National award boosts District C in the Capital

One of the forerunners of initiatives and mobilization of the creative economy ecosystem in Rio Grande do Sul achieved a feat. It won the main national award for creative territories, the Brasil Criativo Prize. Enthusiastic with the conquest, members of Distrito C project a new phase, more adhesions and cherish a dream: to be part of the Porto Alegre City Hall project for the Fourth District, an area of ​​the old industrial center of Porto Alegre, in the North zone, which receives incentives and attracts billionaire real estate investments. “The city hall has a project for the Fourth District. We even talk to the municipality’s technician and make suggestions. But, unfortunately, the Creative District is not part of the project, which does not recognize the existence of the best Creative District in Brazil”, he laments. the founder of the initiative, businessman Jorge Piqué. The action has existed for a decade and brings together 95 artists and entrepreneurs. Piqué recalls that this is the first time that the award recognizes creative territories. The founder mentions that national recognition gives new impetus to the initiative, which went through the difficulties of the pandemic. In addition, some real estate entrepreneurs who arrive in the region and connect with Creative Economy projects are looking for Distrito C for conversations and more interaction. Now all that remains is for the city hall to recognize the potential of the initiative that first bet on the region.

Minuto Varejo (MV) – What does the national award mean to you?

Jorge Piqué – The Creative District is a project that is already 10 years old, and we have worked a lot during this period. The award is a recognition of this trajectory and still has an official character in Brazil, as it began in 2014, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and with a sectorial scope, contemplating architecture, music, gastronomy, etc. The only thing missing was the Creative Territories category, which we are part of. This year was the first time that the organizers instituted our category, but it was not by registration, but by indication of the State Secretary of Culture. The folder sent three or four names across Rio Grande do Sul, one of them ours, and we were among the three finalists along with a project from Rio de Janeiro and another from Recife. And we took first place!

MV – How was the beginning of the project in Porto Alegre?

Piqué – They are two different things. Creative Economy was somewhat unknown at the beginning, but the Territories of Creative Economy were much more so, the notion of which emerges in the late 1990s and develops around the world from the 2000s onwards. very different thing. Creative Economy is an economic sector, with a project that we started in 2013, but with a view to the impact on territories, especially those with difficulties, such as old neighborhoods or industrial zones that were abandoned with deindustrialization, as in the case of the Fourth District. Therefore, seeing it as a Creative Territory is more innovative than just the Creative Economy. The idea of ​​working in the territory is a way of harnessing the creativity of the Creative Economy to have a beneficial impact on a territory and create synergy.

MV – Has the profile of the members of the territory changed in this time?

Piqué – There is already a quality Creative Economy in some parts of the Fourth District, but in the beginning it was concentrated in the Floresta neighborhood. But I said, at the beginning, that it was a project of the Fourth District, of a region that includes a part of Floresta, Independência and Moinhos de Vento. At the beginning, in phase 1, from 2013 to 2015, District C involved the Floresta neighborhood, between Cristóvão Colombo and Farrapos avenues, where art galleries, antique shops, design offices, architecture, art schools, music, theater , small restaurants, bars and coffee shops. There I saw something that even they weren’t seeing inside (laughs). For me, the criteria for defining coverage should be quality and density. Then came the São Geraldo neighborhood, where microbreweries emerged in 2016, such as Distrito Brewpub. The neighborhood showed that it has a greater dynamism. The project has not changed its philosophy, but has been expanded. But it is essential to be together. You can’t think: “Ah, there are some nice guys over there in Cidade Baixa, so let’s join the neighborhood to the Creative District”. It doesn’t work that way: proximity and continuity of space are essential. District C expanded, but it didn’t grow too much, because it’s not good to do something too big that you can’t work properly afterwards.

MV – What are District C’s plans?

Piqué – The award cheered people up. The last three years have been very difficult due to the pandemic. The sectors that suffered the most in the health crisis were, first, tourism and, later, the Creative Economy. We were walking around Distrito C, in 2020, and everything was closed. People are very keen to do things and there are a lot of new people to join. But being in Floresta or São Geraldo does not automatically mean being in District C. The business or entrepreneur needs an invitation or introduces himself to meet and talk. We expect an increase in the number of participants, because this is what validates the action. The idea is to do more joint projects, as the idea of ​​Distrito C is coalition, alliance and not mapping. The initiative is a tool for us to work collectively.

MV – Is there any interaction between projects like yours and large undertakings that are being installed in the region?

Piqué – There is and there isn’t, because it depends on the project. We are in the region, but we do not own it. There are a lot of other things going on with your visions. The City Hall has a Fourth District project. We even talk to the Municipality technician and give suggestions, but unfortunately, District C is not part of the project. The project does not recognize the existence of the best Creative District in Brazil, precisely in the Fourth District. The most recent development is the 4D Complex, on the corner of Rua Almirante Tamandaré and Rua Voluntários da Pátria, which is within the territory of Distrito C. One nice thing is that ABF recognizes us as part of it. Their project has a lot of architectural quality, in addition to preserving the historical heritage, which is the old glass factory. There will also be a boulevard, which is a public space, which adds quality to the territory. Recently, the Kobra mural was inaugurated, and the ABF invited us to lunch with the artist. It was the day after winning the award. The project developers at the former Moinho Germani also called us to talk. But there are developments that don’t care, that have a rather limited vision, which, unfortunately, in Porto Alegre is still the majority. There is a lot of talk about verticalization (of buildings), but on the side there has to be good things too.