The Game

The game was developed as part of a preliminary action for the creation of an Advanced Interdisciplinary Hub of PUC-Rio (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) inside Rocinha. It was intended to centralize the projects of different PUC-Rio departments, mobilizing professors, undergraduate, and graduate students toward the provision of technical assistance for Rocinha residents.

A group of students, professors, scholars, Rocinha residents, and members of the Sankofa Museum gathered with the aim of developing a participatory project to create a new physical venue for the museum. The goal is to work collectively with Rocinha inhabitants, from the formulation of the museum’s programme to its construction.

To listen to the residents’ demands on the museum’s future space, we organized an outdoor event with playful activities that helped stimulate the debate. The Museum Game idea was developed through conversations with Antonio Firmino, a member of the Sankofa Museum and of the Centro Lúdico (Ludic Center). From the participatory process’s point of view, the game’s intent is to engage and attract residents to a debate about the museum’s programme and architectonic plan.

The game’s board consists of an illustration of the Rocinha places where the museum activities could potentially take place. Each side of the dice represents a different venue: a rooftop, a park, a street, a block, the amphitheater, or the forest. After playing the dice, each participant plays a card with the activity he/she would like the venue to hold. The cards suggest diverse activities, which go beyond a museum’s conventional programme. There are also blank cards that can be filled during the game.