CTL Crossing the Line 2012

As part of the sixth edition of Crossing the Line, the yearly international interdisciplinary festival of contemporary art organized by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) in New York City, has been regarded by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal as the best art festival in 2009 and 2010. The French Institute Alliance Française in New York City, in collaboration with Hemispheric Institute of Performance & Politics, presents DIÁRIO, a tribute to Brazilian Visual artist Bel Borba. For a period of one month that begins on September 14 and ends on October 14, several works by this prominent representative of Brazilian popular art will be exhibited at several emblematic spaces across The Big Apple. Borba's installations, performances, and the exhibition of his works will invade places like the FIAF's Beaux-Arts Building in Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, restaurants in Jackson Heights, Central Park, and the Film Forum, the legendary independent cinema in Manhattan, among other venues.

The New York premiere of the documentary entitled Bel Borba Is Here will be held on September 19. It is a portrayal of the artist that was created and directed by Burt Sun—a multimedia artist that specializes in Brazilian urban art and the curator of the exhibition Here organized by the Museo Rodin in Bahia that was inaugurated at the beginning of 2012—and André Constantini, performance artist, musician, and filmmaker. Beside his numerous exhibitions in the most important cities of Brazil, Borba's work has been shown in France, Italy, Switzerland, and the US.

Known as "The People's Picasso," Borba has captivated the imagination of the citizens of his native Salvador de Bahia, a 500-year-old city with a brand of street art that is expressed through small mosaics and monumental pieces created with tiles, steel, wood, recycled materials and sand. Borba's eclectic work is intimately associated with the communities in which he creates his work. His pieces intimately reflect the rich and complex cultural history of his city.

Borba was recently named ambassador of the 2014 World Cup organized by FIFA, alongside other luminaries like Gilberto Gil.