Photoclubbing in Poços de Caldas

The Instituto Moreira Salles reopens its cultural center in Poços de Caldas, after carrying out works in its spaces that have improved the conditions for welcoming visitors and expanded the possibilities of its programs. The Chalé Cristiano Osório, built in 1894, was restored, and the cultural center building, designed by architect Aurelio Martinez Flores in the early 1990s, had its exhibition halls equipped with a new lighting system and exhibition facilities. The auditorium has been fully renovated, with the installation of appropriate furniture as well as projection and sound equipment, qualifying it as a reference cinema room. Sustainability and accessibility issues were given special attention, with the installation of an elevator and a solar panel system.

The reopening represents a restart of activities, but also a new beginning, in which the exhibition and musical programs, as well as the educational activities and the execution of courses and seminars, are reinforced with a cinema program that, thanks to the works of improvement of the auditorium and the use of new technical resources of cinematographic projection, will be able to present shows and sessions that until then have only been held in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, cities in which the IMS also has cultural centers.

The program of exhibitions, cinema, and musical events that reopens IMS Poços reveals the lines of work that we intend to deepen, combining programs that will bring to the city initiatives presented at other IMS venues with exhibitions and programs that are a result of an interlocution with Poços de Caldas, its inhabitants and cultural agents, based on the research on their memories, in order to build interpretations and reflections on contemporary Brazil.

The exhibition Photoclubbing in Poços de Caldas – Traces of a History continues the work carried out from the archives of Limercy Forlin – a photographer who recorded successive generations of people from Poços de Caldas –, preserved in the IMS collections. The exhibition exemplifies a movement that was extremely relevant in Brazil and in the world, building networks and circuits for the production and dissemination of photographic images.

Madalena Schwartz's Metamorphoses arrives in Poços de Caldas after being presented in São Paulo, Buenos Aires, and La Paz, bringing a selection of the extraordinary images with which the photographer, whose archive is also preserved in the IMS, documented the transvestite and transformist universes of São Paulo in the 1970s, translating the deep revolution of identities and cultures that continues to reverberate in our days. 

We also highlight the opening of the new film program, with the participation of two filmmakers from Minas Gerais, André Novais and Glenda Nicácio – the latter originally from Poços de Caldas. These are two important productions that reveal the vitality of new Brazilian filmmaking and illustrate the profile of the programming policy that will guide the new IMS Theater.

This set of activities and actions was only possible thanks to the commitment and competence of the IMS teams in many areas. We would like to express our special recognition to them, especially to the dedicated IMS team of Poços de Caldas. We also appreciate the performance of the numerous professionals who contributed to the process of revitalizing the spaces and to the execution of the program that we now present.

We welcome everyone who will give us the privilege of their presence, awaiting their regular visits to follow the programs with which we hope to contribute to the dynamization of the cultural life of the city.

Executive Board

Instituto Moreira Salles