Creativity, informality and cultural work in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas

Abstract

In the last decade, new policy initiatives emerged in Latin America as a response to the rise of a ‘creative turn’ in the global North. This article examines the impact of such turn on urban cultural policies for informal settlements in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, focusing on the case of ‘Favela Criativa’ – a governmental programme to support young people’s cultural and creative work across favelas. The analysis reveals that the programme has effectively widened the visibility of favelas’ cultural and creative work, increased financial public support and developed practical strategies for working with informality. However, it also raises questions about the extent to which this innovative policy development actually challenges prevalent managerial views of creativity guided by a market logic. The article demonstrates that a focus on informality as groundwork for political resistance in the city can expand our understanding of the creative economy beyond precarization, self-exploitation and individualization.