Rhythms of the Heart

The Ponto de Cultura Ritmos do Coração has been in operation since 2009 with the aim of expanding and qualifying access to the arts and culture for people with disabilities. It seeks to strengthen the sense of belonging, recognition, and appreciation of diversity, encouraging this public to participate in cultural and creative activities, to express themselves freely, without prejudice and without barriers, recognizing the city as a space for coexistence aimed at the collective benefit with free access to our common heritage. It actively participates in the social transformation process by developing effective, creative, and innovative actions, encouraging the protagonism of people with disabilities, so that they can speak out in the first person about their demands, needs, and interests, with the engagement and recognition of society. With a trajectory of thirteen years, we count on experiences derived from a comprehensive and diversified performance through the planning and execution of projects, actions, and artistic and cultural events, the improvement of the methodology focused on accessible cultural mediation, and the development of different projects in the areas of training and diffusion:

1. Arts
   We want to expand and guarantee to people with disabilities the access to different artistic, symbolic, and ludic languages, creating opportunities and conditions for them to be included and recognized by society, so that they can enjoy these assets, whether as spectators/consumers or producers/creative artists.
2. Culture
   We encourage the equal access of people with disabilities to different cultural expressions, stimulating the affirmation of social and personal identities and the development of citizen awareness, through coexistence, since the impact of inclusion occurs in those who are included and in others.

3. Formative Activities
   We seek to implement cultural and artistic initiation projects offering free courses and workshops, aesthetic and ethical interactions, as well as fomenting the diffusion and circulation of cultural goods aiming to open a two-way path, more participative, interactive, stimulating creative production and demonstrating that culture is present everywhere and in everyone.

In 2013, it received the certification of Cultural Institution, by the State Secretary of Culture, and the certification of Entity Promoting Human Rights, by the Secretary of Justice and Defense of Citizenship. In 2014, based on the criteria established in the Cultura Viva Law (13.018/2014), it became part of the São Paulo Network of Culture Points, being recognized by the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity and the Ministry of Culture. The certificate proves that the initiative develops and articulates cultural activities in its community, and contributes to access, protection, and promotion.