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Estado, avenida Mercúrio e praça São Vito, no centro da capital. Poucos dias depois, abrimos as portas da Ocupação Sesc Parque Dom Pedro II para receber o público durante a Virada Cultural. Era o primeiro indício do nosso desejo profundo e urgente de conexão com a cidade. Desde então, em uma área marcada por intensa circulação de pessoas, que se constitui como entreposto comercial e entroncamento viário, nosso esforço tem sido o de criar um espaço e um tempo de respiro, que propiciem aos frequentadores desenvolvimento pessoal e reforcem os laços comunitários. Para o Sesc, modos de fazer são tão importantes quanto aquilo que se faz. No intuito de registrar as memórias e dar visibilidade a uma experiência que consideramos bem-sucedida, o presente material reúne textos e imagens sobre as estratégias, os dilemas e as realizações do Sesc Parque Dom Pedro II no período de 2015 a 2021. Fechar as portas para início das obras constitui um desafio quase tão grande quanto o de sua inauguração. A interrupção, mesmo que temporária, das atividades pode trazer uma estranha sensação de vazio e saudade. Esperamos, contudo, que, ao evidenciar alguns dos alicerces do trabalho institucional, esta publicação possa contribuir para manter firmes os vínculos com as pessoas até o momento de reabertura, e para além dele.
na página anterior Vista aérea, em 1º de fevereiro de 2019. Foto: Acervo Sesc
on previous page Aerial view of the temporary unit, on February 1, 2019. Photo: Sesc Collection
The foundations of multidirectional work Danilo Santos de Miranda, Director of Sesc São Paulo
There are many ways to turn Sesc’s mission into reality, that is, to provide well-being and improve the quality of life of people, especially workers in the trade in goods, services and tourism and their families. Over more than 70 years, the institution has experimented with paths that vary according to the needs and potential of each time and place. In some cases, institutional action is based on the territory and takes place in the circumscribed space of a cultural and sports center. In others, it is spread out and happens with the publication of books, Internet broadcasts and the collection and distribution of food that complements the meals of children, young people, adults and elderly people in situations of vulnerability. The pandemic and social distancing policies have given greater visibility to the strategies we adopt to reach people wherever they are. Even so, we venture to say that it is mainly through the work carried out in the structures that we have come to call “operational units” that the institution is identified and socially recognized. “Sesc” has become almost synonymous with the equipment that supports its action. Many people who hear about “Sesc” imagine, before anything else, facilities with a swimming pool, sports court, restaurant, dental offices, theater, library, exhibition space, rooms for babies and children. Metonymy reveals the intensity of concentrated action and, at the same time,
the impact on people’s and cities’ lives of the presence of a multipurpose center, in regions that often lack coexistence areas. However, the awareness that the most important is the socio-educational proposal, which does not depend on predetermined spaces, encouraged us to work with the concept of “temporary units”. These transitory occupations, in still rudimentary physical structures, mark the institution’s advent in a new neighborhood or city, essentially through the exposition of our basic principles: public reception, dialogue with the surroundings and activities thought out and accompanied by a network of qualified professionals. In other words, it is as if in the period prior to the inauguration of the operational unit, the foundations on which the building will later be built were being established. It is also a way for Sesc itself to get acquainted with the location, getting to know the neighborhood, its residents, workers and visitors. On May 28, 2015, we signed the document in which the City Hall of São Paulo grants Sesc, for 99 years, the 9,000 square meter land located at the confluence of Estado Avenue, Mercúrio Street and São Vito Square, in the center of capital. A few days later, we opened the doors of the Occupation Sesc Parque Dom Pedro II to receive the public during the Virada Cultural event. It was the first indication of our deep and urgent desire to connect with the city. Since then, in an
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