Casa de Cultura SoMovimento "Building Dreams 5"

CCSOMOVIMENTO - Building Dreams - Year 5” is a fundraising campaign in support of the Cultural Association Casa de Cultura SoMovimento (CCSM), located in Salvador, Bahia – Brazil, created by founder and artistic director Vera Passos.

Vera Passos is a choreographer, teacher, dancer and producer. Her deep connection with movement, music and Afro-Brazilian culture richly influences her art and her practice focused on social justice. Vera is also co-artistic director of the Viver Brasil group, in Los Angeles. Vera bravely divides her time between Salvador (Bahia), Los Angeles (California) and the world.

The goal of the “Building Dreams” - Year 5” campaign is to raise US$ 20,000, between May 4 and August 29, 2025.

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HOW THE US$ 20,000 WILL BE USED

Maintaining a cultural space A safe, welcoming and lively space requires daily dedication — and also a constant commitment to its structure and operation. The SoMovimento Cultural Center is a vibrant organization that welcomes hundreds of people and requires ongoing investment to continue offering art, education and transformative encounters.

The US$20,000 raised in this campaign will be used to:

• Pay the 5th year's payment to the previous owner, consolidating the CCSM's permanence as an independent space focused on artistic, cultural and community education.

• Continue modernizing the building's electrical system, ensuring safety and adequate support for the activities carried out.

• Install ventilation and air conditioning in the studios and classrooms, ensuring thermal comfort for students, teachers and artists.

• Create accessible access to the studios, promoting inclusion and mobility for all people.

• Invest in the artistic and educational training of children and young people, expanding access to art, especially for those living in vulnerable contexts. • Carry out ongoing structural renovations and maintenance as part of an ongoing process of revitalizing the house.

• Cover monthly operating costs, such as water, electricity, internet, cleaning, technical maintenance and minor repairs.

• Support the processes of documentation and legal regularization of the house, which require investment in fees, consultancy and technical services.

Supporting this campaign also means recognizing the importance of strengthening cultural initiatives led by black people in a country deeply marked by historical inequalities. It means affirming that spaces like Casa de Cultura SoMovimento are part of a necessary movement to redistribute resources, value ancestral knowledge and build a fairer future.

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THE DREAM

The dream of Vera Passos, a black woman, artist, educator and cultural agent, to create her own space for the flourishing of art and community came true in March 2020, when she received the keys to the SoMovimento Cultural Center — days before the world was shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the arrival of social isolation in Bahia, Vera and her team did not stop. On the contrary: they worked with urgency, creativity and dedication to transform in-person programs into online experiences. In this way, the CCSM remained alive and pulsating, serving students from Bahia and from different parts of the world connected to Vera's journey.

But what this center represents goes beyond resistance to the pandemic. The SoMovimento Cultural Center is the realization of an ancient dream: a cultural space conceived, built and maintained by a black woman, who with courage and generosity transforms challenges into paths, and who believes in art as an instrument of individual and collective transformation.

Anyone who knows Vera Passos knows that she welcomes people with an open heart. She teaches, shares and spreads knowledge — without ever letting the lack of resources be an obstacle for those who want to learn.

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THE MISSION

The mission of Casa de Cultura SoMovimento is to provide a welcoming, accessible and well-structured space for a rich and diverse artistic program. Its activities include dance and music classes, performances, artistic residencies, choreographic seminars, festivals, rehearsals, community actions and cultural exchanges.

For all of this to happen, it is essential to ensure a dedicated and well-paid team, in addition to maintaining the infrastructure that supports this vibrant cultural center.

In Bahia, black artists face ongoing challenges — political, social and economic. CCSM does not receive financial support from the municipal, state or federal governments. For this reason, Vera Passos, with generosity and commitment, has invested her own resources to keep this house of art and resistance alive.

CCSM was recently officially recognized by the federal government as a cultural center, which allows it to receive donations from individuals.

Your contribution is valuable, tax-deductible and deeply transformative.

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NEWS – FROM 2023 TO 2025

From 2023 until now, Casa de Cultura SoMovimento has strengthened itself as a true cultural hub in Bahia, a vibrant and vibrant space where art, education and exchange come together. Bringing together local, national and international artists, the Casa has promoted classes, residencies, presentations and actions that reaffirm its commitment to culture and community.

Among the achievements of this period, we highlight:

  – The Arte em Cena program, which has already welcomed more than 250 artists from different parts of Brazil and the world, with powerful and often unprecedented performances. Last year alone, more than 200 artists were involved.

  – The maintenance of the continuous schedule of dance and music classes since January 2023, with an active schedule aimed at different levels, from beginners to professionals.

  – The creation of the children's and youth company Movimento Brincante, focused on training children and adolescents in dance and artistic expression.

   – The organization of several artistic residencies, which foster research and creation in dance, music and performance.

   – The reception of students from other cities who come to Salvador to study but cannot afford to pay for accommodation. Whenever possible, the team at the center mobilizes resources to welcome them, contributing to more people having access to quality artistic training.

  – Continuity of virtual programs, such as:

    • Dançando na Terra

    • Dança na Casa

    • Aulas de Técnica Silvestre

    • Janelas Abertas Festival de dança (online)

    • Encontros de Dança com Mulheres Negras em foco

    • Cozinha musical, with the OKontra Group

  – The residency of 12 students from the Aarhus Conservatory of Music (Denmark), who spent three weeks studying Afro-Brazilian dance and music with Vera Passos, Nei Sacramento and other masters from Bahia.

  – The production of the video series Poder Feminino, with master storyteller Ebomi Cici, an ancestral figure and reference in oral knowledge and the strength of black women.

All of this has been possible thanks to the dedication of a small team, mostly volunteers, who believe in the power of culture as a tool for transformation.

The existence of the Casa is also an act of resistance and collective construction. In a country where black artists face historical obstacles — social, political and economic —, strengthening the CCSM is an important step towards a more just and equitable future. Supporting this house also means recognizing that there is a historical debt to the black population, and that spaces like this are essential for us to advance in real reparation processes.

DONATE

In this fifth year of the Casa de Cultura SoMovimento fundraising campaign, we invite you to click the donate button and be part of Vera's cultural legacy — a dream that is increasingly closer to becoming a reality, thanks to your support.

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Thank you very much.

Vera Passos