Praça da República in São Paulo will have the first gay museum in Latin America. The project will have two areas of 150 m² in total located at the República metro station.
The space was named the Cultural, Memory and Studies Center for Sexual Diversity of the State of São Paulo. The objective is to rescue memories of the gay community, exhibit works that portray the movement through the arts and be a reference for gays seeking help.
The location was chosen due to the large gay concentration in the region. Furthermore, around 4,6 million people pass through the station a day, which increases the museum's visibility. "20 years ago, coming out as gay or lesbian was practically impossible, let alone fighting for our rights. The cultural center will make the population reflect and learn about the difficulties of the movement" says Heloísa Gama Alves, from the Department of Justice.
The first initiative will be carried out during the 16th São Paulo Gay Parade. "It will be an exhibition of prints and t-shirts", says Franco Reinaudo, general coordinator of Cads (Coordination of Sexual Diversity Affairs).
The idea is for the museum to open in 2013. With this, São Paulo joins San Francisco in the USA and Berlin in Germany, which have similar projects.
