Checking ArtRio 2015, the Rio Art Fair

Last friday afternoon I escaped a little bit from my routine to check this year’s edition of ArtRio, the international Art Fair of Rio de Janeiro. I’ve been visiting ArtRio since its first edition and had the opportunity to see how this event has been consolidated in the Art scene in Rio.  Visiting ArtRio is the only moment when I stop to see what is going on the contemporary Art scene and check for myself what different international galleries has to show.

It is a moment when I just take the opportunity to release my mind from any worries or thoughts and just appreciate the beauty of art.

ArtRio always takes place in Rio in the first or second weekend of the month of September. If you are fond of arts and are planning to visit Rio, consider coming in the month of September.

ArtRio 2015 -September 10 to 13 – Pier Maua

Museu da Imagem e do Som (Image and Sound Museum) at Copacabana

A couple of weeks later than my last post, I share with you a photo of the new building of Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS) , Image and Sound Museum of Rio, on Avenida Atlântica, at Copacabana beach.

The new MIS building is still under construction and is supposed to be ready by June, 2016, but you can already see a little bit of its architecture and imagine how it is going to be when it is ready.

This new Image and Sound Museum is meant to be a contemporary museum and culture center hosting exhibitions to provide the visitors “a journey throughout the cultural history of Rio”.

The Museum is currently working in its old building in Lapa neighborhood, but that aren’t many events going on there. The Museum’s staff is focused in the preparation  of the Museum’s collection for the new Copacabana building.  So if you are in Rio right now, unfortunately you won’t be able to see the Museum’s collection for yourself, but if you got interested and curious about this Museum, check its website and Facebook page.

But if you are planning to come for the Olympic Games, maybe you should consider on your planning a quick visit to this Museum!!

Feira Hippie de Ipanema, Ipanema Hippie Fair

Every time someone is visiting Quiqui, my big sister who lives in New York, she “places a little order” with us. A little list of Brazilian items, things that she can’t find there in New York and that we gently take her whenever visiting her.

This time, my Mom is the lucky one who will be spending some days in New York with her, but I was the one responsible for buying some items of her little list that can only be found in Feira Hippie de Ipanema.  Thank you Quiqui!!It was a great excuse to escape on a Sunday morning from my two boys (husband and kid) and go to this place full of beautiful and creative things!!

Feira  Hippie de Ipanema is a popular street market  between tourists and locals in Rio, where you can find different types of Brazilian crafts. Good quality leather goods, silver bijou  or crafts bijou, “Capim dourado” goods (Gold grass, a typical grass from the center part of Brazil), clothes, wood goods, paintings, children’s clothes, and so many things that I am not able to remember everything you can find there. The best part is that most of things sold there are of good quality and the prices are much more attractive and fair than from any other shop in the south zone of Rio. It is a great place to buy some typical carioca souveniers for friends, family or a little treat for yourself.

But if you wanna adventure yourself walking around and browsing through the stalls, be ware that the Hippie Fair only happens on Sundays, and you better plan your days considering spending a Sunday in Ipanema neighborhood.

Location: The hippie fair takes place at Praça General Osório, a square between Rua Prudente de Morais and Rua Visconde de Pirajá, the first and second streets parallel with beachfront Vieira Souto.  You can easily reach Praça General Osório by subway, as the Ipanema subway station, General Osório Station, takes you right to Praça General Osório.

Special tips:

• Take cash! Although most of the stalls already accepts credit card,  some of them only accepts cash.
• Don’t arrive too early in the morning!  Although the fair is supposed to work from 7am to 7 pm every Sunday, many of the vendors arrive later! To see all the stalls working you better go after 2pm.
• The Hippie Fair is a street fair,  so don’t forget to take care of you personal belongings and follow all the safety tips I have already talked about here.
• Enjoy your time!!!

 

 

 

 

 

The Museum of the Indian – Museu do Índio in Botafogo

Today, April 19th, we celebrate Indian Day in Brazil , so as a tribute to all my indian ancestors I share with you the quick visit I paid some weeks ago to The Museum of the Indian in Botafogo.

If you happen to know a brazilian in your lifetime, ask about his origin. I dare to say almost 100% sure that his answer will be that somewhere looking back at his family tree, there is an indian ancestral in his genealogy (unless he is from an immigrant family) . Brazilian people are highly miscigenated. Portuguese, italians, and all the immigrants that came to Brazil to build their lives here had in some point of their family married indians or afrodescendants. I myself has a mix of  50% italian-afrobrazilian-indian + 50% portuguese-indian blood. That’s why I think that I got curious about visiting Museu do Índio, (Museum of the Indian) in Botafogo neighborhood. This “museum” is hidden in an elegant 19th-century mansion  in the quiet street Rua das Palmeiras in the heart of Botafogo. This museum is a cultural and scientific agency of the Fundação Nacional do Índio(National Foundation of the Indian) or FUNAI, and its main aim is to promote awareness of the importance of the indigenous cultures.

During my visit there I was completely by myself, except from the guards and from a man who arrived after me. I kept thinking how many of cariocas might already have visited this museum. Maybe not too many. Looking at the visitors notebook, I saw names of visitors from Portugal, Canada, German, but my name was the only one from Rio. Brazilians don’t have a very strong tradition in visiting museums,  and unfortunately Brazilian government don’t make great investments in Culture in general.

It was clear to me that the museum has difficulties to maintain itself. There was no one to receive me or to offer a brochure with a little guide to the museum. I got a little lost, until I discovered where to go first.   There are no signs in English, there are few of them even in portuguese. It doesn’t compare to any of the great museums of New York, London or Paris, but that  doesn’t mean that it is not worth the visit. Besides all of this, it is so interesting to visit a place that tries to keep the history and the memory of one of the people who were the first Brazilians, have a rich culture and knowledge about Nature. Unfortunately now, there are just a few of them.   Museu do Índio – Rua das Palmeiras 55, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro – Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm; Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, 1pm to 5 pm.

Kandinsky at CCBB

If you are staying in Rio this month and want to see a little bit of art while your stay, pay a visit to CCBB and visit Kandinsky exhibition. It would be a great opportunity to know this place, which is my favourite Cultural Center in Rio, always with great exhibitions and a pleasant atmosphere. Even if you are not very fond of Arts the visit is worth.

I always go there, and those who is already following this blog for a while already knows it! Most of the times, I go for the exhibitions, but sometimes I just go for a cup of coffee in the small coffee shop or just to seat and relax a little bit.

 

Kandinsky exhibition will be on CCCB until March 30th.

Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro – Rua Primeiro de Março, 66 – Centro – Wednesday to Monday – 9am to 9pm – Free admission