Inhotim

Inhotim was the private estate of the mining businessman Bernardo Paz, opened to the public in 2006 and now covering around a hundred and forty hectares of landscaped garden with several thousand plant species, including one of the largest palm collections in the world. The art is installed in more than twenty pavilions and galleries, many purpose-built for a single work and designed with the artist - Doug Aitken's sound piece drilled into the bedrock, Chris Burden, Helio Oiticica, Adriana Varejao, Matthew Barney, Tunga. The scale is the difficulty and the point: a full visit means walking many kilometres over two days, and no single day covers it. The gardens follow the tradition of Roberto Burle Marx, who worked with Paz on the early planting.

History

The estate takes its name from a former owner, an English engineer known locally as Senhor Tim, Nhô Tim in the Mineiro dialect, and in the 1980s Bernardo Paz began buying the land around his farmhouse, turning it into a botanical garden designed by his friend Roberto Burle Marx. The artist Tunga persuaded him to collect contemporary art, the institute was founded in 2004 and the garden with its art pavilions opened to the public in 2006, and between 2021 and 2022 Paz donated the grounds, galleries, pavilions and 330 works to the institution (Wikipedia, Inhotim).

What to look for

• Pavilions built for one work each - more than twenty, designed with the artists.
• A botanical garden at scale - 140 hectares and thousands of plant species.
• Major installation art - Aitken, Oiticica, Varejao, Barney and others.
• Landscape in the Burle Marx line - the planting behind the galleries.

When to go

April to September, closed Mondays. Two days for a proper visit.

Before you go

One day is not enough and people consistently underestimate the walking. Some pavilions close on rotation without notice, and popular works have queues. Internal buggy transport costs extra. Brumadinho accommodation is limited and Belo Horizonte is an hour away.

Nearby

Brumadinho is the local town; Belo Horizonte and Pampulha are north-east.

Key facts