English version

Ancerg… José Evaristo de Ancerg is a Brazilian visual artist recognized for having developed, between 1995 and 2007, a pioneering social inclusion initiative through art, working directly in mainstream schools in Brazil, preceding the consolidation of inclusive public policies in the country.

It all began with the birth of Arthur Filipe—whom Ancerg affectionately calls Your Highness or the King—his son, who has Down syndrome and is deaf. Arthur was born on February 1, 1995, in Recife, shortly after Ancerg had painted the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti on January 27, 1995, in Rio de Janeiro. Upon returning from this trip, Ancerg met his son and, from that moment, began his journey of dedication to inclusion and art. The unconditional love of Jane, Arthur’s mother, was a constant motivating force along this path, supporting every step and inspiring Ancerg to transform challenges into opportunities for learning, creation, and inclusion.

Ancerg’s work took place during a period when the inclusion of people with disabilities was still largely confined to theoretical, legislative, or institutional spheres, in the context following the Salamanca Statement (1994) and the enactment of Brazil’s Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education (LDB) in 1996, but with practical implementation in Brazilian schools still in its infancy.

In this context, Ancerg began to work directly, continuously, and independently on the so-called “school floor,” developing his own adapted art-education methodologies aimed at the active participation of children and young people with motor, sensory, and intellectual disabilities in mainstream classrooms and community spaces.

Even before formally launching his inclusion project, Ancerg was invited to give a lecture at APAE in São Paulo, at an event that brought together representatives from various institutions and educators from across the state to discuss school inclusion. His talk had a strong impact and led to motivational workshops for teachers, focused on understanding the necessity of inclusion and fostering the confidence that solutions would be created by the educators themselves, in the daily life of the classroom. These workshops became widely known and came to be considered inspiring references in the educational field.

His work was carried out voluntarily and independently, without permanent institutional affiliation or government funding, which allowed him to experiment, adapt, and create pedagogical and artistic solutions grounded in everyday practice. In this process, Ancerg developed the concept of the hero, transforming disabilities into abilities, and characters into heroes capable of inspiring both children with disabilities and those without.

Among the concepts, projects, and works that shaped his methodology, notable examples include the project “Under the Observer’s Gaze”, a Support for Inclusion initiative based on the hero concept, and the artwork “The Baptism of Light!”, in which he depicts his son as a king endowed with superpowers. This work served as a powerful illustrative tool of his proposal: shifting the focus from disability to a person’s potential, revealing the expressive power of individuals to transform worlds through example and empathy.

Ancerg’s approach enabled children without disabilities to perceive their peers with disabilities in a playful, affectionate, and deeply human way, creating a new perspective—unique and transformative. Unlike strictly therapeutic or assistential practices, his work prioritized autonomous artistic creation processes integrated into the common social and educational context, allowing stories of inclusion to spread as living references and encouraging educators to develop their own strategies to teach and find unique pathways for each child.

The entirety of this work was documented by media outlets, including Diário de S. Paulo, and in 2007 was formally presented to representatives of the European Community, at which time his work was recognized as an innovative social inclusion initiative through art, developed independently by a Brazilian civilian.

The term “precursor,” applied to Ancerg’s trajectory, refers to his practical pioneering: he implemented and sustained concrete experiences of artistic inclusion in real-life settings before inclusive public policies were consolidated and before the broader academic dissemination of inclusive art education in Brazil. His work anticipated, in practice, pedagogical, technical, and conceptual solutions that would only be systematized and institutionalized years later.

After concluding this cycle in 2007, Ancerg continued his artistic production in other languages and contexts. Nevertheless, his work between 1995 and 2007 remains documented as a historical landmark of inclusive art education in Brazil, especially during the transitional period between the theoretical formulation of inclusion and its concrete application in everyday school life.

Editorial Note
This text constitutes an explanatory and contextual summary of José Evaristo de Ancerg’s trajectory, elaborated from journalistic records, institutional documents, and historical analysis of the period, with the aim of clarifying the meaning of the term “precursor” as applied to his work. It does not replace the original sources but organizes and contextualizes their content for biographical, historical, and informational purposes.

Text organized, contextualized, and reviewed by Eleonor
Editorial and historical advisor to Ancerg

  The story of kindness that the twitter made happen

Beautiful... @TomCruise please see my art,see a beautiful story that began w the birth of my son Arthur, he has Down Syndrome http://t.co/bn2JiCt 1
Posted by Tom Cruise on Quinta, 11 de novembro de 2010

                  

"The Tom Cruise Effect"

It was on kingdom of improbable my hope , of one Hollywood star as Tom Cruise could see my work. Then. in 9:11 PM on Brazil, I sent a message to Tom Cruise's profile on Twitter .. I asked him to see my blog, and he retweeted (re-sent the message) to his followers who are even now is 1.110.954.( now 8357112) Just realized that he had done this when I entered my email and he was following me on twitter,now I can write in DM (direct message) to him... read more

“Deficiency becomes art for artist”

Matter of The Journal Gazette of Sao Paulo

October 7, 2007

#"It's the first [adventure story] where the main character

has Down Syndrome!

“ Father was inspired by the son who has Down syndrome, to paint super heroes with special needs.”

Fabricio Calado Moreira fabricio.moreira@diariosp.com.br

• For 12 years, painter and poet from Pernambuco, José Evaristo de Ancerg, sees beauty in the deficiencies of others.Inspired by his son Arthur, born deaf and with Down syndrome. Ancerg created a story that the characters are super heroes with special needs such as mental disabilities, physical and visual.The pictures he painted using material donated by Kathy Janos, entrepreneur and admirer of his work -, Ancerg uses to illustrate the scenarios and Imagined landscapes of adventure for him and is told that the so-called normal children. "Everybody loves a hero and we need them to influence us and be better adults," he explains. The trick of the poet, lived here from Cambuci, is not to tell right away the particularities of the protagonists."Except for the blind character, kids discover that others have special needs  at the end of the story. And then they already fell in love with them. "

Lack of supporters

Support the work of Ancerg is scarce.''Everybody hears the name Ancerg and think it is an NGO.When they discover that I am only one person, no one hears me, "he laments.If things were different, he would not have difficulties, for example, to pay the $ 800 for the speech therapist that your child needs.The fate of the painter and his son may soon change.Recently,European Union members, searching for an artist to develop a social project, became aware of Ancerg and demonstrated an interest in learning more about his work for social inclusion. They returned to ..Europe.. with a CD presentation of the artist's portfolio and the promise to make contact soon. Meanwhile, here, Ancerg continues to fuel his dream of turning their story into a book, DVD and CD.

A boy with a natural gift

• Patient with Down Syndrome and deaf. Arthur Philip 12 years old, was born with an ability: to memorize   paths. " "It just goes in  the paths on he  remember". Where are you going with him, he  memorize ." It is a compulsion for him. " account the boy's father. the painter and poet José Evaristo de Ancerg. The artist remembers one occasion when Arthur, with eight years, ran away from home and ended up in the 25 March Street in São Paulo Brasil.He had left home at 13 pm and has been found the 14hs by policemen at the station of women. Which was brought to the SOS Children Ancerg where he found the two hours of the morning.

Art Imitates Life

Besides having inspired his father to create the "Project Looking Under the Observer, stories where the protagonists are people with special needs, Arthur is a tale of the characters created by Ancerg. In the fable, disabled children are banned from mixing with the population. Arthur's story is a prince, also with down, looking for the magic stone that will free his kingdom from a spell, the end of the story. The son's talent was tapped in the history of Ancerg. "He found seven children inside a maze and go out with them there, "says the author. On the way, the prince finds others carriers special needs as an autistic who eciphers riddles and one blind boy who saves the city from a tragedy. The moral of the story to its author, is: " " Disabled, it's all of us we cannot see the beauty in difference from the others"

Journal of Cambuci & Aclimação ( São Paulo Brazil)

by Angela Marcia Marconato

October 12, 2007

Artist of the district is presented to the European community

The artist, painter, sculptor, writer, graphic design and singer José Evaristo de Ancerg 38, arrived in São Paulo in 2002 and since then is working with"Project, Under the Eyes of the Observer."He began painting when he was 12 and 16 years, he was selected in the hall of the "New Artists", in Pernambuco. Among his famous paintings shown, the oil Portrait Painting of Maite Proença( actress), Jô Soares, Julio Iglesias and Hebe Camargo, where he was received by it in his TV Show. Later, you project was supported by Geraldo Azevedo e Elba Ramalho (Brazilian Famous Singers) In 1995, after having painted in an Oil Portrait the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, with the birth of his son Arthur Philip, carrier of Down Syndrome, he created the concept of hero, as a reference for other children with special needs in an adventure story that the characters are special children. He transforms the deficiencies in qualities and characters into heroes. The idea was to give a positive reference to children, children who had not special needs. The reader, falls for the hero of the story and asks: "how would you like it existed in real life! And they exist! At the end of the story, there is a cast, where the child discovers who was the inspiration for the character.In the story, include,Down syndrome patients, autistic, blind and other characters do not "special." All this would be transported to a book, CD and DVD. Even without finalizing the logistics, ie the entire creation of a teaching tool for the educator, he, made, "lectures workshops" so that educators understand the need for a special child in the classroom. September 28, Ancerg, was chosen to present their project to the European Community, having been an artist who created a innovative design, social inclusion. With five children, he fights for the inclusion of his son that in addition to Down syndrome, does not hear, the child needs to learn sign language, requiring a therapist with expertise in sign language. Ancerg ,Pernambucano,who loves art and says that when he paints a portrait, bring, the essence and soul of the person. His life was not easy, and despite all the bad events, bring a heart full of gratitude. He recalls that in 2003, was experiencing a difficult situation, and searched the newspaper Cambuci & Acclimation and asked the Director , A small note on their work and projects and to his surprise, found a story with full page that opened many doors. Today is one of the publications, more linked on the Internet. At that time also received an assistance of Mr. Vituzzo (resident Cambuci) for having given an apartment for him, his wife ( for, one, month)and their four children, knowing that Arthur Filipe had to be operated in a hurry. He gave word that after surgery the child, would leave the property. After that, he lived with you family in a dangerous place ,on Becker Street.(Cambuci São Paulo) In desperation, he went to across the street, painting and singing, he sang, areas of opera, Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and for each person around the house, made an oil Portrait. With the money he rented the property they live today. Besides the project, he is writing a new book, since he already sold the rights to their first story in Denmark with the help of his agent Pia Vangberg. Recently sang at the restaurant "1020", and the owner Mr. Euro, which has a lot of gratitude, gave a space for his paintings.

 

Assinar: Postar comentários (Atom)