Art Organiser Gets 21 Years

Edemar Cid Ferreira, a former president of the São Paulo Biennial and founder of the non-profit organisation BrasilConnects, has been sentenced by a Brazilian court to 21 years in prison for bank fraud and money laundering associated with his role as the head of the failed Banco Santos which left behind $1 billion in debts, The Art Newspaper Reports. The 63-year-old former banker was taken into custody in São Paulo on 12 December 2006 following his sentencing by the Federal High Court of Justice and was released 16 days later pending his appeal. The art patron and collector, who many agree re-energised the Brazilian art world by staging major international exhibitions, had previously served 88 days in prison from 26 May until 22 August 2006 for refusing to divulge the whereabouts of several works from his collection after a federal judge ordered it confiscated. As the founder of BrasilConnects, Cid Ferreira was responsible for overseeing the organisation of blockbuster art exhibitions in several museums around the world including art shows in 2001 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the British Museum in London and the Jeu de Paume in Paris. Irish Art