In celebration of Rio de Janeiro’s 448th anniversary, the Rio Art Museum recently opened its doors to the public complete with a visit from Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff. The museum, which is located in picturesque Guanabara Bay, is the latest bid in Rio’s attempt to reinvent itself before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.
Also known by its Portuguese acronym MAR (which curiously means ‘sea’ in Portuguese), the museum has opened with four new exhibitions including the collection of Jean Borghici which includes a large exhibition of 20th century art encompassing Modernism, Surrealism and figurative and abstract painting. Artists featured in this collection include French artist Jean-Baptiste Debret, Brazilian modernist Tarsila de Amaral and Brazilian sculptor Lygia Clark.
Meanwhile, MARS River of Images exhibition provides a special insight into the bay where the museum is located, featuring various 18th century maps, 19th century paintings and contemporary photos of the bay and showing the evolution of the area.
Another exhibition, titled Vontade Construtiva na Coleção Fadel (Constructive Will in the Fadel Collection), provides a glimpse into another private collection which ranges from early 20th century avant garde to examples of Brazilian Concretism.
The fourth exhibition, O Abrigo e o Terreno (which translates into The Shelter and the Land) launches the Art and Society programs at MAR by providing a discussion of the urban, social and cultural transformations of public and private spaces.
The museum was designed by Bernardes + Jacobsen and will contain a strong community focus, as recommended by UNESCO. Apart from hosting its own collection, the museum will also showcase works on loan from various public and private collections in Brazil.
A $3.8 billion project, it is hoped that MAR will help to renovate the port’s image from a derelict neighbourhood to a thriving arts and culture centre.
The museum also contains an auditorium and classroom where 2,000 teachers from Rio de Janeiro’s public school system will be able to receive art appreciation classes each year. In fact, education is a big aim of the project in general, as museum officials have stated that they hope to bring 100,000 public school students to the museum in the first year – a number they hope to double in the following years.
MAR isn’t the only museum taking over Rio before the 2016 Olympic Games. The Museum of Image and Sound, located on Copacabana beach, and the Casa Daros, a private collection of Latin American art are also opening next month, hoping to add more culture to Rio before the district is flooded with Olympic tourists.
