Shortly after I arrived in Recife, Patrícia Amorim and her boyfriend Raul Aguiar took me to Olinda for lunch and for the view. Patrícia is the main reason I actually came here: she wrote me an email on the day I left Lisbon for São Paulo, where she said she has been writing on design for newspapers and magazines here in Pernambuco, wrote her master dissertation on how design has been featured in 5 years of the Veja magazine, helped out Adélia Borges on her curation for the “Fronteiras: Design Brasileiro Hoje” exhibition and – if all that wasn’t enough – is thinking on applying for the D-Crit programme. I immediately considered adding Recife to my itinerary just to talk to her and learn more about all the things she mentioned.

And it was totally worth it. Patrícia and Raul (who runs a design and illustration studio with his brother) not only welcomed me into their flat, but were great guides around Recife. They’re both quite well connected in the city, and Patrícia managed to arrange the two meetings/interviews that later took place – and also walks around the centre and Olinda, a beach break at Praia da Boa Viagem (where I managed to avoid the sharks) and plenty of great local food and drinks.

Inhotim is one of the most sophisticated places in the world to see contemporary art. The large property about 60km from Belo Horizonte, owned by mining millionaire Bernardo Paes, feels – as Marcelo Drummond put it so well – like ”Berlin in the sertão”. There are some amazing artworks from Brazilian and foreign contemporary artist to be seen around the gardens and inside the pavilions. More photos after the jump. Photography is only allowed outside, but some of the art can be seen in the Institute’s website.

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