Fourteenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Located in the historic center of Rio de Janeiro, the Museum of Art of Rio (MAR-RJ) is an institution created for carrying out a transversal approach of the city´s history by exhibiting art and culture visual collections. The museum mission is based on the principle of articulating museum and art education through the creation of the Escola do Olhar, which contributes to educating teachers that work in the municipal network. The MAR-RJ was conceived from a partnership between the City of Rio de Janeiro and the Roberto Marinho Foundation (FRM), a private non-profit institution linked to Grupo Globo, the largest Brazilian communication conglomerate. The FRM has been exploring the concept of edutainment in Brazilian museums since the beginning of the 21st century. The equivalent importance given to both museum and school can be architecturally seen in the MAR-RJ project. Designed by Bernardes + Jacobsen Arquitetura, the MAR-RJ integrates two existing buildings in Praça Mauá for the creation of a suspended walkway and a concrete marquee. This study examines the symbolic and spatial relations established between education and museum at MAR-RJ, analyzing both architectural and curatorial conception. To this end, we take as an example the exhibition “Women in the MAR collection” (2018), an interesting case of collaborative curatorship that integrated women who worked at the Escola do Olhar as curators.