The cultural diversity of Brazil-
Our patchwork quilt.

A Lottery Heritage Fund project

The Weaving our History in a quilt project offered cultural heritage education through a native art form that involved 56 children and young people and 15 parents of Brazilian descent living in London in a creative collaboration that will develop a History Quilt in the tradition of "Embroiderers". The final quilt was exhibited days at places of cultural importance for the Brazilian community residing in London

Over 20 sessions, specialized educators taught the history and weaving techniques to mothers and children in regular meetings at the Clube dos Brasileirinhos. They learned the history and heritage of embroidery and the tradition of “Embroiderers” from a place called: “Vale do Jequitinhonha”, which is located in "Minas Gerais" in the Southeast region of Brazil. The families created an embroidery exhibition, the Colcha da História, which summarized the history of Brazilian embroidery in a work of art.

In the process, the children learned the basics of weaving, embroidery, finishing and the "painting" designs made by the weavers. During the workshops, the instructors trained the participants in weaving techniques and in the culture of the weavers of Vale do Jequitinhonha. This is a way of weaving and a culture that is established from the confluence of three different peoples: the Portuguese, the Africans and the indigenous people. The sessions were led by Liliane Benevenuto Lemos, artisan and researcher in textile art, education and Brazilian culture. From learning the art of weaving, participants also learned about the history of weavers, meanings of traditional designs, quilombola way of life, work songs, verses, cirandas, weaving gestures and rhythms that are part of the local culture in Brazil .

During this immersive learning experience, participants created the quilt artwork that was structured in a three-part timeline that references significant periods in Brazil's recent history; indigenous, Portuguese and African legacy and European immigration. They collected information and designs that were manually incorporated as visual embroidered motifs and symbols from each period. The main message we want children and young people to take home is the unity achieved through diversity, which is a unique and significant gift that Brazil offers the world. The educational narrative will make reference to different ethnicities, food, music, customs, spirituality and dance. At the same time, it will deepen the tradition of “embroiderers” and equip participants with practical skills that keep this cultural heritage alive in the Brazilian diaspora. This Project sewed the History of Brazil and the tradition of embroidery into a quilt.

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Brazil's cultural diversity

Our patchwork quilt

According to anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro, Brazil is one of the most mixed-race countries in the world. With more than 300 indigenous peoples (FUNAI), 54% of the currently black population (IBGE) and the arrival of people from different countries of the world in Brazil, Brazilians carry a unique color - like a large patchwork quilt. A quilt that is always alive and in constant formation and transformation, uniting such diverse patches in a single set. And the more colors he adds, the more exuberant the composition becomes. With that in mind, in 2021, Clube dos Brasileirinhos decided to investigate and celebrate the richness of Brazilian cultural identity to encourage learning Portuguese as a language of heritage and understanding our ancestry.

The learning trajectory through our cultural and linguistic identity was organized along three thematic axes: the Legacy of original peoples, the Legacy of African peoples and the Legacy of modern immigrants. Each of these axes it was worked on during one quarter of the school year.

From its complex configuration in the territory, it promoted a journey through the particularities of each corner of our country. This trip allowed for the investigation of elements of our language as well as art, music, clothing, cuisine, utensils, customs, stories, myths and among many other aspects that go back to our ancestry.

In each cycle, children and adolescents produced an individual work, where they recorded their learning and translated their new knowledge through art on a small piece of cotton. In this way, three patchwork quilts were prepared, one for each thematic axis.

Thus, this installation represents the moment of celebration of diversity, when each patch expresses itself and makes sense in a larger whole that welcomes and overflows with more meanings. The learning of these contents never ends and continues in the contemplation and enjoyment of the collective work on display. And beyond, in the exchange of fortuitous dialogues between runners with family and friends.

Our patchwork quilt celebrates the scale of Brazilian diversity and also contextualizes it by inviting all participants who speak Portuguese as a heritage language to dive into our Brazilianness.

Quilt 1 - Legacy of the original peoples

In the first quilt, the participants of the Clube dos Brasileirinhos embarked on a journey into the world of native peoples. The indigenous presence is immense in our vocabulary, eating habits, customs, stories, objects, religion, music, imagery and even in the way we socialize. In this thematic axis, the children learned that common words such as pineapple, tapioca, passion fruit and porridge are of indigenous origin and are present in our daily eating habits. Perceiving the universe of the original peoples of Brazil is to discover that what seems to be so far from us, in reality it is part of our daily life and greatly influences our way of being.

Thus, we travel a great path of knowledge through the paths of the tradition of storytelling and wisdom passed from generation to generation (food for the human soul) to the eating habits that nourish our body. We delight in the sounds of accented vowels of vultures and tuiuiús, cassava and popcorn airing our ears with the sounds of the forest. The children were able to recognize and contextualize a small brushstroke of part of the great legacy of indigenous peoples in one of its strongest aspects, in language.

Keep an eye out for the many animals, plants, objects and characters from stories present in a background of color and texture patterns such as: jaguars, river dolphins, macaws, palm trees, hollows, baskets and even the legend of the royal victory that appears represented in one of the quilt patchwork. The forest surrounding and protecting the animals and elements of indigenous stories inside the quilt. Can you find the patch with an indigenous person wearing a headdress? Graphics inspired by the art of native peoples also mark some of the works, registering the students' great interest in other forms of communication.

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Quilt 2 - Legacy of African peoples

One of the most intense and challenging cycles was developed in the second stage of this project. The different groups of the Clube dos Brasileirinhos focused on our ancestry linked to the numerous and diverse African peoples who were brought to Brazil under the historical circumstances of slavery. Soon, thousands of people with different religions, languages and customs were forced to work and survive together in different parts of the Brazilian territory. The population brought in on slave ships was many times greater than the population of any other origin that immigrated to the country regardless of their circumstances.

This was an opportunity for students of different ages to investigate the elements of our identity and contextualize the present African influences: in Brazilian cuisine, in dance, in the contagious and harmonious musicality of so many musical rhythms and even to reflect on our appearance so rich in different skin tones. In addition, the recognition of such sonorous words coming from African peoples such as: acarajé, axé, moleque and jinga. It was a historic moment in our school, a fact that provided an open and respectful discussion. In this way, it positively impacted our entire community of parents, teachers and students.

In this quilt you will find a profusion of warm colors from the African universe and the creative use of fabrics inspired by traditional African fabrics. Likewise, you will find pieces in which the children represented the subtleties of skin color mixtures through a work of self-representation and reflection on miscegenation.

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Quilt 3- Legacy of modern immigrants

In the last quilt of the project, we address the influence that the opening of the ports in 1808 had on the composition of such a diverse ancestry in Brazil. From this period onwards, Brazil incorporated more than 15 new nationalities into its territories, a fact that prompted Club participants to investigate what motivated people from so many different nations to emigrate to Brazil.

The search for a more fertile land, better job opportunities, freedom, the tropical heat or even a country free from the threatening presence of conflicts and wars were hundreds that led these people to launch themselves by sea and land to the Brazilian lands.

Consequently, countless families of adventurers, dreamers and survivors or even wanderers and loners arrived in Brazil and took their stories, customs, eating habits, art, music, knowledge and traditions with them. They were incorporated into the local geography and transformed the urban and rural landscapes of the country, from Oiapoque to Chuí. German and Swiss architecture, Arabic and Spanish cuisine and entire tea plantations brought from Macau are examples of elements incorporated into what is said today of Brazilian culture. They are now traditions translated into a new territory, from the most precious Brazilian raw material: people!

Thus, the last quilt represents a selection of the nationalities that have come to compose our complex identity fabric. Look for curved lines inspired by Japanese artist Tomie Ohtake, elements of German Bauernmalerei art and traces of Swiss culture, as well as Arabic words and symbols present on Brazilian soil through Syrian immigrants.

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Embroidery and weaving exhibition in the circle

The weaving and embroidery project carried out with the mothers of the children of the Clube dos Brasileirinhos was inspired by the weavers of the Jequitinhonha Valley. Specifically, weavers from the community of Tocoiós in Francisco Badaró and Quilombo Roça Grande in Berilo, Minas Gerais. Since these women have been weaving since they were children, learning the craft from their mothers and transmitting it from generation to generation. In this way, the weavers preserve a whole community wisdom and tradition of the art of weaving and live together in happy and difficult periods of life. Following the rhythms of the seasons in the Middle Jequitinhonha Valley, they plant during the flood season, when it rains heavily, and weave during the dry season, when rain is scarce and the weavers cannot plant and survive from the fields. Weaving they meet, they bring together joys and sorrows; they help each other by exchanging learning and mutual support. Together they spin, beat the threads, dye, weave, sing verses, dance cirandas and take care of their children, other women and the community. "With her hands in craft and art, the weaver weaves her song into the fabric of life. In her anthropological path, she weaves herself with the colored thread of her tradition, unfolding from herself, her ancestry that pulsates and invites her to be realized in his poetics of hands and soul." (Lemos, 2020, p.219)

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weaving in the circle

Weaving is always a process of learning how to balance opposites, a thread on top, a thread on the bottom and again a thread on top and another thread on the bottom. Thus, the weft of the fabric is formed while involving all the warp threads. Interweaving the threads, we build a cohesive, strong and firm weave - capable of warming us up like blankets and welcoming us like hammocks. The weavers of Roça Grande and Tocoiós weave simple objects to welcome, protect, carry items, warm and decorate homes. Inspired by the weavers of the Jequitinhonha Valley we weave in the wooden backstage circle using natural fibers and with the colors of the Valley; both in the rainy season, when everything is green, and in the dry season, when everything is earthy brown. Green and brown always accompanied by the intense blue of the sky. The mothers of the children in the Club chose their combination of colors from the Jequitinhonha Valley and together we weaved and revived the traditional gestures of the art of weaving on our bodies.

Liliane Benevenuto Lemos and fathers and mothers of Clube dos Brasileirinhos:

Adriana Passos
Anastacia Schwartz
Anati Beddows
Edgar Figueiredo Neto
Franca Matosso
magda garcia
Maria Teresa Gomes
Natalia Furland
Patricia Gutierri
Patricia Rocha

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Embroidering childhood memories in Brazil

In this project of initial embroidery stitches, the mothers were invited to remember their childhoods and create a personal embroidery, capturing that unique moment in the fabric. They received a scrap of colored fabric and together we started a journey through their memories. Then they chose and drew a memory of their memory that kept the happiest moment of their childhood and together we chose the dots to bring that memory to life.

Each one, in her own way, chose the colors of her threads and made the decision to learn to embroider. The hand, in its infancy of awakening new gestures between needle and cloth, led us in this ballet through our memories in our far away homeland. Many conversations, exchanges, advice, stories, stories, listening - meetings filled with coffee and cake and a little prose.

Thus, memories welled up and tied the threads of our friendship and learning together. And following the teachings of the weavers of Jequitinhonha: we live and strengthen together, in these possible encounters, trusting and entrusting our tradition.

In the exhibition you will be able to see the embroideries that were born from these meetings and travel to Brazil through these happy childhood memories. The rainbow of intense colors, always coloring the sky in the common encounter between rain and sun in the tropics. The little church at the top of the hill on a feast day. The girl's refuge in the many stories in the books. Refuge and base settling future dreams. The darling tree provides shade, protection and fresh avocados for the little girl. Street games, hopscotch and soap bubbles expressing all the freedom of free play in the interior of Brazil. Diving in the sea is cozy between the golden sand and the blessing of Christ the Redeemer. And finally, the spectacle of fireworks at the end of the year seen by the sea, there in the distance shining and announcing the New Year.

_cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_Liliane Benevenuto Lemos and fathers and mothers from Clube dos Brasileirinhos:

Anastacia Schwartz
Anati Beddows
Edgar Figueiredo Neto
Franca Matosso
magda garcia
Maria Teresa Gomes
Natalia Furland
Patricia Gutierri
Patricia Rocha

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circular fabric of stories

Telling stories through fabrics is an ancient tradition that accompanies humanity to the present day. This ancient tradition predates the use of paper and, even today, attracts people to embroider and weave; flowering the fabrics of the human imagination. In Brazil, the Huni Kuin (Kaxinawá) indigenous people produce fabrics with designs called kenes. Kenes are various motifs printed on different fabrics and used on different occasions. These motifs tell stories, recall events that happened in the past, protect spiritually, communicate personal status and are transmitted from generation to generation in their culture.

The weaver Natalina do Quilombo, from Roça Grande, told me that the designs she creates in her weaving are also the inheritance of her Afro-descendant and indigenous ancestors. She weaves the paths that her enslaved ancestors used to carry heavy logs on steep and slippery terrain, as they were close to rivers. They walked in zigzag so as not to fall. Thus, she employs the zigzag motif beautifully in her fabrics conveying the wisdom of her ancestry.

Inspired by this ancestry of telling stories through fabric, the 7 to 9 year olds from the Clube de Brasileirinhos and I made a circular fabric of stories. For that, we listened carefully to the myth: "The serpents that stole the night" written by Daniel Munduruku. Then we made snakes with triangle and diamond stamps. Snakes guard the night and the natives suffer from their absence, as they cannot rest. Thus, the moon was represented by transparent bags with various textile delicacies such as buttons, threads and scraps (small treasure of weavers). The children also made several weaving circles, which together represent the sun. I invite you all to discover this enchanting fabric of stories and then discover this fascinating indigenous myth.

Liliane Benevenuto Lemos

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My mini biography

My name is Liliane Benevenuto Lemos, I have a degree in Social Sciences from Unesp in Araraquara and a Master's degree in Education and Culture from Universidade São Paulo. My master's research resulted in the dissertation: Spinning the song: wisdom and symbolic imagination in the weaving of the weaver. Faculty of Education at USP. São Paulo, 2020.

This research embarked on the plots of understanding the body wisdom and perceptive symbolic imagination existing in the phenomenon of weaving that has accompanied humanity since ancient times. In the quest to understand the images of the universe of weaving in its relationship with knowledge, the feminine and tradition. Thus, a trip was undertaken to the Middle Jequitinhonha Valley in Minas Gerais to follow the traditional weaving process carried out by weavers at Quilombo Roça Grande in Berilo and in the community of Tocoiós in Francisco Badaró.

I have always been in love with Brazilian culture: its musicality, cuisine, games, handicrafts, diversity, literature, celebrations, gestures and traditions. That's why I combined anthropology with education in my master's degree, tying these interests together.

In the course of my trajectory, my studies, research and work as an educator converged in the search for a sensitive education and ancestry. Therefore, an education that integrates sensitive reason and awakens the different bodily senses and the search for self-realization. Always having our ancestry as a horizon. To this end, I dedicate special attention to research that relates corporeity, learning path and the traditional art of weaving. I am part of the interdisciplinary research group PULA https://www.pulaeefeusp.com.br/and from the FEUSP Art Education Laboratory:https://www.labarte.fe.usp.br/teaching embroidery courses. Also, I am an artisan, I weave, embroider, sew, intertwine, play and imagine with fabrics and natural fibers. In addition, I play the snare drum together with the Caixeiras das Nascentes in devotion to the Divine and at popular festivals.