Page 96 - Libro 2

FIAP EXHIBITION CENTRES FIAP EXHIBITION CENTRES

The New FIAP Exhibition Centre
Renata Xavier, Director of the FIAP Exhibition Centre,
Centro Carioca de Fotografia in Rio de Janiero, and Housed in a heritage-listed townhouse at the Arco do Teles, neighboring the former residence of
Luciana Leite, Manager of Hahnemühle for Southern singer and actress Carmen Miranda, the Rio Photography Center has already welcomed approximately
Europe & Latin America. Hahnemühle is a partner and
sponsor of Centro Carioca de Fotografia, providing 80,000 visitors in its first year and is part of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall’s Reviver Cultural program. As
excellent papers for the exhibitions held in the Exhibition a FIAP Exhibition Centre, our mission is to strengthen the cultural exchange between Brazil and the
Centre. Luciana made the trip from Germany to be more than 90 countries that comprise FIAP.
at the opening of the Exhibition Centre
This project served as a fundamental bridge to the 37th FIAP Congress, that was held in Rio de
Janeiro from the 1st - 8th August 2026. The organization of this major global event relied on the
A Territory of Indigenous, African, essential work of the Brazilian Confederation of Photography (CONFOTO), under the leadership of its
and European Memory president, Carlos Gandara, whose dedication has been vital in consolidating the presence of Brazilian
photography on the international stage.
Praça XV is an open-air museum.
Archaeological remains confirm that, long before
the arrival of the French and Portuguese, the site
housed a Tupinambá settlement at what was then
Piaçaba Beach. This territory, which witnessed the
landing of the Portuguese Royal Family in 1808
Exhibition Centres the profound memory of the enslaved Africans Exhibition Centres
and travellers from around the globe, also carries

who disembarked there until 1770, definitively
shaping the culture and identity of Rio and Brazil.
This setting served as the capital and the political, economic, and religious epicenter of the
country for 300 years. As the only place in the world where a European court reigned outside its
own continent, it was here that Brazil’s independence was planned, and where coronations, royal
weddings, the abolition of slavery, and other pivotal events in our history took place. Its colonial
streets and richly ornamented churches remain a focal point for meetings, memory, and culture,
housing museums, cultural centers, and the world’s largest street Carnival, which draws millions of
revelers annually.

It was at this very Praça XV that the first
daguerreotype arrived on January 8, 1840,
brought by the French abbot Louis Comte, who
captured the first image in South America. The
feat enchanted Emperor Dom Pedro II, who soon
acquired his own camera, becoming the country’s
first photographer, a great patron of the arts, and The FIAP Exhibition Centre, Rio Photography
the foremost photography collector of his time. Center, Carioca de Fotografia

Currently inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of
the World Programme, Emperor Dom Pedro II’s
19th-century photography collection stands as a
Brazilian national heritage and one of the most
significant photographic collections of its kind
worldwide. Preserved at the National Library of
Brazil, the collection was organized by Joaquim
Marçal, former director of the Library’s Iconography
Division and one of Brazil’s leading photography
scholars. Marçal was present at the inauguration
ceremony of the Centro Carioca de Fotografia,
where he generously donated and personally
autographed copies of his book “Italianos detrás
da câmera” (Italians Behind the Camera, 2023) to Joaquim Marçal, researcher and former director of the
Iconography Division of the National Library of Brazil,
all participants of the FIAP Congress. autographs his book on the history of photography
in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil
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