This research approaches on the discussions about the cultural politics and its uses as a tool of
social and economic development. We took the experience from the Projeto Jardim de Gente
(Garden of People Project) as a case study, a project of training on art and culture that takes
places at the Centro Cultural Bom Jardim – CCBJ (Cultural Center Bom Jardim), in Fortaleza,
Ceará, financed by the Fundo Estadual de Combate à Pobreza – FECOP (State Fund to
Combat Poverty), since 2007. The question from which we proceeded as a motto for this
research is: how the aim of utilizing the art and the culture as resources and tools on fighting
poverty is executed? Methodologically, our basic assumption is from a quanti-qualitative
approach, using the technique of participant observation and the data collection through
documental research, analyzing files, reports and magazines from the project. We
accompanied some activities, especially the meetings of the construction of the Plano Político
Pedagógico – PPP (Political Pedagogical Plan), forum, teacher training and coordination
meetings. We applied a questionnaire with 23 students, on the age group from 18 to 25 years
old, besides 6 interviews with the students and other 8 interviews with collaborators and
teachers from the project. A bibliographical study served as a basis to contextualize the
questions to which this project refers, the challenges that it tries to answer and the issues that
were raised by the research. From the study of some conceptions like: cultural politics; culture
and democracy; culture as a resource; poverty and social vulnerability; culture, education and
professional training; We identified the discussions that compose the theoretical and practical
framework of the cultural politics on today. Such readings were possible through the studies
of some theorists, like Bourdieu (1970), Barbalho and Rubim (2007), Bolán (2006), Botelho
(2001), Nascimento (2008), Calabre (2007), Coelho (1997), Loiola and Miguez (2007),
Siqueira (2009), Rocha (2006) and Abramovay et al. (2002), to mention some theorists that
entered in our research. From the field research and from this literature review, we realized
that the Projeto Jardim de Gente (Garden of People Project) is a cultural action that pursues
to foster the construction of a social and cultural capital able to promote the social and the
economic development of the Greater Bom Jardim. We understand that a cultural action like
this is a valid strategy to enable an exit of the poverty condition, when it’s well contextualized
to other politics. However, we consider that the Jardim de Gente (Garden of People) is an
experience that needs improvement in its training and in its methodology, so that such needs
are aimed to the reach of measurable and effective results.
Keywords: Cultural politics. Training. Culture as a resource. Fighting poverty.
