This manifesto was written by artist Raul Córdula, then director of the Núcleo de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade Federal da Paraíba (NAC-UFPB). Today, it serves as a record of the precarious situation of state-supported cultural institutions at the time and the lack of resources available to support artmaking in the northern state of Paraíba in the mid-1980s. The text tells the history of the NAC, describing the financial difficulties it was going through in its effort to maintain its activities. The text also points out the contributions to art in Paraíba from the Fundação Nacional de Arte (FUNARTE). Other contributions were made by the critic Paulo Sérgio Duarte; the sociologist Silvino Espínola; the architect Breno de Matos; and the poet Sérgio Castro Pinto. Contemporary artists who have been helped by NAC make up an impressive list: Tunga, Cildo Meireles, Rubens Gerchman, Miguel Rio Branco, Marcelo Nitsche, Anna Maria Maiolino, and Cláudio Tozzi. Córdula considers these artists important to the development of the visual arts in Paraíba, especially considering the circumstances of the arts as discussed above. In conclusion, the manifesto issues a plea for support to artists and related sectors of the society, specifically mentioning the exhibition Fotonordeste, scheduled for the reopening of NAC in 1986, two years after it was closed. In Córdula’s opinion, the exhibition eloquently expressed “the precarious situation of mankind today,” as well as reflecting the problems faced by state-supported art at the time.

Opened in 1979 with a mission to support decentralization of art institutions, the Núcleo de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade Federal da Paraíba (NAC-UFPB) played an important role in the development of the visual arts of that northern state of Brazil in its first few years. Until 1982, it promoted exhibitions of Mail art and Xerox art, artists’ books and video art, with the intense participation of some of the most important artists in the country during that period. However, in 1984, the NAC was closed and its activities interrupted for a couple of years. Under these circumstances, the “Manifesto da precariedade do NAC” presented the situation of this organization and raised the issue of the scarce funds available to support the creation of art in that region, during that period. Written by the artist Raul Córdula, this text calls out to the concerned public to denounce the reduction in exchanges among cultural centers around Brazil in the mid-1980s.

Raul Córdula Filho (b. 1943) is a painter, graphic artist, professor, and art critic. In his early years as an artist, he created figurative work that resonated with the influence of Pop art and New Figuration. Starting with signs and symbols from urban art, particularly those related to transit and roadways, the critic’s art moved toward geometric abstraction. Nevertheless, Córdula’s artwork always retained its ties to the landscape of the northeastern region where he worked.