Inaugurated on 1 March 2013, the Museu de Arte do Rio promotes a transversal reading of the city’s history, its social fabric, its symbolic life, conflicts, contradictions, challenges and social expectations. Its exhibitions unite historical and contemporary dimensions of art through national and international exhibitions of long and short duration. The museum also rises with a mission to insert art in public education, through its Escola do Olhar.
MAR is located in Praça Mauá, in two buildings with both heterogeneous and interconnected profiles: the Dom João VI Mansion, listed and eclectic, which houses the exhibition rooms, and the neighbouring building, in a modernist style – originally a bus station – where the Escola do Olhar is situated.
With its own collection – in the process of being built through acquisitions and donations that correspond to its agenda – MAR also counts on the loaning of works from some of the best public and private collections in Brazil for the execution of its programme.
A proactive space for the support of education and culture, the museum was born with a school – the Escola do Olhar –, whose museological proposal is innovative: to foster the development of an educational programme of reference for actions in Brazil and overseas, bringing together art and education starting from the curatorial programme that guides the institution.
An initiative of the Rio City Hall Hall in partnership with the Roberto Marinho Foundation, MAR performs activities that involve the collection, registration, research, preservation and returning to the community of cultural goods – in the shape of exhibitions, catalogues and multimedia and educational programmes, as recommended by Unesco.
MAR is managed by Instituto Odeon, a social organisation for Culture. The museum has Grupo Globo as its maintainer, Equinor as its master sponsor, Bradesco Seguros as a sponsor, BNDES as financial supporter and Rede D’Or São Luiz as an exhibition sponsor, through the Federal Law for Cultural Incentives.
The Escola do Olhar is sponsored by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, Municipal Secretariat of Culture, Dataprev, TNA, In Press Group and BNY Mellon, through the Municipal Law for Cultural Incentives – ISS Law and Machado Meyer Lawyers via the Federal Law for Cultural Incentives. MAR also enjoys the support of the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the Ministry of Citizenship and the Federal Government of Brazil, through the Federal Law for Cultural Incentives.