The Events

 AN OUTDOOR MUSEUM FOR CONTEMPORARY ART IN BRAZIL

by Carlos Robles

Just in the outskirts of Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais hides one of the most innovative, state of the art Museums: INHOTIM

A private, 178-acre lush botanical garden of 3,500 plant species, the outdoor museum is home to commissioned and collected works from artists such as Doug Aitken and Matthew Barney.

A visit to the immense Brazilian art park, an hour away from the country's third-largest metropolis, Belo Horizonte, feels both unusual and completely natural in this breathtaking setting.

The landscape and museum is actually located in the city of Brumadinho, easily accessed by car or bus from Belo Horizonte. With 30 thousand inhabitants, it is located in the valley of the Paraopeba River and has a great number of natural, historical and cultural assets.

The municipality covers an area of  634.4 km², almost 157 acres, and is located in the Espinhaço Massif, at the beginning of the so-called Western Tableland. The settlement dates back to the Emboaba War in 1708, when people rose against the stringent demands of the Portuguese Crown and went there prospecting for gold.

General view of Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil

 The INHTOTIM Institute

http://www.inhotim.org.br/index.php

The concept of Instituto Inhotim was first visualized by entrepreneur Bernardo Paz in the mid 80's. In 1984, the site was visited by famous landscape artist Roberto Burle Marx, who made some suggestions and contributions regarding the gardens. Since then, the original landscaping project has grown and undergone modifications.

The private estate was slowly transformed into a major cultural space, with the first buildings being erected to receive contemporary art works. In parallel, the botanical assets also grew, receiving an important increment in 2005 through the rescue and introduction of botanical collections from various regions in Brazil, with special focus on native species.

Inhotim was opened to the public in September of 2004 and during the following year started with school visit schedules to promote it to students of Brumadinho and special groups.

In October of 2006 the complete museum structure and gardens were opened to the public. All activities are developed by its foundation (Instituto Inhotim), a non-profit organization.

 Ihotim collection focuses contemporary art. Its collection has gathered more than 500 artworks from 100 artists of 30 nationalities with painting, sculpture, drawings, photography, video and installations of Brazilian and international renowned artists exhibited in galleries spread throughout the botanical gardens.

 In the year of 2008 the number of visitors reached a total of 110 thousand people from all over Brazil and other countries as well. In April, it was recognized as a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest (OSCIP) by the State Government of Minas Gerais.

On April 5^th, 2010 The Instituto Inhotim gardens received the official title of Botanical Garden from the Brazilian National Committee of Botanical Gardens (CNJB).  The total area of the gardens is constantly growing, with botanical research of native species and preservation of its bio-diversity.

Presently more than 4,500 species of plants are cultivated in the gardens. It is one of the largest collections of palm trees in Brazil. There are 334 different species of orchids among others.

Ihotim is a beautiful place, putting together the beuty of the nature with the beauty of art to give us a contemplation and reflection of the forms, shapes and colors of nature and the ones created by men.

Carlos Robles

Scholar in Resident

Daytona State College

Source: official Inhotim web site, official Brumadinho (Portal de Brumadinho) web site

Photos: cool hunting, portal de Brumadinho.
 

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Sister Cities and Cinematique have teamed up once again to bring you a delightful evening (and raise a little money for Sister Cities) on Friday June 3.  We’ll be sponsoring the opening night of Potiche, a French film starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu.  Remember that you can order food from Ivy Lane Bistro and a drink, have a glass of wine while you watch this sophisticated romantic comedy.   The film starts at 7:30, and the theatre is on Beach Street, two blocks south of International Speedway Boulevard.

Sister Cities is pleased to sponsor the film “Potiche” which will be shown at the Cinematique Theater on Beach Street, Daytona Beach.  The film will be shown June 3-16, 2011.  The special fundraiser evening for Sister Cities is June 3, the opening night of the film.  “Potiche” is rated (R) and runs 1 hour and 43 minutes.  It is a French film with English subtitles.  General admission for the film is $9, and the start time for the movie is 7:30 P.M.  The following is a synopsis of the film, “Potiche”:

Set in 1977 in a provincial French town, “Potiche” is a free adaptation of the 1970s eponymous hit comic play.  Catherine Deneuve is Suzanne Pujol, a submissive ‘trophy housewife’ (or “potiche”,) who steps in to manage the umbrella factory run by her wealthy and tyrannical husband (Fabrice Luchini) after the workers go on strike and take him hostage.  To everyone’s surprise, Suzanne proves herself a competent and assertive woman of action.  Gerard Depardieu plays a former union leader and Suzanne’s ex-beau who still holds a flame for her.

Please join us on June 3, opening night, to support Sister Cities as we present “Potiche”.

Dixie Blake, President

Sister Cities Association of Volusia

dixieblake@gmail.com 

Cinematique Theater phone:  (386) 252-3118 and website: cinematique.org

Sister Cities Needs a Publicist and a Young-Artists Coordinator.

Last year’s publicist, Mary Mittelhaeuser, became so well known that she is now in a demanding full-time job and is unable to continue with us.

We have a detailed task list which should make it seamless for a new person to take over. If you would like to beef up your resume or perform public service for the community in return for a small stipend, you may be interested in this position.

Basics include the ability to write succinctly following a prescribed format to send out monthly press releases and attending monthly board meetings at 5:30 pm on the Second Wednesday of each month, as well as some coordination of the young artist competition. The position starts November 13, 2010.

Please contact:

Mary Lou Deeley
105 Jamestown Drive
Ormond Beach, FL, USA
32176
1 386 677-6931
mdeeley@peoplepc.com