The SCArteBrasil, founded by Carmen Santos Ritenour in São Paulo in 1985, was born from her global and multifaceted vision, which led to the creation and production of multi-cultural international projects. In 1990 , Carmen further established Los Angeles-based CS Productions, to further the reach of her vision on international platform.
From her very first project, Carmen garnered international credibility with producing Contrastes de Forma in Brazil, which exhibited 150 abstract geometric works of art from the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The exhibition, which took place at the Art Museum of Sao Paulo (MASP) featured works by Pablo Picasso, Kasimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, Vasily Kandinsky, Fernand Léger, and Ellsworth Kelly were part of the show, among others. It was the first exhibition bringing together works of Kandinsky from the collections of both museums.
Brazil Projects, considered a milestone for presenting Brazilian art in the U.S. and abroad, came next. The project brought together various genres of the arts, including photography, architecture, visual arts, film, television, music and journalism, with nine curators. Headquartered in three spaces in New York, the musical performances took place at Town Hall: the film festival at the Public Theatre, and a major exhibition and at MoMA PS1. The event included artists and musicians: Caetano Veloso, João Gilberto, Helio Oiticica, Laurie Anderson, Cildo Meireles, Nam Jum Paik, Antonio Dias, Franz Krajcberg, Guto Lacaz, João Bosco, Miguel Rio Branco, Mario Cravo Neto, Antonio Dias, Ligia Clark, and Ivens Machado, among others.
On the international scene, Carmen has created and produced exhibitions and musical performances in the United States, Brasil and Japan. Brazil Projects, was held in Los Angeles at the Municipal Art Gallery and the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, bringing together sixteen Brazilian and American visual artists, showcasing the American avant-garde and comparable Brazilian artist. Participating artists included: José Roberto Aguilar, David Amico, Antonio Dias, Jill Giegerich, Marco G. Gianotti, Joe Goode, Jorge Guinle, Roger Herman, Fabio Miguez, John Millei, Sabina Ott, Flavia Ribeiro, Sergio S.T. Romagnolo, Dudi Maia Rosa, Pauline Stella Sanchez, and Nelsen Valentine.
The SCArteBrasil also developed projects designed to raise public awareness of environmental issues. We Love Music We Love Earth was a concert in celebration of Earth Day at the Teatro Budokan in Tokyo, with proceeds going to the United Nations and Eco -92. The event featured James Taylor, Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Sadao Watanabe, Ivan Lins, Patti Austin, John Bosco, Don Grusin, Oscar Castro Neves, Harvey Mason, Abraham Laboriel, and Alex Acuna, with a satellite broadcast to 22 countries. Earth Voice Concert, also at the Teatro Budokan in Tokyo, featured Gilberto Gil, Anita Baker, Michael McDonald, Phil Perry, Lee Ritenour, Johnny Clegg, Roberta Flack, Lisa Fisher, James Ingram, and Toshiki Kadomatsu. Along with this show, she produced a video bringing awareness to environmental issues, directed by Ethan Russell, which was broadcast as a TBS Japanese TV special.
Among her many diverse achievements, Carmen curated and produced the widely-heralded concert in tribute to the great composer/musician Antonio Carlos Jobim in New York at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Featured musicians included Sting, Joao Gilberto, Herbie Hancock, Lee Ritenour, Caetano Veloso, Michael Brecker, Milton Nascimento, Dave Grusin, Eliane Elias, Jacques Morelenbaum, Astrud Gilberto , Caymmi Family, Gal Costa , Oscar Castro Neves, Paulinho da Costa, Russel Ferrante , Paulinho da Costa, Mike Shapiro, and Vinnie Colaiuta, plus the all-star band Rhythm Section with Harvey Mason, John Patitucci, Russell Ferrante, and Café.
Most recently, Carmen conceptualized and produced, The Margins of the Seas, a meeting of musicians and visual artists from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Portugal , brought together to celebrate the cultures of the Portuguese speaking world. Presented by the Sociedade Cultural Arte Brasil and SESC São Paulo, the project curated by Agnaldo Farias, with musical direction by Lee Ritenour, laced the visual arts and music through the contemporary artistic expression of the three continents.
The exhibition brought together works by twelve artists who, in addition to the Portuguese language, shared an interest in the quest for innovative artistic ideas. Concepts such as memory, space and architecture were among the topics addressed in installations, photographs and videos included in the show. In tangent, three musical performances took place at Teatro Paulo Autran in São Paulo. Each night had a focus (Portugal, Africa, and Brazil), featuring a group of musicians and singers as hosts with a number of guests. This interaction of the repertoires of each musical territory sparked unprecedented creations and collaborations. An international band with prominent names accompanied each of the three shows.