Museu de Arte da Bahia

Museu de Arte da Bahia
Name	Museu de Arte da Bahia
Native name	Museu de Arte da Bahia
Established	1931
Location	Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Type	Art museum

Museu de Arte da Bahia is a major art institution located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, founded in 1931 to preserve, research, and exhibit Brazilian and international visual arts. The museum operates within the cultural landscape shaped by figures and institutions such as Jorge Amado, Gilberto Freyre, Cândido Portinari, Tarsila do Amaral, and Anitta Malfatti, interacting with municipal and state bodies including the Prefeitura de Salvador and the Governo da Bahia. Its collections and programs engage with artistic movements represented by names like Modernismo (Brazil), Barroco Brasileiro, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Contemporary art trends from Latin America and Europe.

História

The museum was established during the era of cultural mobilization influenced by personalities such as Getúlio Vargas, Mário de Andrade, Arthur Ramos, Mário Cravo Neto, and Pierre Verger, and by institutions like the Academia Brasileira de Letras, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional, and the Museu de Arte de São Paulo. Its early acquisitions included works by Cândido Portinari, Alfredo Volpi, Di Cavalcanti, Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, and exchanges with collections tied to Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil, Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, and foreign partners such as the Musée du Louvre and the British Museum. Over decades the museum navigated cultural policies initiated under administrations like Jânio Quadros, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and engaged with networks including the Associação Brasileira de Críticos de Arte and the Icomos.

Acervo

The museum's holdings span painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and decorative arts with works by Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti, Candido Portinari, Di Cavalcanti, Heitor dos Prazeres, Flávio de Carvalho, Aleijadinho, Pedro Américo, Benedito Calixto, Antonio Parreiras, Romero Britto, Beatriz Milhazes, Vik Muniz, Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Cildo Meireles, Tomie Ohtake, Frei Caneca, Nise da Silveira, Joaquim José da Natividade, Joana Angélica, and objects connected to Afro-Brazilian heritage reflected in collections associated with Ilê Aiyê, Vovó Bela, and religious practices like Candomblé. The decorative arts holdings feature furniture and silverwork tied to families and patrons such as Casa de Jorge Amado, Capitania Hereditária, Barão do Rio Branco, and imports from Portugal and France represented in inventories similar to those of the Museu Imperial and Palácio da Alvorada. The museum also keeps archival materials related to exhibitions of Helio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Tunga, Cildo Meireles, and correspondences with curators from institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and the National Gallery (London).

Exposições e Programas Culturais

Temporary and permanent exhibitions have featured retrospectives and thematic shows curated around artists such as Jorge Amado (literary crossovers), Cândido Portinari, Tarsila do Amaral, Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Beatriz Milhazes, Ernesto Neto, Tunga, and Vicente do Rego Monteiro. The museum partners with festivals and events including Bienal de São Paulo, Bienal de Veneza, Salvador Carnival, Festival de Lençóis, and educational programs linked to universities such as the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Universidade de São Paulo, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, and the Sorbonne. Outreach initiatives connect to cultural NGOs like Instituto Moreira Salles, Fundação Cultural do Estado da Bahia, Fundação Nacional de Arte, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, and international exchange with the British Council and Alliance Française.

Arquitetura e Instalações

Housed in historic architecture reflective of Salvador’s colonial and republican phases, the building relates to urban landmarks such as the Pelourinho, Praça da Sé, Elevador Lacerda, Forte de Santo Antônio da Barra, Igreja de São Francisco (Salvador), and the Centro Histórico de Salvador. Architectural interventions reference styles found in structures like the Palácio Rio Branco, Solar do Unhão, Casa do Carnaval, and conservation practices employed at the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (MAM-BA). Facilities include climate-controlled galleries, conservation laboratories, an archive room, educational spaces, an auditorium used for lectures by scholars from institutions like Fundação Getulio Vargas, and public programming in collaboration with cultural centers such as the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil and the Projeto Axé.

Conservação e Pesquisa

Conservation efforts align with standards advocated by Icom, Icomos, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional, and research partnerships with laboratories at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas, Museu de História Natural e Jardim Botânico da Bahia, and international conservation centers like the Getty Conservation Institute and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Research projects have produced studies on pigments used by Aleijadinho, paper analysis relevant to works by Romero Britto, and provenance investigations connecting objects to colonial trade networks involving Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, and Angola.

Administração e Financiamento

The museum's governance is shaped by boards and trustees comprising cultural administrators, academics, and patrons with ties to organizations such as the Secretaria de Cultura da Bahia, Ministério da Cultura, Banco do Nordeste do Brasil, Petrobras Cultural, Fundação Nacional de Artes, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional, and private sponsors like Fundação Roberto Marinho and philanthropic entities similar to Instituto Moreira Salles. Funding sources include municipal and state budgets, grants from agencies such as the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, sponsorship agreements with corporations, and revenue from ticketing, merchandising, and cultural partnerships with museums like the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) and the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro.

Category:Museums in Salvador, Bahia