There is an art to making Brigadiers, chocolate bonbons often served at birthday parties in Brazil. (Recipe below.) Heat is key. Warm it enough to bring the stovetop condensed milk-and-chocolate concoction to a proper consistency—thick enough that as the sugary treat cools, it thickens and becomes chewy, but not so hot that its temperamental ingredients scorch.
My own experiment in Brigadiers-making in my small (and, soon enough, cocoa powder-covered) kitchen was just one of many paths that we at the Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St., have taken in better understanding Brazil as part of Via Brasil, our exploration of the country’s cultural landscape. This initiative, supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, began unfolding across all of the center’s program areas last year and will culminate early next year.
The timing couldn’t be better: With Brazil playing host to both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, the country is increasingly in the world’s spotlight. Locally, The Ohio State University is among those paying special attention to this Latin American country: As a part of its ongoing Global Gateways strategy, next year OSU will open a Gateway in São Paulo.
But all that aside, it is Brazil’s vibrant (and historically underlooked) contemporary arts culture that is particularly driving our interest. Our curators’ research has included multiple trips to Brazil, where they have met with artists, traveled to places such the National Library of Rio, and attended events such as the São Paulo Film Festival (see documentation of their travels by checking out #WexViaBrasil on Instagram). The end result of efforts from throughout our institution includes the following:
- February 1–April 20, our galleries (and then some) will be filled with artwork by 35 Brazilian artists, many of whom have never been widely exhibited in the US, as we present the exhibition Cruzamentos: Contemporary Art in Brazil. (Earlier, through the entire month of January, you can see a short work by one of the participating artists, Lucia Koch, in The Box, our free space for video.)
- From late January through April, the Wex will screen Cruzamentos: Contemporary American Documentary. This series, which focuses primarily on films made since the end of the country’s military dictatorship in 1984, is the largest survey of Brazilian documentaries ever presented in North America.
- Performing arts programming includes the U.S. premiere of Companhia Urbana de Dança’s Eu danço—8 solos no geral, NYC-based guitarist and composer Gary Lucas performing a live score to a Brazilian cult horror classic, a concert by master percussionist Cyro Baptist’s Banquet of the Spirits, and a performance by Brazilian hip hop star Criolo, here on his first U.S. tour.
- Education and public programs include a major symposium featuring artists from the Cruzamentos exhibition, scholars, and others; cross-cultural dialog with Brazilian residency artists; school programs; and a history of art graduate seminar.
- Finally, in the fall, we will be publishing an anthology that, presents for the first time in English a selection of essays by Paulo Emílio Sales Gomes, considered Brazil’s first and foremost cinephile.
Find more about what’s planned at wexarts.org, and stay tuned—we’ll soon be unveiling a website dedicated to all things Brazil, with even more detail on our programming and the many people—visual artists, filmmakers, curators, translators, editors, and others—who have worked to make Via Brasil possible. In the meantime, I leave you with something sweet:
Brigadiers No. 1
2 cans condensed milk
4 tablespoons grated unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate sprinkles or cocoa
Heat condensed milk, chocolate, butter, and milk and cook over low heat until mixture falls away from sides of pan (238°–245°F), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, beat in the vanilla, and turn onto a buttered platter to cool. Shape into small balls, roll in or top with chocolate sprinkles or cocoa, and place in paper bonbon cups. Yields about 40.
Source: Brazilian Cookery: Traditional and Modern by Margarette de Andrade (Rio de Janeiro: A Casa do Livro Eldorado, 1975).
GCAC Presents is a bi-weekly column brought to you by the Greater Columbus Arts Council – supporting art and advancing culture in Columbus – in partnership with the Columbus Arts Marketing Association, a professional development and networking association of arts marketers. Each column will be written by a different local arts organization to give you an insiders look at the arts in Columbus.
