The Rio Art Museum (Museu de Arte do Rio) in Praça Mauá
The Rio Art Museum in the Praça Mauá on the Rio de Janeiro waterfront could close amid delays in the transfer of funds provided by the city's prefecture to cover payroll costs.
On 8 November, the Odeon Institute, the organisation responsible for administering the museum, issued an advance dismissal notice to 126 employees, who have not been paid since September. The notice took effect this week (11 November) but could be reversed if the prefecture finds a solution.
A statement released by the Rio de Janeiro municipal secretariat of culture says the prefecture “has been working incessantly to circumvent Brazils crisis, which affected economic activities, and thus the collection for the municipal coffers, and resulted in high unemployment rates”.
The statement adds that the prefecture “also works to clean up the finances of the previous management, including a billion dollar debt; of the 6.8bn reais that the previous mayor pushed to the current administration, just 4.8bn reais have been honoured”. As a result, the prefecture has had to prioritise its investment in schools, health and other sectors, and postpone other commitments.
The departments of culture and finance are “working together to find the best financial solution to remedy all outstanding issues and ensure the museum is in full swing by 2020”, the statement says. A solution is due to be presented this week. If none is found, the museum could close in December.
The cultural director of the museum, Evandro Salles, and the executive director, Eleonora Santa, Rosa, left their posts last week. Salles told the Brazilian media that the prefecture has been “promoting a deep dismantling of cultural and artistic apparatuses”.
The museum was inaugurated in 2013 as part of a revitalisationRead More – Source
