Instituto 12 Launches Free Cultural Circuit in Rio's Leblon

Instituto 12 launched its free cultural circuit, Conexões Criativas, on Saturday, November 14, in Leblon, in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone. The program combines art exhibitions, talks, concerts and dance performances, all examining the links between art, the environment, society and the city. Tickets are available through the Sympla platform at no cost.

The programming runs in four thematic cycles: Reconexão, Respiração, Reinvenção and Reconstrução. João Vergara, who holds a doctorate in Art and Contemporary Culture from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), curated the project and oriented it toward sustainability and a forward-looking vision.

Who opens the first cycle?

The first cycle, running this weekend and on November 20, 21 and 22, marks Black Consciousness Month in Brazil. Its opening features an exhibition by visual artist Panmela Castro, whose works address ancestry, autonomy and the recovery of the feminine. Castro, recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, uses paintings and mirror art to discuss the experience of Black women.

The schedule also includes debates on female entrepreneurship on November 21. That same day, the performance Vozes de Nós brings together Aline Valentim and the Maracatu Baque Mulher ensemble.

How does the program close?

On Sunday, November 22, singer and multi-instrumentalist Toni Garrido leads a conversation about career sustainability and cultural entrepreneurship. Garrido closes the program with a concert at 6 p.m.

The project received backing from Brazil's Ministry of Culture and Instituto 12 through the Rouanet Law, the country's federal cultural incentive mechanism. Its stated aim is to establish the institute as a recurring cultural hub in the Leblon area. Instituto 12, founded in 2023, has typically served as a meeting point for executives, investors and creative professionals.

What does this change for Rio's cultural calendar?

The initiative signals a shift for a venue known mainly as a business networking space toward a public-facing cultural role, backed by federal funding through the Rouanet Law. If the four cycles deliver audiences across their run, Instituto 12 positions itself as a fixed stop on the South Zone's cultural circuit, with Vergara's curatorial framing tying each cycle to questions of sustainability and urban life. The November 20-22 programming, centered on Black Consciousness Month, offers an early test of that ambition.