Architect Lina Bo Bardi explains the structural concepts underlying the creation of the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia. She asserts that because the institution she heads does not have an art collection, it should not be called a museum, but rather a “center,” “movement,” or “school.”  She also questions the use of the term “modern,” which she claims no longer describes groundbreaking forms of expression. However, she does acknowledge that critical consciousness and historical continuity are the great legacies of modern man. She explains that the museum will exhibit contemporary and modern work. In the view of Bo Bardi, art criticism in Brazil has not fully matured. In closing, Bo Bardi itemizes the contents of the first exhibition held at MAMB.

On the basis of a reference in a text by filmmaker Glauber Rocha (1939–81) entitled “MAMB Não é Museu: é Escola e Movimento. Por uma Arte Que Não Seja Desligada do Homem” published in 1960, it appears that this document is a transcription of the speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (MAMB) in Salvador in January 1960. The MAMB opened with a show of paintings by Antônio Bandeira (1922–67), an artist from Ceará, Brazil, and sculpture by Edgar Degas (1834–1917) received on loan from the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP).

Italian architect Lina Bo Bardi (née Achillina Bo, 1914–92) immigrated to Brazil after World War II, and in the fifties, she became a major figure on the São Paulo cultural scene. She designed the monumental Museu de Arte de São Paulo(MASP) building on Avenida Paulista. The museum, founded in 1947, was directed by her husband, art dealer Pietro Maria Bardi. She lived in Salvador, Bahia, from 1959 to 1964, the years that she directed the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (MAMB). Her work as the head of programming and education at MASP, and later as the director of MAMB, demonstrate her commitment to art historical exhibitions. She was also responsible for organizing exhibitions devoted to a wide range of contemporary art from Brazil and beyond, and for efforts that placed emphasis on popular culture from northeastern Brazil. Bo Bardi advocated organizing courses in art, music, cinema, and theater, and workshops in industrial design and crafts. Her work energized the art scene from this region of Brazil and allowed local artists to come into contact with major figures in contemporary art.

For a related text, see Lina Bo Bardi’s “Formas como escultura” [doc. no. 1110858].

For additional information, see Lina Bo Bardi’s “O Museu de Arte Moderna,” Diário de Notícias, Salvador, October 18, 1959; and Glauber Rocha’s “MAMB Não é Museu: é Escola e Movimento. Por uma Arte que Não Seja Desligada do Homem,” September 21, 1960.