Associação Paulista de Amigos da Arte

Associação Paulista de Amigos da Arte
Name	Associação Paulista de Amigos da Arte
Native name	Associação Paulista de Amigos da Arte
Formation	1952
Type	Nonprofit cultural association
Headquarters	São Paulo
Region served	Brazil
Language	Portuguese

Associação Paulista de Amigos da Arte Associação Paulista de Amigos da Arte is a São Paulo–based cultural association founded in 1952 that supports visual arts, music, and performance through exhibitions, collections, and public programs connected with institutions such as the Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museu Afro Brasil, Theatro Municipal of São Paulo, and Universidade de São Paulo. It has engaged with international partners including the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Centre Pompidou, and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The association collaborates with artists, curators, and cultural managers linked to Cândido Portinari, Tarsila do Amaral, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, and Cildo Meireles.

History

Founded in 1952, the association emerged amid cultural movements around the Semana de Arte Moderna (1922), the postwar exchanges involving the Venice Biennale, and the institutional development of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo and the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo. Early initiatives included support for exhibitions of Lasar Segall, Anita Malfatti, Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, Estação Pinacoteca collaborations, and acquisition projects with collectors like Assis Chateaubriand and curators associated with Mário Pedrosa. During the 1960s and 1970s the association navigated cultural policies influenced by events such as the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état and engaged with performance projects linked to Grupo Oito and international exchanges with the Bienal de São Paulo. In the 1980s and 1990s its programs expanded to partnerships with Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo and research networks tied to Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and the Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil.

Mission and Activities

The association's mission emphasizes support for contemporary practice and preservation, maintaining alliances with institutions like the Museu do Ipiranga, Centro Cultural São Paulo, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, MASP, and the Instituto Moreira Salles to promote exhibitions, acquisitions, and publications. Activities include commissioning works by artists connected to Vik Muniz, Beatriz Milhazes, Adriana Varejão, Cildo Meireles, Lygia Pape; facilitating residencies with programs modeled after the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Alexander Calder Foundation; and organizing symposia with scholars from Universidade de Coimbra, Columbia University, Universidade de Lisboa, and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

Collections and Exhibitions

The association curates and loans works from collection holdings featuring prints, paintings, sculptures, and installations by figures such as Tarsila do Amaral, Candido Portinari, Di Cavalcanti, Hélio Oiticica, and Lygia Clark and contemporary practitioners like Ernesto Neto, Rivane Neuenschwander, Luiz Zerbini, Rosana Paulino, and Jonathas de Andrade. Exhibitions have been staged at venues across São Paulo, including the Bienal Pavilion, Casa das Rosas, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, and on national circuits with the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro and Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), as well as international shows at the São Paulo Biennial, the Biennale di Venezia, and partnerships with the British Museum and Smithsonian Institution.

Education and Community Programs

Educational programs operate in collaboration with schools like Escola de Comunicação da Universidade de São Paulo, community centers such as CEU (Centro Educacional Unificado), and cultural NGOs including Itaú Cultural, Instituto Ayrton Senna, and Fundação Gol de Letra. Programs range from workshops inspired by practices of Lygia Clark, lectures by curators from Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, artist residencies modeled on Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, to outreach projects with municipal partners like the Prefeitura de São Paulo and state agencies such as Secretaria da Cultura do Estado de São Paulo.

Architecture and Facilities

The association has maintained offices and exhibition space in São Paulo neighborhoods connected to cultural hubs like Avenida Paulista, Bela Vista, Vila Madalena, and near institutions like MASP and the Pinacoteca. Facilities have supported climate-controlled storage compatible with conservation standards promoted by the ICOM and the Museu de Arte de São Paulo conservation department, and have hosted installation projects requiring technical support similar to that at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake and the Sesc São Paulo centers.

Governance and Funding

Governance follows a nonprofit board structure including curators, collectors, and academics associated with Universidade de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas, and cultural administrators from Itaú Cultural; advisory councils have included figures connected to MASP, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, and the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo. Funding sources combine private patronage from corporations such as Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco, Petrobras, philanthropic foundations like the Fundação Roberto Marinho, and public cultural incentives via laws analogous to the Lei Rouanet and municipal cultural funds administered by the Prefeitura de São Paulo.

Notable Events and Collaborations

Notable events include curated retrospectives and collaborative projects presented in partnership with the Bienal de São Paulo, joint exhibitions with the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, publication series co-produced with Instituto Moreira Salles, symposiums hosting scholars from Harvard University, Goldsmiths, University of London, and curatorial exchanges with institutions such as the Tate Modern, MoMA PS1, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The association has supported landmark projects involving artists represented by galleries like Galeria Vermelho and Luciana Brito Galeria, and cross-disciplinary events bridging museums, theaters, and universities including Theatro Municipal of São Paulo and Universidade Mackenzie.

Category:Cultural organizations based in São Paulo