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Visual artist Elaine Arruda, in collaboration with the master in naval carpentry João Aires, carried out the first intervention at Salt Market in 2016, through the Research and Artistic Experimentation Grant from the then IAP (Pará Institute of Arts).

Mastarel project was then born, a site-specific project that consists of a naval installation on the Market roof, a boat mast with typical characteristics of Amazonian vessels, in urban, riverine territory and in the heart of the city's historic center.

Over the years, the work has become a catalyst for memories and narratives about the residents’ origins in that place, as well as for the biography of both artists involved in the project. Mastarel has become part of Salt Port’s landscape, and the rigging of the Market turned into a practice that involves the surrounding community.

In the 2023-2024 edition, the project curated by Vania Leal has had several developments, among them the Mastarel exhibition: inland waters; the partial renovation of Salt Port Market; and the publication of artist Elaine Arruda's Doctoral Thesis, with the same title.

  • Elaine Arruda, Artist

    Photo: Débora Flor

    Elaine Arruda

    Artist May 6, 2024

    Elaine Arruda was born in Belém (Pará). Visual artist, PhD in Arts from the University of São Paulo (ECA/USP), professor of the Visual Arts course at the Federal University of Pará (FAV/UFPA).

    Her production ranges from engraving, installation and public art projects. Founder of the collectives Atelier do Porto and Aparelho, her trajectory is strongly marked by collaborative actions and institutional articulations.

    In 2010, Arruda started to frequent Salt Port, due to her interest in port metallurgical plants, and the possibilities for expanding graphic language. Thus, she began to experience daily life and the poetics of the local, which has influenced her artistic production.

    Mastarel is a consequence of the subsequent encounter with master João, a project in which large scale and traditional knowledge of naval carpentry are transferred to the field of contemporary art.

  • Mestre João, Artist

    Photo: Débora Flor

    Mestre João

    Artist

    João Aires is a master in Naval Carpentry.

    Born in Santa Cruz do Arari (Pará), he has worked for 30 years in the port region of Belém. He is responsible for the construction and maintenance of boats at Vasconcelos Port.

    A resident of Salt Port, Master João is the only master in naval carpentry in the region – one of the rare places in the capital of Pará where there is still practice of building wooden boats. His knowledge is, therefore, a cultural and intangible heritage of the country’s North region.

    In 2015, he met artist Elaine Arruda, an encounter that led to exchanges of experience and conversations about processes, culminating in Mastarel Project, a year later.

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