In 2026, Inhotim, one of the largest open-air museums in Latin America, will celebrate its 20th anniversary with initiatives in the arts, ecology, and education. Among the latter, the "Decentralizing Access" project stands out—one of the institution's longest-running projects, which in this edition invites teachers from all over the country to explore the museum's own collection.
Created in 2008, the Decentralizing Access initiative—a project of the museum's Education and Territory Directorate in partnership with the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG)—adopts a theme each year. In 2025, it was "Indigenous Arts and Pedagogies"; this year, the chosen theme is the institution's own collection, composed of more than 1.800 works by over 280 artists. "Learning from the collections: contemporary collections and questions for the present" marks the museum's 20th anniversary, reflecting its critical self-examination.
This is one of several Inhotim initiatives focused on learning, alongside the Inhotim Laboratory, the Mothers' Lab, and the Art and Nature Research Grant. João Paulo Andrade, Manager of Continuing Education, states that this area is one of the museum's priorities: “Education doesn't translate, it's not at the service of art or curatorship. It's the area that creates situations for people to participate in a public debate. This year, the goal is to take the collection from a place where it's accessed as a source and place it in a place where it's conceived as a place for investigation. That changes everything,” he says.
The Decentralizing project is composed of four stages. The first is an online extension course with certification from UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) for 300 teachers and undergraduate students from all over Brazil. The sessions were led by guests — Wayne Modest, Clarissa Diniz, Pollyana Quintella, Guilherme Marcondes, and Diane Lima — who offered reflections on the role of the collection in the production of knowledge. “The museum doesn't only talk about art or nature. The boundaries are already blurred — and a public commitment that only prioritizes these issues becomes fragile,” states João Paulo.
The next stage involves one hundred teachers from Minas Gerais, who will explore the art and botanical collection on guided tours led by museum professionals. Following this, these teachers will lead school visits with groups of basic education students. Finally, ten teachers will be selected for the editorial residency program and will receive a grant to develop research culminating in a publication, scheduled for October.
Founded in 2006 to house the collection of businessman Bernardo Paz, Inhotim was institutionalized in 2022. At that time, the museum established a new collection policy, focused on commissioning works—previously, the artistic programming depended on the personal tastes of its founder. João Paulo points out that this change also led to a shift in the museum's audiences and priorities: "It's no use having worldwide visibility without local impact."
Since then, the museum has incorporated works that engage not only with universal debates, but also with local and specific issues of the municipality where it is located, Brumadinho. An example of this is "Contraplano," a recently inaugurated work by Laís Myrrha that reproduces a modernist building in the style of Oscar Niemeyer. The openwork structure allows glimpses of the landscape, and the viewer is confronted with a large area devastated by mining, one of the state's biggest environmental liabilities.
'Contraplano' (2026), installation by Laís Myrrha at Instituto Inhotim (MG). Courtesy of Instituto Inhotim.
“Museums and collections are the result of a decision. A decision that privileges one field, audience, and approach to the detriment of others,” points out the manager. “There are works that have been here since the museum opened—Cildo Meireles, Hélio Oiticica, Adriana Varejão, Tunga. Are the conversations we had about them in 2007 the same as today?” he questions, mentioning that now these works can be reinterpreted alongside new acquisitions and exhibitions, such as Dalton Paula and Grada Kilomba, currently on display.
The difference is tangible. One example is the permanent gallery Cláudia Andujar Maxita Yano – “house of the earth,” in the Yanomami language – which until then was dedicated exclusively to photographs by Cláudia Andujar in these indigenous communities. In 2025, it was redesigned and began to include photographic and video works by 22 indigenous artists from all over South America, opening the space to new artists, peoples, and cosmologies.
Dalton Paula, one of the most relevant Brazilian artists of today, was honored with the exhibition “Dupla Cura” (Double Cure), which investigates processes of erasure and historical reconstruction based on Afro-Brazilian knowledge and cosmologies. João Paulo highlights that Paula first became involved with Inhotim through the education team—in 2024, young people from the Lab Arte Natureza project were taken on an exchange program at Sertão Negro, a studio-school in Goiânia, also visiting the Quilombo Kalunga. Conceived by the artist and researcher Ceiça Ferreira, the space is dedicated to the training and appreciation of Black artists, reflecting a vision of art as education and redistribution of resources, not just as an exhibited work.
In this edition, specifically, art is placed in a position of suspension, to be observed, critiqued, validated, appropriated, and researched by education professionals from various fields—arts, literature, geography, but also less obvious disciplines such as physical education, chemistry, and English. Teachers are not obligated to bring the lessons learned at Inhotim into the classroom, but many do, citing visits to the museum as transformative experiences for their students.
Flávia Barbosa, an art teacher in the public school system in Contagem and Ibirité, is participating in the "Decentralizing Access" program for the second time. On a Saturday afternoon, she accompanied the art educators from the museum and participated in formative discussions with other teachers. She has already brought her students to the institute, who, according to her, were amazed by the union of art and nature. "This place needs to be even more open, to bring in more schools, because this is pure culture," she stated.
She mentions that she has already discussed Paulo Nazareth's works in class, such as the journey "News from America," undertaken by the artist between 2011 and 2012, after being invited to exhibit in the United States. Nazareth documented his journey, made without washing his feet, walking and by bus, from Minas Gerais to the Art Basel Miami fair. Barbosa highlighted to the students the importance of this pilgrimage, which highlights Latin American inequality by contrasting it with the opulence of the fair—one of the most important in the world, for which the artist took "Art Market/Banana Market" (2012), composed of a VW van full of bananas.
The "Decentralizing" program is part of Inhotim's 20th-anniversary celebrations, which extend throughout 2026 with new exhibitions and an international seminar. In this edition, the online course reached teachers from 29 municipalities in Minas Gerais and 33 cities in other regions of the country. In December, a book will be launched, compiling the projects and research of the commissioned teachers.
