With a new exhibition on the Atlantic Forest, the Botanical Garden Museum celebrates its first year

'Mata Atlântica: in-finitos encantos' offers a sensory immersion in the biome where more than 140 million Brazilians live

To celebrate its first anniversary, the Botanical Garden Museum will open the temporary exhibition “Mata Atlântica: in-finitos encantos” on March 21, 2025. Sponsored by Shell Brasil via the Federal Culture Incentive Law, the exhibition combines science and art to reveal the richness of this biome. The Museum, sponsored by the company, aims to bring visitors closer to the research carried out at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden Research Institute (JBRJ) and stimulate reflections on biodiversity conservation. Admission is free.

“Shell Brasil is proud to support a space that values scientific knowledge. Throughout this first year, the Botanical Garden Museum has established itself as an important channel for disseminating knowledge about Brazilian biodiversity, and the new exhibition reaffirms this commitment to education and raising awareness of the importance of the Atlantic Forest. Making JBRJ's research more accessible to the public is essential to democratize scientific knowledge, broaden environmental awareness and encourage society's active participation in the conservation of the biome,” says Flavio Rodrigues, Shell Brasil's Vice President of Corporate Relations.

Conceived through the meticulous work of a curatorial committee made up of researchers and collaborators from JBRJ, Shell Brasil and idg - the Institute for Development and Management, responsible for managing the Museum - the new exhibition offers an experience of sensory immersion in the Atlantic Forest, a biome where around 70% of Brazilians live. The show also draws attention to the diversity of ecosystems present in the biome, from the north to the south of the country, and their socio-environmental challenges.

According to Marinez Ferreira de Siqueira, director of the National School of Tropical Botany and manager of the Board of Trustees of the Botanical Garden Museum: “This exhibition plays a fundamental role in awakening the enchantment of the senses, promoting an emotional connection with nature. Inspired by Charles Darwin's vision, the sensory experience transports the public to a state of wonder, where every detail of the biome reveals its complexity and beauty. This enchantment becomes a powerful tool for environmental education by transforming visitors into agents of change, strengthening the Botanical Garden's commitment to the preservation of Brazilian biodiversity.”

The journey begins with the activation of the senses: sounds, colors and other sensations must be heightened, just like those of those walking through the forest. Through words, images, biological materials and maps, the public is introduced to the different ecosystems that make up the Atlantic Forest. In the second room, the public is welcomed by the unmistakable voice of actress and environmental activist Dira Paes, who invites them to reflect. At the end of the tour, the exhibition calls for action, giving each of us a leading role in preservation. Thus, after having passed through forests, mangroves, sandbanks and high altitude fields - without leaving the Atlantic Forest - visitors put their hands to an act that seems simple, but which helps to save an entire biome: planting seeds of native species. The seedlings that germinate will be collected by the Rio Botanical Garden and donated to partner organizations.

During its first year of operation, the Botanical Garden Museum welcomed almost 80,000 visitors and held more than 450 educational and cultural activities, which is a source of pride for Ricardo Piquet, president of the idg: “The Botanical Garden Museum has been an essential space for bringing the public closer to the scientific knowledge produced by the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. The new exhibition 'Atlantic Forest: in-finite enchantments' reinforces this commitment by bringing a sensory experience that awakens environmental awareness and highlights the importance of this biome for the balance of the planet. We celebrate this first year with the certainty that we are continuing to strengthen the role of museums as spaces for learning, transformation and action,” he says.

Art installation “Botanical Utopia” by Fernanda Froes

In dialog with the new temporary exhibition, the art installation “Botanical Utopia” will also be inaugurated. Developed by Fernanda Froes especially for the Botanical Garden Museum, the project poetically recreates a fragmented forest of brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata). A symbol of the Atlantic Forest, this species was on the verge of extinction during the colonial period due to the intense exploitation of its red pigment and remains threatened today.

Inspired by the ideas of utopia and paradise found in Thomas Morus' “Utopia” (1516) and Sérgio Buarque de Holanda's “Visão do Paraíso” (1959), the installation recaptures the image of an idealized and lost territory through double panels made from pieces of hand-dyed cotton canvas and sewn together with threads also dyed with brazilwood. The entire collection is made sustainably from tree prunings.

“I rescued old techniques and recipes to play with the pigments and show a diverse forest, not only in colors, but also in shapes. Each piece has a different shape, as well as different components and tones that refer not only to brazilwood, but to the immense diversity of plants found in the Atlantic Forest,” explains the artist.

Flower of the Moon

On the opening night of the exhibition, from 6pm to 9pm, the Botanical Garden Museum is promoting the Flor da Lua evening program, in which the public will be able to visit the Museum to the sound of a roda de choro performed by the Sumaré Quartet, as well as taking part in a cocktail workshop with fruits native to the Atlantic Forest, given by mixologist Ryu Tokai. The event, which is free, concludes the anniversary celebrations that began on the 8th, the date on which it officially celebrated its first year of existence. Also on the 21st, there will be special visits, mediated by visual artist Fernanda Froes and biologist and ornithologist Luciano Lima, who took part in the exhibition's curatorial committee.

Exhibition

Exhibition “Mata Atlântica: in-finitos encantos”: from March 21, 10am to 9pm
Flower of the Moon: March 21, from 6pm to 9pm
Free admission

Botanical Garden Museum
Opening hours: Thursday to Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed on Wednesdays)
Rua Jardim Botânico, 1008, Jardim Botânico - Rio de Janeiro, RJ