Rio Museum of Art in Times of Trouble

Given the growing diagnoses of musealization processes, of the spreading of cultural centers and of the new status assigned to curators, this research investigates the emergence of exhibitory institutions as instruments for intervention in the urban space, in times of social change. I shall here analyze the foundation of the Museu de Arte do Rio, in March 2013, at the Rio de Janeiro harbor district. The aim of the research is discussing the possibility of building an art institution, taking on account the formation of social networks and the negotiations for the emergence of a shared project. To think about these issues, I have been investigating how it is possible to solve controversies and to build consensus around the concepts of modern, contemporary, and a global (and / or creative) city. Built through a decade of disputes, the Museu de Arte do Rio seems to be revealing both of the place destined for museums in contemporary times, and of the negotiations between organized groups and institutions in Rio. Proposed in times of optimism and prosperity in expectation for megaevents such as the World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016, the museum was conceived as a new icon for the city's image. Nevertheless, just when it was founded in March, 2013, the museum was, however, the target of demonstrations that anticipated the massive protests that spread in the country since mid-2013, taking to the streets of the city more than a hundred thousand of people in June 17 , 2013. This paper seeks to understand how the institution has been the target of new disputes in the city and has been incorporating new categories to face the demands for change.