and 15 days here to produce”explains Wilame, highlighting that the process is open to northeastern artists and also to anyone who has research connected to the region.
The first residents have already been confirmed by Wilame: they will be Elaine Bofim, an artist who works with poetry and embroidery, and Melício Brito, whose work investigates the banners and symbols of northeastern communities. “Unfortunately, I still can’t offer a ticket, but whenever we find someone willing to participate, it’s a joy.”
Living in Lisbon alongside her husband, an engineer who divides his time between Vienna and Portugal, Wilame has dedicated himself exclusively to the gallery since focusing on this new project. “I got the feeling that those who serve two gods serve no one. Today my time is 100% here”, says the Sergipe native, who runs his day-to-day life with the support of Thiago Fernandes, responsible for the house’s communication and marketing.
In this first month at the gallery, the public, he says, has been one of the pleasant surprises. “A friend of mine who has a gallery in Madrid told me not to be scared if no one came in for a week. And hasn’t the opposite happened? People come in every day from different places. I thought they would be more Brazilian, but no, there are more Portuguese, or other nationalities, such as Russians, French, Germans. This is fantastic“, says the Brazilian immigrant with pride, who defines the project in one word: dialogue.
“I think that everything I can do to open channels of dialogue, I have done. We want to be a true symbolic embassy of the Northeast in Europe and show that Brazil is not just that part concentrated in Rio and São Paulo. It’s about attracting attention to other cultures, exchanging views and listening. Always listen”, he points out.
Casa Oxente is located in Rua Passos Manuel, number 64A. The space is open between Tuesdays and Fridays, from 10:00 – 13:00 and from 14:00 – 19:00. Entry is free. More information about the courses, debates, workshops and residencies can be found on the gallery’s official website: casaoxente.pt.
nuno.tibirica@dn.pt