Objectives

The “Escola de Belas Artes” (School of Fine Arts) of UFBA, the second of Brazil, was founded in 1877 by Miguel Navarro y Cañizares, with support from then President of province, Henrique Pereira de Lucena (Barão de Lucena). Until 1891, it was called the Academy of Fine Arts and was maintained, above all, thanks to donations from teachers and students, and the donation made by Baiano engineer Francisco de Azevedo Caminhoá was essential, which allowed the establishment of a travel award to Europe. The Academy of Fine Arts began to be called the School of Fine Arts due to the reform of secondary and higher education performed by Benjamin Constant. Among the masters of the School of Fine arts of this period, we highlight Manoel Lopes Rodrigues, João Francisco Lopes Rodrigues, Manuel Querino, José Nivaldo Allioni, Braz Hermenegildo do Amaral, Archimedes José da Silva, Cyrilo Marques, Agripiniano de Barros and Oséas dos Santos. Throughout the XX century, the faculty also counted on the valorous participation of foreign artists and intellectuals, such as the Italian sculptor Pascoale de Chirico, author of numerous monuments in public squares in Salvador, such as Castro Alves and Barão do Rio White With the painter and musician Adam Firnekaes, in 1959, and with the coming of Karl Heins Hansen, in 1963, for teaching the woodcut technique. From 1946 onwards, the school was incorporated into the UFBA, and was federalized three years later. Since its founding, the School of Fine Arts has had an expressive participation in the cultural and artistic life of the city of Salvador and the state of Bahia.

The first space of the Academy was the atelier of its founder, Cañizares, in Palace Square, corner of the mercy with the “Ladeira da Praça”. In the same year of its founding, the academy was transferred to the former solar Jonathas Abott, located on the 28th of September, ceded by the State government. On March 14, 1949, the Governor Octavian Mangabeira donated, definitively, the building to the school of Fine Arts. In possession of its own headquarters, the School of Fine Arts was incorporated into the University of Bahia, thanks to the commitment of Rector Edgard Santos. The 28th September Street was one of the most traditional and expressive of Salvador, a relic of Baroque colonial art, adjacent to the church and convent of San Francisco. It had a vibrant and meaningful life, natural access to the Terreiro de Jesus, Sé Square, the square slope, Mercy, Rua Chile, Rua do Gravatá and Baixa dos cobbers. The degradation of the area, however, led the school of Fine Arts to move to the neighborhood of Canela, where the school of Geology worked, near the rectory and the schools of theater, music and dance. It was also alleged that with this change it would be inevitable the integration of the school with the other art schools and, in 1967, the School of Fine Arts was already with its theoretical classes working in the new building, number 15 of Avenida Araújo Pinho, where today is Located at Galeria Cañizares.  During a brief period in which the School of Fine Arts worked on the premises of the Museum of Sacred Art, which also belongs to the UFBA, installing itself at its definitive address, at Avenida Araújo Pinho, Number 19, in 1970. The headquarters building of the School of Fine Arts, a house of XIX century, the house occupied by the Canizares Gallery and the surrounding areas of these two buildings were listed by the Institute of Artistic and Cultural heritage of Bahia in 2004. Today, the institution is one of the main centers for the teaching and Research of visual arts in the country and offers four undergraduate courses: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, Design and interior Design.

The formulation of a proposal for establishment of a graduate course at “Escola de Belas Artes” of UFBA was initiated in 1986 by doctors Maria Helena Ochi Flexor and Roberval José Marinho, however, ended up being suspended.  Subsequently, in 1990, in management of Juarez Paraíso, the growing demand for graduate courses in Visual arts promoted the resumption of the proposal and its reformulation, as well as the adaptation of the initial project to complementary standards for Master's courses and PhD of the Coordination Council and Chamber of teaching of graduation and research of UFBA.

On October 30, 1991, the project of the Master's degree in arts was approved in plenary session of the Chamber of teaching and graduation and research of UFBA. The course consisted of two areas of concentration,  "theory and History of Art" and "Plastic arts " and the expected duration was three years. The collegiate of the course was coordinated consecutively by Professors Roberval Marinho and Robério Marcelo. In 1992, the first class was selected and three selective processes were performed. In 1998 the course was terminated because, although approved under the UFBA, it had not yet been recognized by CAPES.

In 1998, at initiative of Professor Maria Celeste de Almeida Wanner, another project was structured to implement a new Master's degree in arts based on the experience of the previous course and correcting their misconceptions. The new course was called Master in Visual Arts (academic master) with an area of concentration: visual languages tradition and contemporaneity and two lines of research: 1) creative processes in visual arts and 2) theoretical studies of visual arts in Northeast. With the new format, the academic Master's course in visual arts was accredited by CAPES, obtaining a score of 3 in April 1999.

Since then, the master degree in Visual arts of the “Escola de Belas Artes” of UFBA has become a course recommended by Scientific Technical Council (CTC) of the coordination of higher level improvement (CAPES), through a document of REF. CAA/CTC/35, dated 09.04.1999, being automatically recognized in the form of the Ordinance of the Ministry of Education and Culture No. 132 of 02.02.1999, published in the Official Journal of the 03.02.1999 Union, page 10.

As the first Master's degree in Visual arts in the Northeast region, PPGAV UFBA attracted, since its foundation, researchers from the state itself, from other states of Brazil, as well as foreign students, becoming a relevant center for research in Arts in the region Northeast, having formed many researchers who have been working in institutions of higher education in several Brazilian states, as well as in other institutions dedicated to the promotion of art, such as museums, secretariats of culture, cultural foundations, among Other.

It can be affirmed that the PPGAV is a reference in the research in arts of great projection in the city of Salvador, in the state of Bahia and also in the national scenario, if we remember that many of our graduates have already attended international Bienais, as the The international Biennial of São Paulo, a national coverage, such as the project Rumos/Itaú Cultural, Edals of FUNARTE, participated in national and international artistic residences, among other activities that affirm the prominence of the PPGAV in Training of artists and researchers that has been designed in events of national and international relevance.

From 2004 the collegiate of the PPG-AV designated a committee to restructure the master course resulting in the separation in two areas of concentration: History and Theory of art and creative processes in visual arts, and each area included a single line: History and theory of art and creative processes in visual arts, respectively. And, in 2007, the PPGAV UFBA was evaluated by CAPES with the concept 4.

The pioneering of PPGAV UFBA in the northeast region can be attested by the collaboration with the federal Universities of Paraíba and Pernambuco in the consolidation of the Associate program of graduation in visual arts, UFPB/UFPE, approved by Capes in November 2009, with The participation of three PhD professors of the PPGAV UFBA in the condition of collaborating professors. The associate program had its first class in 2010. The participation of professors and professors is integralized in artistic and scientific activities, developed by its members. At the national level, the prominence of PPGAV UFBA can be attested by the success of the project Assembly, development and implementation of the interinstitutional master MINTER, with the School of Music and Fine Arts of Paraná (EMBAP), approved by Capes in June 2009 and Completed in December 2011.

In 2009, the concentration area was created in Design. It is necessary to point out that, unlike what occurs in other Brazilian universities, in the UFBA the graduation course in design is offered by “Escola de Belas Artes” and, to this extent, the demand for the creation of a graduate in design emerged in the interior of our own unity, because there was a great expectation on the part of the graduates in design by the School of Fine Arts of UFBA, as well as on the part of the professors linked to this course in the area of graduation, that the continuity of design formation could occur in the PPGAV. 

In 2012, the program underwent a redesign, resulting from an analysis of the configuration of the concentration area and research lines of the program, which promoted a restructuring based on the production and alignment of the researches developed by the professors and Students. In this sense, the PPGAV-UFBA starts to have an area of concentration: visual arts: History theory and processes and three lines of research: History and theory of art; Artistic creation and art and Design processes: history, Theory and processes. The research focuses on the artistic production developed in the Brazilian regions, associated with the analyses in other countries. Thus, the researches developed in the PPGAV-UFBA corroborate the understanding of the processes of current artistic creation and those produced in other times and places, favoring the understanding of the material and immaterial culture existing in our society.

This reformulation was made in order to elaborate the proposal of the doctoral course, which entered into operation in 2013, as a consequence of the maturity and advancement of the graduate program. The demand for doctorate in the area of visual arts was undeniable, represented by about 105 graduates of the master's degree from EBA/UFBA and from interested parties from other regions of the country, especially from the north and northeast, where there are no doctoral courses in the area. This proposal was supported by the Federal University of Bahia, which considers it important to implement the course in the context of the development plan of this university, since the four Schools of arts (music, theatre, dance and Fine Arts) the last two Were the only ones who had not yet had a doctorate. UFBA has expressed its support, especially from the point of view of infrastructure, with the construction of a specific building for the operation of the EBA graduation. In addition to this support, the PPGAV was contemed with 209,914.17 reais of the infrastructure Edital (master and doctorate) of the Foundation for research assistance of the state of Bahia-FAPESB, which ensured the acquisition of all furniture and various equipments, which ensured material conditions for implementation of doctorate.

With the approval of the doctoral course in visual arts, the PPGAV-UFBA will continue the development and growth of its bibliographic, artistic and technical production, seeking to strengthen the research in the state of Bahia and can expand its actions With other research programs in Brazil, as well as to intensify the internationalization of the program. The creation of the new course will contribute to the expansion of research developed in the north and Northeast regions, strengthening the deeper studies on their current artistic productions and historical contributions to the formation of the legacy of material culture Brazilian.

In 2013 the program moved to its new headquarters, a project developed by Professors Maria Hermínia Olivera Hernández and Luiz Alberto Ribeiro Freire. For the first time the program began to occupy a space specially designed to meet your specific needs. The new headquarters, located next to the traditional house where the program worked previously with other sectors of the School of Fine Arts, has all the dependencies and equipment required for its operation, such as meeting rooms, rooms for groups of research, rooms for orientation, among other spaces.

It should be punctuate the existence of a significant demand of researchers interested in developing their doctoral studies in Bahia, both graduates of the Masters Course in Visual arts of PPGAV-UFBA, as masters from different regions of the country, but above all, from the north and northeast. Much of the graduates of PPGAV UFBA Act as professors of state, federal and private institutions. From the aforementioned demand, foreign researchers also participate, who perceive the PPGAV-UFBA as a possibility of qualification in the area of research in arts and also contributing to the growth of area in Brazil.

The PPGAV EBA/UFBA has developed important researches for contemporary artistic creation and the history of Brazilian art notably in the north and northeast region. This production of students has materialized in forms of texts, articles, artistic exhibitions, thematic exhibitions and publications of all nature especially scientific and cultural. The new visual poetics developed by the students has had an effective impact on the Brazilian and Bahia Society, which can be perceived through awards, selections through notices, international residencies and participations in salons, biennial and Large-scale exhibitions.

In line of history and theory of art the students of the Masters in Visual arts of the EBA/UFBA have developed researches on the most relevant themes of the art of Brazilian art filling, with their dissertations and articles derived from them, important gaps of Local, regional and national art history.

Similarly, the production of the faculty has been highlighted nationally and internationally with presentations of works in scientific events and effective participations in associations and scientific committees, integrating their directorships and participating Regularly with communications, meetings and colloquia. This production reflects the diversity of the faculty education in both the artistic specificities and the centers in which they obtained their doctoral titles.

In the line of history and theory of art The professors of the program develop researches especially in area of Catholic sacred art, Brazilian art from the 17TH to the NINETEENTH century, modern art and contemporary art. In the line of creative processes in visual arts, the professors have researched themes that give account of the current artistic problem and created poetic conceptually and discussed in its complexity.

In addition to the increase in demand for the course, the faculty has also grown. This shows the condition of the program, which has expanded in all senses, and there is a total shortage of doctoral courses in the area, in the north and northeast regions. It is also worth noting the existence of few PhD students in visual arts in Brazil. Therefore the need to implement other courses to meet the increasing demands in the qualification of specific professionals.

There is a great demand from professionals trained in areas of visual arts and culture due, on one hand, to expansion of teaching in this area and, on the other, to number already formed by the school itself through its undergraduate and graduate courses. In this sense, the amount of federal, state, private universities, the expansion of vacancies in federal universities promoted by the REUNI, museums, public and private cultural institutions demand the existence of professionals who can meet Efficiently to your specific needs. It is predictable

 The regional impact that the existence of the doctoral course will cause, considering the performance of the students of the Masters Course in Visual arts of the EBA/UFBA, which currently occupy important positions in museums, foundations and associations, such as: Cultural Foundation of State of Bahia, Fundação Cipó, Cultural Center Dannemann, National Association of Researchers in Arts (ANPAP), Brazilian Committee of Art History (CBHA). And an expressive number in the condition of effective and substitute professors in the EBA/UFBA itself and in other federal universities such as the Recôncavo of Bahia and Paraíba.

In addition to the scientific impact, the PPGAV maintains a series of academic activities relevant to the artistic and cultural life of the city of Salvador and the state of Bahia, for example, the Franco-Brazilian international Colloquium of Aesthetics, Image and body Performative, carried out by PPGAV EBA-UFBA, University Paris 8, International Group Retina, Recherches Esthétiques & théoregtiques Sur les images Nouvelles & Anciennes, event coordinated by PhD professors Ricardo Barreto Biriba (PPGAV-UFBA), Alberto Freire de Carvalho Olivieri (PPGAV-UFBA), François Soulages (Paris 8), with the partnership of the University of the state of Bahia UNEB, which happens regularly for ten years. We also maintain, as a continuous activity, the visual arts lecture cycle of the PPGAV-UFBA, from which visual artists, PhD professors and teachers participated, from national and international institutions. In the artistic area the program carries out, since 2009, under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Ricardo Biriba The Performance show, a very significant event in the local cultural scene and that has designed several contemporary artists.

Within the UFBA, the program maintains effective relations and continues with other programs of the HEI itself, such as: Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities, School of Theater, School of Music, School of Dance and Faculty of Communication, through participation in selection stalls, tender, conclusion of course, as well as collective art projects, conducting lectures, seminars, exhibitions and artistic presentations involving professors and students of the programs and Joint organization of events. As an example of joint project between programs, we highlight the project developed between the Graduate program in Visual arts and the graduate program in Performing Arts of UFBA, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Paulo Fernando de Almeida Souza, from PPGAV, Titled  "prototype laboratory and Digital modelling.

In the interinstitutional framework, PPGAV develops projects with other federal universities of the State, obtaining resources for research, production and dissemination of knowledge, such as the project of the Digital Dictionary dictionary Manuel Querino de Visual Arts in Bahia, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Luiz Alberto Ribeiro Freire, elaborated jointly with researchers from PPGAV (Profa. Dr. Maria Hermínia Olivera Hernández and Prof. Dr. Eugênio de Ávila Lins) and the Federal University of Recôncavo (UFRB), Dílson Rodrigues Midlej and Camila Santiago, funded by FAPESB and launched in April 2014.  

It is worth noting that the integration of PPGAV with graduation that is effected through research projects, students with PIBIC scholarships and the routine activities of teaching and extension involving undergraduate students, and especially because all professors of the PPGAV Also teach in undergraduate courses. Also through extension courses promoted with the presence of professors from other states and abroad, as well as through lectures and conferences whose audience is always composed of undergraduate students, graduate students and others interested in applying for our Master's degree.

The guided teaching internship, a mandatory activity for the master's students, is also a very significant integration experience, since this activity enables all parties (master, advisor, faculty and undergraduate students) a Transit of ideas and new artistic concepts that stimulates the development of the pedagogical activity of the Masters and provides relevant contributions to the researches thereof.

The current objective of the PPGAV UFBA is to go beyond the position already achieved by the program, maintaining its prominence in the region, through the continuous improvement of the disciplines, structure, covenants and curricular activities that we can offer to Our students, by the judicious enlargement of the faculty choir and by the increase in intellectual production, especially of bibliographic nature.

 

 

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