Rio Mundi and Up Bazar Super Fair

By Felicity Clarke, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO – Two big market events have joined forces to create a super fair of global artisan products and contemporary Rio fashion. For the first time, Rio Mundi, a fair of international craft and food, and Up Bazar, a fashion market of Rio brands with up to seventy percent discounts, have combined for the week-long event at the Jockey Club in Gávea until this coming Sunday, March 28th.

Traditional cultures are celebrated on the Rio Mundi side of the event. Presenting artisan works from over 28 countries, the market is an opportunity to browse traditional garments, furniture, and craft items made using traditional techniques and materials that rarely find commercial outlet in Brazil.

Stands feature sumptuous Oriental luxuries from Indonesia and Turkey, to African wooden sculpture works, to artisan products from South American countries such as geometric designs and ceramics from Peru.

The fair is an international event with origins in European cities such as Milan, Munich and Lisbon where it has a history of global artisan exhibition going back almost twenty years. While smaller manifestations have taken place in São Paulo and Minas Gerais, Rio Mundi is the first large scale event bringing in international artisans to Brazil.

Organizer Cláudia Bastos explains Rio is perfect for such an event; “Rio is the cultural capital of Brazil. It’s a place with so many ethnicities and identities. Rio is a place where cultures mix.”

With a rich catalog of the finest furniture and textiles from countries including India, Mexico, Japan and Kenya, the market is an industry attraction for those working in design, particularly interior design, architecture and fashion.

However, the beauty and intrigue of a truly exotic range of products and trade prices make it of general interest, especially to those on the hunt for home items. Prices range from R$5 for a Russian matryoshka doll to up to R$5000 for some Indonesian sculptured furniture, with many items half the price they would be at specialist import shops.

While craft goods are the focus of the fair, food culture is also celebrated with stalls specializing in delicacies like custard desserts from Portugal and Arabic sweets from Tunisia. The gastronomical and cultural variety of Brazil is also represented with the exotic fruits and nuts from the North and dried cheeses and meats from the South.

Brazilian artisan producers from all over the country will also be selling goods such as gems from Minas Gerais, embroidery from Ceará and innovative crafts from Pernambuco.

Alongside the stalls there will be entertainment in the form of free shows of traditional folk dancing from Spain, India and South Africa.

While Rio Mundi focuses on traditional global cultures, sister event Up Bazar offers contemporary Rio style. Fashion labels such as Farm, Basthianna, Sandpiper and Corpo & Alma are among the 140 brands at the event offering up to seventy percent discount. So whether it’s international artisan crafts or latest fashion, the Jockey Club is definitely the place to head this week.

Rio Mundi & Up Bazar (Gavea)
Jockey Club do Rio de Janeiro, Praça Santos Dumont 31, Gávea
2PM to 11PM (to March 28th)
Entrance: R$5

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