Wedding at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum
Photo: Midori Kobiyama

One of the largest museums in Latin America, designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, with a collection of 14 thousand works and 35 thousand square meters of built area, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON), in Curitiba (PR), is a public heritage site, linked to the State Secretariat of Culture of the state government. The secretariat allocated R$3.129.379,00 to the MON in 2024. Because of this, the celebration, for the first time, of a private wedding in the MON museum space – listed by Paraná heritage agencies and under study for listing by the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) – caused controversy this week.

The wedding took place on Saturday, October 12th, uniting Yasmin Bonilha, daughter of a member of the State Audit Court (TCE) of Paraná (Ivan Lelis Bonilha), with Gregorio Nissel. This also led to criticism of an alleged conflict of interest. Guests were welcomed at the front of the museum. The space received some scenographic changes for the party, such as stickers on the floor of the ramp and covering the walls of the hall with fabric that imitated prints of traditional Arab fabrics (reproducing a scene from One Thousand and One Nights, with colonnades and portals). The central tables contained replicas of pheasants. The ceremony was organized by event producer Ilze Lambach.

The institution houses important references in national and international artistic production in the areas of visual arts, architecture and design, in addition to maintaining collections of Asian and African art. In total, the collection has approximately 14 thousand works of art (among them pieces by Andy Warhol, Tarsila do Amaral, Candido Portinari, Caribé and Tomie Ohtake). It is visited by more than 200 thousand people per year. The Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) released a statement late Monday afternoon regarding the permission given to hold a wedding on its premises.

According to the museum management, the Friends of MON Association (AAMON) has express authorization from the State Secretariat of Culture to rent spaces for private events, including social events. “This is a source of resources that makes the Museum’s activities possible, including improvements to its infrastructure, production of exhibitions, educational activities, among others. The main objective is to always offer the best experience to visitors, democratizing access.” The amount charged for the use of the space for the wedding party was not disclosed.

According to the note, as the space is being prepared to receive a new exhibition after the closing and dismantling of the exhibition “Extravagances”, by Joana Vasconcelos, visits to the museum were suspended, which avoided any harm to regular visitors. “In addition, only a brief wedding ceremony was held at the Olho space, with all restrictions to preserve the space and lasting approximately one hour, and the wedding party took place outside the museum premises, in the Events Hall and Open Space”, continues the note.

A post on social media, with footage of the party, has fueled the controversy. The footage shows extra lighting and sound equipment, which has raised questions about safety. The museum maintains that the rental was authorized by the appropriate agencies, with a temporary permit issued specifically for the event and a license from the fire department. The institution also reported that this type of activity is common in various public and private museums, both national and international, citing the cases of the Inhotim Institute, the National Historical Museum, the Museum of Tomorrow, MAC Niterói, MAM-RJ, MUBE-SP, the National Gallery (London), the Art Institute Chicago, the Natural History Museum of New York, the Museum of the City (New York), the Asian Museum of Art (New York), and the Museum of the City of New York.
Art Museum (San Francisco) and the Brooklyn Museum in New York.


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1 comment

  1. As long as it was paid for, there's no harm done... I've been to more than one private party at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo and the MCB, and to a dinner at the Louvre offered by a private company. Part of the treat for the guests consisted of a visit to the Mona Lisa with the room that houses it completely empty...

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