The "BLACK IN METAL" project will be a collection of photographs of Black musicians active in the heavy metal scene in Rio Grande do Sul, culminating in a visual arts exhibition and a documentary, portraying the reality of these artists within a context of still limited ethnic representation in relation to musical style. Historically, "heavy" music, in this project represented by the heavy metal style, has featured few Black personalities, both in Brazil and internationally. In the Southern region of Brazil, this representation is even lower, as it is a region of predominantly European colonization.
The main objective of the project is to provide Black people with a way to have an active voice in heavy metal and, thus, foster their entry into this scene, encouraging them to pursue a career in heavy music, whether as instrumentalists, vocalists, or even music producers. The project arose when photographer Indy Lopes captured some images of a Black musician active in the Porto Alegre underground music scene to build her portfolio.
After the rehearsal, along with some friends, the idea arose to create a photographic essay featuring only Black musicians active in the heavy metal scene and transform this material into a Visual Arts exhibition. This simple, initially unassuming suggestion gave rise to several questions regarding the participation of Black people in this musical style and allowed us to envision the creation of a cultural project intended to highlight their greater participation in the world of heavy music, providing reflections and dialogues that lead to their representation.
MISSION
To shed light on the current reality of low participation and effective engagement of Black people in the Metal music genre, generating questions in society and ultimately creating a new cultural proposal in which Black people feel fully integrated and properly represented in this musical style and in society.
VISION
To be a socio-cultural project of reference for the whole society in the debate on the issue of blackness, the Metal music style and its insertion in the present day, thus creating a new cultural proposal.
VALUES
Ethical actions, respect for differences, social responsibility, questioning without judgment, respect for everyone, both inside and outside the project.
OBJECTIVES
• To promote discussion about the lack of representation of Black people in Metal, discussing with society the possible reasons for this scenario and questioning the current reality of Black involvement in metal.
• To carry out socio-cultural actions to show, question, discuss and change the current scenario of low representation of black people in the metal music genre.
• To highlight the lack of Black people in the metal scene, raise this discussion, and encourage more Black people to enter this space through representation.
• To encourage more Black artists to start a musical career within the heavy metal genre, making them feel more represented.
Given this initiative and with the objectives defined above, a group of professional friends from the arts, such as Photography, Cinema, Advertising, Cultural Production, and Music, formed the LIVRE Collective, which is giving voice to the project, raising questions about this lack of cultural and ethnic representation in metal. The project aims to demystify the thinking of many people who insist on pointing out the distinction between ethnicity, gender, or social condition when it comes to the appropriation of the Arts, especially in heavy metal, which is the theme of this project. The Black in Metal Project was conceived and led by Indy Lopes, Dênis Lapuente, and Lohy Silveira .
The exhibition of the "BLACK IN METAL" project will feature a photographic essay with images captured of Black musicians active in the heavy metal scene in Rio Grande do Sul. There will also be a discussion with the people involved in the project. This material will be on display free of charge next week, on October 23rd and 24th, at Casa Obscura (Rua Garibaldi, 776), in Porto Alegre/RS. On both dates, Wednesday and Thursday, the exhibition will be open to the public from 7 pm.