MAM Rio Launches Solidarity Collector's Club with Half Proceeds Supporting Community Projects

The Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio (MAM Rio) has launched a solidarity edition of its Collector's Club program, directing half of the proceeds from artwork sales to support community art and education initiatives. The other half will fund two key social projects in Rio de Janeiro: Lanchonete<>Lanchonete in Gamboa and Galpão Bela Maré in Maré. The Collector's Club, established in 2004 to democratize art and encourage new collections, invites five artists per edition to create multiples. For the 2019 sixth edition, the invited artists were Anna Bella Geiger, Daniel Senise, Marcelo Cidade, Maxwell Alexandre, and Denilson Baniwa. The remaining 50 sets of multiples from that edition constitute this solidarity action. Buyers receive a one-year membership to the Amigos do MAM program, offering benefits like free entry to MAM Rio and MAM São Paulo. The museum is currently undergoing institutional revitalization and has adapted activities online during the pandemic. Lanchonete<>Lanchonete is a community kitchen and collective project mobilized by artist Thelma Vilas Boas since 2015. Galpão Bela Maré is part of the Observatório de Favelas, an organization that includes culture as part of overcoming social inequalities, active in Maré since 2001. Both projects work strongly in the development of their communities and networks of artists from vulnerable regions of Rio. The solidarity action runs until June 30, 2020.