E quando as cortinas se fecham? Arte, história e trajetórias de artistas em Erechim/RS

Abstract

The present study aims to understand how artists from Erechim perceive art in their lives and how they construct their trajectories, identities, and forms of work. The research adopts a qualitative approach, using a questionnaire with open-ended questions as the data collection instrument and employing Content Analysis to interpret participants’ narratives. The analytical corpus was organized into four main categories: beginnings and access to art; identity as an artist; art, work, and survival; and barriers and inequalities in access to cultural expressions. The results indicate that the relationship with art emerges primarily in childhood, and that access to artistic practices is profoundly unequal and conditioned by family, socioeconomic, and institutional factors, revealing that early artistic formation depends both on spontaneous opportunities and on public policies and educational programs. For the participants, being an artist is not only a profession but a way of existing in the world, marked by sensitivity, critical awareness, and ethical commitment. The narratives also highlight the structural precariousness of artistic work, which requires professionals to accumulate multiple roles and survival strategies in the face of economic instability and the lack of continuous cultural investment.