As part of Horniman Museum‘s Festival of Brasil, a miniature model favela has been installed in the museum’s gardens for two months.
The favela (a Brazilian shanty town) was created by Project Morrinho, it’s built out of bricks and is inspired by the landscape and architecture of the favelas in the city of Rio. Project Mourinho is a social and cultural project from the Laranjeiras neighbourhood of Rio, where young people build intricate models of the favelas they grew up in.
Rio’s Favelas
In many ways, the favela is the heartbeat of Brazil’s cities. All Brazilian cities have favelas, but the ones in Rio are the most visible. They sprang up as a response to the chaotic expansion of the city.
Property prices exploded around 1900s, making it impossible for a poor family to buy or rent a house, so families began to build illegally on Rio’s steep hillsides.
Many people who live in favela’s are impoverished, often a large family will live in one or two rooms with one bed for the adults and the children sleeping on the floor.
Festival of Brasil at the Horniman is taking place until 4 September.
