After a detailed and complete restoration process, which started in 2012, the Casa de Portinari Museum was reopened in May, 2014. The action involved the reinforcement of the structure of the house built at the beginning of the 19th century by simple techniques. The mural paintings were completely restored and had to undergo a special process, so that they could be stabilized on the walls of the house. A new exhibition project, completely new, was created to highlight Portinari’s ties with his birthplace.
For this new project, electronic devices are used, such as a projection of the evolution of the house through successive renovations promoted by Portinari during his lifetime. The presentation of unpublished pictures, found in the US, taken by the American photographer Hart Preston and the exhibition “step by step of how to do a fresco painting”, technique used on the works done over the walls of the house, among other materials.
The restoration process has also revealed an unknown fresco near the house entrance door: a dark-haired woman, holding a blue-eyed baby. In December 2014, a committee of researchers attested that Candido Portinari had done the work, with the help of an unknown assistant.
PHOTOS GALLERY
Monteiro Lobato Museum’s theater, with capacity for 130 people seated, was remodeled and reopened in 2010. Among the improvements, the space received modifications to the stage, roof, lighting and electric installations.
Between January and March 2011, another museum area deserved cares. A recovery and conservation project was developed for the tree garden with the intent of characterizing the existing vegetation with a description of the species, aiming at conservation actions and contemplating the creation of a small herbarium.
At the museum, a 100-year-old, 29-meter-tall jackfruit tree located on the south side close to the front of the main house also underwent maintenance work. Over the years, the tree acquired lesions caused by tension and compression forces resulting from the swaying of its top during strong winds. The contention supplied a support structure to avoid the tree cracking completely. Condephaat (Council for the defense of Historical, Archeological, Artistic and Tourism asset) also protects the garden, which has already received several remodeling interventions throughout time.
PHOTOS GALLERY
The auditorium is also object of constant cares, the seats have been changed, the orchestra pit is ready to be used on the shows, a highly capable generator has been acquired, and a more suitable model, which is acceptable by safety rules, has replaced the stages windows. The same has been done to the structure. A reception room has been created and it is completely prepared to receive visitors, as well as specific furniture for every department of the institution, such as drinking fountains, benches, picnic-tables, sofas, dustbins, among others. Regarding to the communication project, the visitor will be able to check important and curious pieces of information about the conductor and multi-instrumentalist Claudio Santoro.
PHOTOS GALLERY
The project works to restore Felícia Leirner Museum began in 2009. In all, 44 sculptures in bronze and 40 in white cement were restored. The first phase of the process, led by restorer Júlio Moraes, contemplated the pieces made of cement, which underwent structural restoration, from the maintenance of the reinforced concrete to the painting with whitewash. In the second and last phase, in 2010, the bronze works had their brick base replaced by apparent cement and were polished to recover their shine. From then on, the whole collection has been included on a permanent conservation project to avoid that the objects get worn out excessively by the time action. In 2013 a new masterpiece by Felicia Leirner was acquired. Carved out in granite, its arrival was essential for completing the collection as it reveals and gathers important information on the connection between the artist and the sculptor Victor Brecheret.
During the work of ACAM Portinari at the institution, the communication project has undergone constant improvements. The identification signals of the artworks and information boards are light, tough and discrete, and they were projected to be in harmony with the landscape. They also offer a better view and autonomy to the public when they walk through the paths, making available pieces of information about Felicia Leirner’s life and work and aspects linked to the environment, as people are invited to listen and observe the local nature.
PHOTOS GALLERY
In Amparo, the Bernardino de Campos Museum project foresees the complete restoration of the building, the installation of a technical reserve – to shelter the pieces not being exhibited – adequate for the needs of the collection, besides the construction of new restrooms, ramps and elevating platforms for the accessibility of the physically challenged with reduced mobility. With the civil works, the building will gain sustainable measures, such as economical light bulbs and timers.
The remodeling includes the construction of two annexes, a café in the external area of the ground floor to serve the public, and an auditorium a few meters from the main building. The new project also contemplates a new long-term exhibition based on the wealth of the museum’s collection representing the customs of different times.
PHOTOS GALLERY
In 2010, Índia Vanuíre Historical and Pedagogical Museum in Tupã was reopened with a revitalized permanent exposition and remodeling of the internal and external areas of the building. The cultural space also received a new paint job, flooring and roofs, ramps and handrails to facilitate the access of the physically challenged with reduced mobility, besides now counting on a technical reserve.
The new setup’s core concepts are interculturalism, diversity and difference. The first part of the exhibit introduces the city’s history in a dialogue with the contemporary and historical aspects, as well as the constitution of the municipality. In the second and third modules, Vanuíre Village and the Kaingang and Krenak ethnic groups, with their cultures and resistance, are exhibited to the visitors, followed by the indigenous in Brazil – in all, the museum gathers information and objects from approximately 47 different indigenous tribes. In the two last parts, the indigenous plume, fabric and basketwork arts are exhibited in glass display cases, texts and multimedia resources.
During the remodeling, some sustainable measures were implemented – such as selective garbage cans, low power-consumption light bulbs and a hydraulic system that saves water. The project also considered better thermal comfort for the visitors -, besides architectural solutions to control the natural lighting, it included temperature-control and a landscaping project with a contemplation and rest structure, transforming the museum into a welcoming space for the community.
PHOTOS GALLERY
Conselheiro Rodrigues Alves Historical and Pedagogical Museum, in Guaratinguetá, was reopened to the public in 2010. Located in a large 19th-century house, since 1982 it has counted on a new permanent exposition, rooms for temporary exhibits, a technical reserve and an auditorium.
The collection, with approximately 1,600 items including panels, documents, books and bookbindings, commemorative medals, miniatures, photographs and household objects mostly related to Rodrigues Alves, Brazil’s president from 1902 to 1906, was redistributed according to the new exhibit proposal mainly focused on the city of Guaratinguetá. The restoration also solved problems in the historic building and qualified the space with architectural and museological solutions already used in large cultural centers, such as eco-sustainability and accessibility, privileging the society that visits the space and becoming a reference center in the museological area.
PHOTOS GALLERY
Paulo Setúbal Museum in Tatuí was reopened in 2010 with a permanent exhibition contemplating cutouts from São Paulo city’s history and the life of its patron, the writer and journalist Paulo Setúbal (1893 to 1937). After the remodeling, the three-story building that dates back to 1920 now has an auditorium, a technical reserve and a room for temporary expositions. Moreover, the spaces were re-adapted to receive challenged people and sustainable measures were incorporated to the building’s structure.
In the new exposition, the basement is dedicated to narrating the participation of Tatui’s inhabitants in armed conflicts and the curiosities of the museum’s collection. On the ground floor, the visitors can appreciate Paulo Setúbal’s life and work. The upper floor shows the establishment of the city, population movements, the first inhabitants, colonizers and the conflicts they generated, as well as the presence of the muleteers in the region. The museum also counts on multimedia activities, such as a computer game in which the participant assumes the role of a muleteer in the 19th century that travels around Brazil selling his products.
PHOTOS GALLERY
In August 2009, after a period of civil works, Piracicaba received the new Prudente de Moraes Historical and Pedagogical Museum. With the remodeling, the museum now counts on a new permanent exhibition that occupies the main spaces of the building where Brazil’s first civilian president, Prudente José de Moraes Barros (1841-1902), lived and worked. The museum approaches this important Brazilian politician’s life and work.
Besides the exhibit repositioning, the property also recovered the aspect of the time when it was used as the President Prudente de Moraes’ residence and received improvements in the building’s electric and hydraulic systems; firefighting and vandalism safety equipment; and accessibility for challenged people with mobility difficulties. Among other conquests, the museum now has a technical reserve designed based on the needs of its own collections, an auditorium and a coffee shop.
PHOTOS GALLERY