With one of the most scintillating views in town – you can gaze up at the beautiful Martinelli building from the balcony, and across over the Vale de Anhangabaú – Estúdio Lâmina is the latest in a series of arty, interesting venues livening up the heart of the city. Just down the road from Trackertowers (Rua Dom João de Barros 337, Centro, 3337 5750) and from SOSO Arte Contemporânea Africana.

Estúdio Lâmina opened in November 2011 in a fine old downtown apartment, dedicated to bringing together art residencies and exhibitions with music, dance and circus performance. Daytime exhibitions can be visited by appointment – not because it's a particularly exclusive sort of joint, but simply since it also doubles as the home of some of the artists who work and show there.

An evening at the Estúdio, at one of its occasional soirées, is a heady, surprising cabaret-style mix of art, music and performance: hang out and chat to the arty creators of the event and rub shoulders with the mixed, fun crowd, and then move through the spaces as a dance performance starts up in one room, a poetry reading in another, and a mini-gala variety show suddenly appears before you, with comedy, music and even a dash of magic.