INSTITUTE

The B2B Institute aims to preserve African values and legacies in their global dimension, fostering connections among the various communities with African heritage in Brazil and around the world. Founded in 2000, the B2B Institute was created with the mission of preserving, researching and promoting Africa’s artistic, historical and cultural heritage. It also seeks to bring the public closer to the tangible and intangible assets of African culture and its legacy, encouraging reflection on art, culture and education through transdisciplinary programs and by supporting artistic production. Due to institutional challenges and structural setbacks, the B2B Institute remained inactive for many years. As of 2021, in response to institutional regressions that exposed deep social inequalities, the Institute reemerged, reaffirming its committed role in developing a diverse, inclusive and democratic program. Through a range of public initiatives, it seeks to engage with multiple fields of knowledge. Each year, the Institute plans meetings with artists and curators, open courses, support for workshops and artistic residencies, among other activities focused on African culture and on themes related to modern and contemporary art. In addition to the visual arts, it embraces other artistic expressions — including cinema, music, architecture, theater, literature and gastronomy — as well as a wide range of interdisciplinary fields.

VISION

To become a center of excellence in sociocultural studies and practices grounded in African memory and heritage, promoting exchange and synergy with governmental bodies and cultural institutions in Brazil and abroad.

PURPOSE

To preserve heritage, promote research, and disseminate African legacy, while encouraging engagement among diverse and mixed-heritage audiences with art, culture, and education through transdisciplinary programs that dialogue with multiple cultural expressions and a wide range of fields of knowledge originating from Africa.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

To safeguard heritage, foster research, and promote the dissemination of African legacy, while stimulating interaction among diverse and mixed-heritage audiences with culture, art, and education through transdisciplinary programs that engage with diverse cultural manifestations and multiple fields of knowledge rooted in Africa.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

To serve as a center of excellence in sociocultural studies and practices grounded in African memory and heritage, promoting exchange and synergy with governmental bodies and cultural institutions in Brazil and abroad;

To encourage artistic production through public calls for proposals for artistic workshops conceived and led by refugee artists;

To reaffirm that Black women deserve respect, through the development and implementation of programs focused on awareness, restoration, and empowerment, addressing and challenging the normalization of violence in domestic and workplace environments;

To foster sociocultural projects proposed by quilombola communities located in peripheral areas of the city;

To promote exchange programs and artistic residencies for young Brazilian and African artists;

To stimulate debate around issues that safeguard African values and legacies in their global dimension.