What to do and see in State of Sao Paulo, Brazil: The Best Art Museums

Elevated over a concrete platform used for concerts and a weekly crafts fair, the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo Art Museum, abbreviated MASP) is itself a work of art; the building is an imposing Modernist box suspended under two bright red concrete supports. Featuring classical European names such as Gauguin, Goya and Gainsborough, the museum also holds one of the largest collections of Brazilian and other Latin American artists on the continent.

Pinacoteca is a museum of visual arts, with emphasis on Brazilian production since the nineteenth century. It belongs to the São Paulo State Secretariat of Culture. It was founded in 1905 by the State Government of São Paulo and it is the oldest art museum in the city. It is installed in the old building of the Arts and Crafts College, designed in the late nineteenth century by the architect Ramos de Azevedo. In the 1990's it underwent an extensive renovation with the architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha's project. Pinacoteca hosts about thirty exhibitions and receives about 450,000 visitors yearly. The museum's main focus is to promote to general public a better experience with visual arts with its collection, building and historical relevance.

taú Cultural is an institute dedicated to the research and production of content as well as mapping, fostering and dissemination of artistic and intellectual expressions. In this way, it contributes to the enhancement of the culture of a society as complex and diverse as Brazil. By considering culture a key tool to the construction of the country's identity and an effective means to promote citizenship, Itaú Cultural seeks to democratize and encourage social participation. A center of cultural reference, for 28 years the institute has been promoting and propagating the Brazilian output - both in and out of the country. Its programs - such as Rumos - as well as its mission and vision emphasize the institute's consistent distinctive features that place it among the most important cultural institutions in Brazil.

Temporarily closed - Topped by a purple-and-burgundy-striped conversation piece of a skyscraper at the north pole of Faria Lima, the cultural center named after a renowned Japanese-Brazilian artist (whose son designed the building) features a rotating schedule of visual art exhibitions, including award-winning photography, avant-garde sculptures, and even decorative cachaça bottle labels. The institute is, quite simply, one of the city's best art venues.

Tue-Sat 2pm-7pm, Sun 2pm-6pm

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In 2004 the Pinacoteca de São Paulo entered this other building, at Largo General Osório, which originally housed warehouses and offices. The building was completely renovated by architect Haron Cohen and start receiving part of the Pinacoteca's extensive exhibition program. On the ground floor - that hosted the State Department of Political and Social Order of São Paulo, between the years 1940 and 1983 - is the Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo, a place dedicated to preserve the memories of those who resisted the political repression in Brazil.