Belmonte is a charming small town right at the edge of one of Brazil's biggest estuaries, the Jequitinhonha River. Located an hour and a half north of Porto Seguro, it's a place where you can relax looking at the river or walking on a very empty beach that runs for more than 30 miles.
While photographing Ser Manguezal, I stayed in a rental unit on this very quiet street in Belmonte in the state of Bahia. On my first day walking to the Jequitinhonha River, I passed in front of this blue and white house with this early 1900s facade. Despite so many houses in this town having a colonial look, this one caught my attention since it was abandoned. Every day I passed in front of this house and started thinking of what would be possible to do for the community/environment if I could get access to that space.
I went back to NY right after shooting the first part of the project, but it was early 2020 and what I didn't know was that the rest of the plan got held up indefinitely. At the end of 2020 when everything was uncertain, I had this idea for a space to be used as a residency for artists/scientists, a place where people would get together to study, create and teach social-environmental subjects.
The first step was made: the beautiful blue and white abandoned house was acquired and it has a temporary name: Casa da Cultura e Ciência de Belmonte (House of Culture and Science of Belmonte). I've done all that I could to start this dream, and for the next steps, I would need support: $20K to fix the floors, windows, ceiling/roof, electrical and plumbing.
This house is now part of the project Ser Manguezal and all its elements and achievements will compose its story.
FRONT
KITCHEN/DINING
