A arte de ter um ofício: Liceu de Artes e Ofícios da Bahia (1872-1972)

Abstract

The Lyceum of Arts and Crafts of Bahia constitutes the central theme of the research, considered in its mutualist, educational, cultural and productive dimensions aimed at the interests of the artistic and working classes, since its foundation on October 20, 1872. The objective is to analyze and understand the processes of formation, creation, consolidation and decay of the institution in the different contexts experienced by Brazilian and Bahian society, marked by slavery, by the abolition of slavery and implantation of the republic, observing the multiplicity of functions that it played throughout of its 100-year trajectory (1872-1972), with the leading role of workers who played different roles in the conduction and development of their individual and collective projects. From the perspective of social history, this study understands the Liceu in the history of social movements in Bahia, in view of the social function that it has exercised since its origins, and that continues to exercise, by revealing the protagonism of workers for its foundation and consolidation, in the world of urban work. Having been the victim, in 1968, of a devastating fire that destroyed part of its installations, especially the historic building of the 18th century, the Paço do Saldanha, the documentary collection produced by the institution was completely destroyed, which boosted the research in the identification of documents, through true "mining" in different archival institutions and libraries. In this way, several sources were gathered, such as bibliographical, printed (official, periodicals, reports, etc), iconographic and memorialistic sources, through testimonies. Therefore, the dissertation is divided into two parts, being the First Part, “The worker enters the scene”, dedicated to contextualizing the Liceu in the dynamics of the transformations of the world of work in Salvador, aiming to understand the process of formation and organization of the artistic and worker classes in the period of transition from Monarchy to Republic. The Second Part, “Lyceum of Arts and Crafts: Multiple Actions”, recovers dimensions of institutional history in its complexity, considering the multiple functions it played over a hundred years. As a mutualist, educational, cultural and productive institution, we identified stages of consolidation and apogee, as well as the decadence that it faced after the fire of 1968, inserted in the set of socio-political and cultural changes that took place in Brazil and in Bahia in particular.