nowadays, folk art and hand made goods are a major part of the brazilian cultural experience and tourism industry, as well as playing as large a role as they always have, in the daily lives of poor people throughout rio de janeiro, state, and the nation as a whole.

at the national level, there are museums and organizations dedicated to the preservation, study and celebration of the brazilian folk art traditions. rigorous debate in academic circles is questioning the nature of folk art in the contemporary context - is it a counter culture, developing in response to and in spite of classical art traditions or, is it a modern expression of antiquated pre-academic models, unsullied by the passage of time?