The Inhotim Institute and BMA Inspiration: pro bono legal services and social responsibility
BMA Inspiration is one of the firm’s ongoing programs, contributing to entities and projects that promote education, culture and social entrepreneurship. Since 2019 more than 9,000 hours of pro bono legal services have been provided by our lawyers to partner projects. BMA Inspiration’s partner organizations, which now number more than 30, are entities that have real potential to transform society, such as orchestras, museums and organizations dedicated to social inclusion, such as Gastromotiva, Rede Mulher Empreendedora (the Women Entrepreneurs’ Network), and Luta Pela Paz (Fight for Peace).
In 2022, the Inhotim Institute, which holds one of the most important collections of modern and contemporary Brazilian art – and is the largest outdoor museum in the world, located in Brumadinho in the state of Minas Gerais – became one of BMA Inspiration’s partner organizations. Not only was ownership of the entire art collection of the institute’s founder, Bernardo Paz, definitively transferred to the Inhotim collection, the institute’s governance model was redesigned to ensure the museum’s sustainability and continuity over the years, to include representatives of civil society in its management, and to democratize access to its activities.
The project, called Inhotim de Todos e Para Todos (All for Inhotim and Inhotim for All), aims to reaffirm the social function and public character that the institution seeks to imprint on all its cultural activities. The process is ongoing and in its essence, it seeks to make art truly present in the life of Brazilians, particularly in light of the restrictions that can exist when it comes to access to collections of modern and contemporary art. The trend toward institutionalization of these collections is a concrete advance in cultural democracy as a tool for social transformation. The Inhotim Institute’s collection includes rare works by national and international artists such as Lygia Pape, Tunga, Rosana Pauline and Do-Ho Suh, to name a few.
The concern over good governance – which is here to stay in both the private and public spheres of the economy – relates to better use of resources and generating positive results for society. In the Inhotim project, good governance translates into more programs for the public, inter-institutional collaboration, integration between culture and the environment, a more active presence in the local community, and a greater role for civil society in the life of the museum.
BMA Inspiration, which donated more than 359 hours of legal services performed by 27 lawyers, played an essential part in designing and implementing the Inhotim Institute’s new governance structure which, in addition to modernizing its management model, through the formation of a new board of governors, concentrated on fi nancial sustainability. The aim is to ensure the continuity of the largest open air museum in the world, expanding its social impact and raising Brazil’s profile in terms of access to art and culture.