Thiago Mundano is a self-described ARTivist from Brazil. He works with local recyclers known as canners who collect recyclable material from trash piles for a living. These marginalized canners trudge through the streets, lugging around carts filled with their findings . In 2007, Mundano wanted to praise the work of these people and the positive environmental impact they have by making their work more visible. That’s when he started a project called Pimp My Carroça, an effort to use graffiti to bring awareness to these everyday environmental heroes.
Thiago recently stopped in to our office, so asked him a few questions.
1. In a nutshell, what do you do?
My work is at the intersection of art and activism. ‘Artvism’ aims to create a legacy for the invisible heroes that are silently recycling our sick system, the canners all over the world.
2. What do you want the world to look like in the next 5 years?
Our current development models are leading us to a big environmental crisis. I believe we are going to see the effects of it much sooner than we think. So in a 5 year time, I wish we’ll be seeing the first signs of the environmental crisis we are creating. I think it’s the only way to make people change: once they see the crisis for what it really is, they’ll want to act on it. That’s the fastest way to start a real shift.
3. What good will you do today?
Today, I’m coaching a Brazilian canner. Rafael dos Santos will give a TEDx talk and I want his story to reach a broad audience. After all, considering the amount of paper he’s recycled himself in the past 29 years of his (invisible) work, he’s prevented over 100,000 trees from being cut down!
for Equity & Evidence