Historic Rio: Galleries & Cultural Centers
Art, Rio (March 21, 2010)Across Av. Rio Branco (toward the ocean) is an area full of galleries and cultural spaces. First, there’s the Casa França (Rua Visconde de Itaboraí 78, noon–6pm Tuesday–Sunday), which has temporary and permanent scultpure exhibitions in an 1820 neoclassic building. The building was designed as a fine arts school, but was used instead as a business center. Later, it served for a time as a customs house. Inside is a bookstore, coffee shop, and a lovely central atrium.
Nearby is the Espaço Cultural Banco do Brasil (Rua Primeiro de Março 66, noon–10pm Tuesday–Sunday) in a 1906 structure that was originally the headquarters of the Bank of Brazil, but was reformed and turned into a cultural center. The building is fabulous; it has a theater, cinema, exhibition rooms, tea room and souvenir shop. It usually has some excellent national and international exhibits running. Inside is a restaurant/bar that is a popular spot for happy hour. Next door is the Centro Cultural dos Correios (Rua Visconde de Itaboraí 20, noon–7pm Tuesday–Sunday), an exhibition space that focuses on Brazilian sculptors and paintors with rotating exhibits. They have ten exhibit halls and a concert hall for up to 200 people, where they often produce Brazilian musical performances. On the bottom floor, there is a nice coffee shop and a functioning office of the correios (postal service). Finally, there’s the Galeria Paulo Fenandes (Rua do Rosário 38, noon–6pm Tuesday–Sunday) with contemporary works of art from local and national artists.
At this point, you might seek out the Laranjada Americana (Rua Buenos Aires 2c) for a fabulous orange juice. The shop, open since 1925 is in a great old building.
