CURA is one of the largest public art festivals in Latin America. With editions held in Belo Horizonte and Manaus, we have painted over 33 buildings and created various urban installations. More than just an art circuit, CURA is a catalyst for social transformation, a platform for creative expression, and an agent promoting values aimed at a more just, sensitive, and sustainable future.

In every city it visits, CURA leaves behind an urban art viewpoint. In Belo Horizonte, we created the world’s first Urban Art Viewpoint, located on Rua Sapucaí, in the Floresta neighborhood. It is the only festival where the public can watch the creation of murals in real time from a single vantage point.

In the editions held in Manaus, our curatorial focus is on preserving the Amazon and highlighting indigenous and Amazonian artists. We are forming the first collection of indigenous art on buildings in the world—a dedicated effort to give visibility to the forest’s guardian peoples and the urgency of environmental protection.

CURA was born as a declaration of love for the city.

In 2015, three friends and cultural agents came together with the desire to make history in Belo Horizonte. They wanted to transform the city’s skyline and put it on the global map of public art. Since then, each edition has been the result of continuous research, active listening, debates, and a sensitive attention to the city’s challenges and desires.

From the very beginning, the festival has been committed to gender parity and to creating a truly inclusive event that embraces different ways of existing and working. CURA proposes a new way of occupying public space through art, culture, and social interaction—thereby shaping a more human, creative, and accessible city.

Established as the largest public art festival in Minas Gerais, CURA is now a national reference. It functions as a true beacon of urban arts, presenting works of great symbolic and aesthetic power that transform perspectives and point the way toward the future.

We are also a prominent tourist destination in Belo Horizonte. The festival is simultaneously an open-air art gallery and a space for social interaction. For 13 days, the public experiences an immersion in diverse, accessible, and free culture, where the city becomes a living museum.

The curatorship is carried out by the festival’s founders themselves, based on active listening, continuous research, and a commitment to diversity.

Considerations include:

● Gender and racial representation

● Connection with the territory and the audience

● Diversity of artistic languages

● Artistic relevance and symbolic potency

The curatorship prioritizes women artists and gives space to voices that are usually excluded from major circuits. In Manaus, for example, the focus is on Amazonian indigenous art.

It means making art accessible to everyone. CURA occupies public spaces with monumental artworks in easily accessible locations, with public transportation, metro, and pedestrian circulation. All programming is free and designed to reach different audiences – local residents, visitors, students, and tourists. Each edition is estimated to reach around 100,000 people. For CURA, democratizing also means selecting diverse artists, fostering inclusive teams, and creating space for multiple voices and narratives.

● Transform urban spaces through art

● Establish the largest public art festival in Latin America led by women

● Democratize access to art and culture

● Create lasting legacies in cities

● Strengthen cultural tourism

● Value urban heritage

● Promote the prominence of dissident artists

● Expand the discussion on city, body, memory, and environment

It means making art accessible to everyone. CURA occupies public spaces with monumental artworks, in easily accessible locations with public transportation, metro, and pedestrian circulation. All programming is free and designed to reach diverse audiences – local residents, visitors, students, and tourists. Each edition is estimated to reach around 100,000 people. For CURA, democratizing also means choosing diverse artists, fostering inclusive team formation, and creating space for multiple voices and narratives.

CURA is based on concrete inclusion actions:

● Curatorship with gender parity and racial equity

● Over 50% of women and Black people in the teams across the 8 editions

● Hiring of LGBTQIA+, Indigenous, and peripheral professionals

● 60% of the budget invested in the local economy

● Formation of diverse teams in all areas of operation

● Promotion of accessibility, inclusion, and local development

CURA promotes:

● Revitalization of neglected central areas

● Income generation and professional training

Appreciation of public spaces

● Strengthening of the local cultural scene

● Encouragement of cultural tourism

● Promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on gender equality, sustainable cities, economic growth, and urban well-being

On average, 70 professionals are hired directly per edition, in addition to suppliers and service providers (scaffolding, catering, communication, etc.). Across the 8 editions, more than 400 people have been directly involved in CURA.

CURA adopts sustainable practices:

●  Hiring companies specialized in waste management

● Planning the selective disposal of recyclable and organic materials

● Reusing structures and materials

● Partnerships with waste pickers and cooperatives

● Environmental education through art and communication

● Encouraging sustainable mobility, such as bicycles, public transport, and Tarifa Zero

CURA is always open to new encounters. You can:

● Follow our social media

● Participate in activities open to the public

● Sign up for contests and workshops

● Propose artistic partnerships and collaborations

● Get in touch via email or the official website form

CURA takes place annually in Belo Horizonte, with occasional editions in other cities such as Manaus. In 2025, the festival will be held from August 21 to 31 at Praça Raul Soares, one of the viewpoints created by the festival. The program runs for 13 days, with free access to all activities.

● Facade (building wall) paintings ● Medium-scale murals and façades ● Urban installations and performances ● Floor painting ● Art and design fairs ● Solo exhibitions ● Workshops, lectures, and discussion circles ● Live shows, DJs, and open-air cinema ● Artist residencies ● Viewing platforms

CURA invites professional and emerging artists, with a focus on women, Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ people. It also offers opportunities for students, collectives, and the community at large. Participation occurs through invitations, public calls, and spontaneous proposals.

The festival is made possible through:

● Sponsorships from private companies

● Support from cultural institutions

● Collaborations with local initiatives

● Funding via Cultural Incentive Laws, such as:

○ Federal Cultural Incentive Law (Rouanet)

○ State Cultural Incentive Law of Minas Gerais

○ Municipal Cultural Incentive Law of Belo Horizonte

Get in touch with the CURA team through the official channels:

● Instagram: @cura.art

● Website: www.cura.art

● Email: cura@cura.art

Follow CURA on social media, participate in the activities, and help us build a fairer, more colorful, and diverse city together.

CURA is carried out by a team of women passionate about the city and art. Conceived by Priscila Amoni, Juliana Flores, and Janaína Macruz, the festival was born from the desire to transform the horizon of Belo Horizonte with large-scale works visible from urban viewpoints.

Today, it is realized by Instituto CURA, a non-profit organization made up of women from different fields — culture, architecture, communication, production, design, and social mobilization — and by AGUA – Urban Art Agency.

Together, we develop projects that believe in art as a tool for transformation and for confronting inequalities.

The festival’s production is carried out by a diverse and multidisciplinary team, with a broad reach across Brazil. We involve curators, artists, producers, communicators, technicians, painters, and many other professionals who, every year, bring this collective dream to life.

The Instituto CURA acts as a platform for the creation, coordination, and realization of artistic and cultural projects focused on public spaces. Our focus is on democratizing access to art, strengthening the leadership of women, Indigenous peoples, Black communities, LGBTQIAPN+ and peripheral groups, and valuing the territory as a space for coexistence and creative potential.

In addition to the annual festival, we carry out workshops, artistic residencies, educational and training projects, mappings, publications, and initiatives that foster urban art in different cities.

Supporting the Instituto CURA means investing in culture, inclusion, and urban regeneration. Individuals and organizations can contribute in various ways: through sponsorships via cultural incentive laws, direct donations, institutional partnerships, or technical and logistical support.

If you share our values and want to walk with us, write to: instituto@cura.art