Check out the new Sao Paulo
(Picture: Check out the new Sao Paulo)Looking out from the rooftop of the Copan, the iconic undulating building designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1951, the megalopolis of São Paulo unfolds seemingly into eternity. Helicopters buzz overhead like titan beetles — the preferred mode of transport for wealthy Paulistas; the city boasts more of them than anywhere else in the world — and what was once Atlantic forest is now a jungle of concrete edifices.
Since 2017, the city has poured around £1.4m into street art projects, turning it into an open-air gallery. Large murals scale skyscrapers; some highlight issues such as racial injustice and the Covid-19 crisis, reflecting the zeitgeist as the country gears up for the 2 October presidential election. Many of the city’s art collections are housed in architectural gems. The lower floors of the Copan are occupied by Pivô, a non-profit art space, where an exhibition of Brazilian contemporary artist Ana Vaz has just opened. The Museu Afro Brasil is a Niemeyer building, too, while the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) and SESC Pompéia are the creations of the Italian-born Brazilian modernist Lina Bo Bardi.
