The Arts Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul is located at Senhor dos Passos Street, in the city of Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul. Its headquarters are located at , 248, in Porto Alegre. Founded in 1908 under the name ('Free Institute of Fine Arts') by the initiative of the state government and under the direction of , the institute was initially divided into the Music and Fine Arts departments. It was the first higher education art school created in the state and is one of the oldest in Brazil still in operation.
Starting as an independent institution, the school was temporarily incorporated into the university for nearly thirty years, from 1934 onwards. This phase of instability ended in 1962 with its definitive integration, which allowed for the expansion and enhancement of its activities. The IA is currently composed of the departments of Visual Arts, Music, and Dramatic Arts. It has over one hundred professors and approximately 1,600 students. The institute maintains theoretical research centers, research laboratories in new media and technologies, a permanent collection, an exhibition gallery, a library, an auditorium, theater rooms, numerous university extension programs, and exchange and research agreements with national and international institutions and universities.
The institution was founded under challenging conditions and took decades to solidify its position. From the outset, however, it assumed the role of the primary center for artistic production and recognition in Rio Grande do Sul, playing a key role in the structuring, systematization, and professionalization of the art system. It has trained generations of students, many of whom later became renowned, and has been a leading center for the production and dissemination of art theory and criticism.
Origins
The Institute was founded under the name Instituto Livre de Belas Artes on April 22, 1908, at the initiative of the state president, , through his representative and first director, Dr. Olinto de Oliveira, a doctor, musician, and intellectual. According to , it was an important step in a “civilizing project aimed at achieving autonomy in the state's symbolic field,” at a time when “Porto Alegre was strengthening its position as a regional leader.” This initiative sought to address some of the cultural deficiencies felt during the Empire, in what was seen as a “true republican regional civilizing compensatory project,” reflecting a similar movement in other parts of the country. The creation of an artistic institution also mirrored the aspirations of the positivist ideologues who dominated the government, serving as a necessary complement to the emphasis already placed on the sciences, as seen in the establishment of other higher education institutions in the state, including the faculties of Medicine, Pharmacy, Agronomy, Engineering, and Law. Press propaganda described the foundation as “the logical result of the evolution of civilization in Rio Grande do Sul.”
The project had both a civilizing and political background, as it also served as propaganda for the “beneficence” of the Republic in contrast to the “negligence” of the Empire, which had shown no interest in supporting a higher art school in the province. As a result, previous attempts by private groups had been unsuccessful. However, this narrative did not align with reality, as the local social environment had not been sufficiently receptive to support such an initiative, and this relative inertia would become one of the main obstacles faced by the new institution during its early years of operation.
The first statutes were approved on August 14, published on August 22, and registered with a notary on August 28. The Central Commission responsible for administration was made up of 25 members, representing 65 regional support commissions established in the state's main urban centers. The president of the commission was the state president. This direct connection to the government provided the Instituto de Bellas Artes (IBA) with significant autonomy, but it also posed a potential risk of subjugation to the dominant political ideology and could lead to instability due to the constant political disputes between various pressure groups.
To mitigate this, the intellectuals within the Central Commission were committed to creating a structure based on disciplinary systematization, inspired by the model of traditional art academies that had proven effective over centuries, particularly the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes. They aimed was to establish a long-term perspective for the institution. They also sought to shield the IBA from direct political interference by including in the statutes a provision that it should remain free from any dogma, doctrine, or interest outside the artistic field. However, this was more of an aspiration than a practical reality, given that most Commission members had ties to political parties, positivism, or the Catholic Church, although no formal political or ideological representatives were on the Commission.
Despite the project calling for the participation of the entire Gaucho community, several factors made the IBA's operations difficult and precarious for many years. These included the lack of well-established artistic and institutional traditions, the early disbandment of the Commission, the informal nature of artistic careers at the time, the fragility of communication channels, limited initial community support, and scarce human and material resources. The survival of the IBA during this tumultuous early phase was largely due to the tireless efforts of Olinto de Oliveira, who remained at the helm until 1919.
First phase
The School of Arts On July 5, 1909, the Institute established its Music Conservatory. On February 10, 1910, the School of Arts was created and began operating on March 3, with Libindo Ferrás as its first director. That same year, plaster copies of the Apollo Belvedere and Venus de Milo were acquired for students to study, along with copies of ancient busts of Niobe, Ajax, and Venus, and models of hands and feet. In 1912, the formation of the began with the acquisition of 60 paintings. The first premises on Rua Senhor dos Passos were acquired on April 4, 1913, for 30 contos de réis. In 1915, the budget was increased by Borges de Medeiros, allowing for improvements in the institution's general operating conditions, including the construction of an additional floor at the headquarters. The first graduates were Francisco Bellanca and Júlia Boeira, in 1919.
In addition to directing the School of Arts, Libindo Ferrás was its only teacher until 1913, after which he was assisted by teachers hired temporarily or by volunteers, but usually only one or two at a time. Renowned artists such as Pedro Weingärtner, Eugênio Latour, Augusto Luiz de Freitas, and Oscar Boeira all taught there. Although a variety of subjects were planned from the outset, Libindo was only able to gradually implement them, and in the first few decades, teaching-focused mainly on drawing. In 1910, he introduced courses in Geometric Drawing, Perspective and Shadows, and Artistic Anatomy Drawing, while referring the subject of Figured Drawing to external teachers. He later introduced other subjects, such as a synthetic evening course in 1917 (which lasted only three years), Life Model in 1918, and outdoor studies in 1919. In 1922, Francis Pelichek was hired as a permanent staff member and remained until 1936. Initially, he taught Notions of Painting and Figure for the higher education course and Plaster Drawing for the high school course. After 1926, when Advanced Painting became part of the curriculum, he taught pastel and oil painting in the studio, while Ferrás focused on watercolor and oil painting outdoors.
Teaching was characterized by free attendance, with the only requirement being to pass the end-of-year exams, which were conducted by guest artists. The classroom space was small, with no more than twenty students per year, and many dropped out halfway through the course. Few went on to become professionals after graduation. In 1927, new statutes were approved, dividing teaching into the areas of Music, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, and Industrial Application Arts, shifting the initial emphasis on Drawing, which became an introductory subject for the other visual modalities. In practice, however, only Music and Painting were actively pursued. In 1929, the practice of organizing periodic art salons began.
The Conservatory of Music
The Conservatory of Music, on the other hand, was organized more quickly and was more successful in the early years of the IBA's existence. While demand for Fine Arts courses remained low for many years, Music courses were much more popular, accounting for almost 90% of graduations between the 1920s and 1930s. The music field was far more active and popular in the city. While art teachers and professionals were few and worked in isolation, the public was small, and exhibitions were rare (there were no well-structured galleries in operation), the music community was much larger, more organized, and better connected. Numerous venues for music and professional ensembles existed, and the grand São Pedro Theater, operating since the mid-19th century, offered an extensive program of concerts, ballets, and operas.
Olinto de Oliveira was the first provisional director, starting on July 5, 1909. From the outset, a basic library of scores was acquired, and classes were offered in Solfeggio and Elementary Theory, Singing, Choral Singing, Piano, Violin, Harmony, and Composition. Wind instrument and Italian lessons, offered in the first year, were discontinued in the second year due to lack of demand. In the first year, 75 students were enrolled. José de Araújo Viana took over as director on March 1, 1910, but left a few months later for health reasons and was succeeded by Henri Pénasse. By 1912, 321 students had enrolled, and concerts and recitals began to be organized. Pénasse directed the Conservatory until 1921. He was a renowned pianist and restructured the program by emphasizing French and European repertoires and establishing open-admission competitions. The model he introduced was heavily influenced by the French conservatories. Classes in flute, cello, organ, counterpoint, and fugue were gradually introduced, and advanced theory classes began in 1924 under the initiative of Assuero Garritano. After Pénasse, , , and Tasso Corrêa succeeded him as directors until 1943.
In the early decades, women were the primary participants in music courses, with a marked preference for piano education, an instrument traditionally associated with elite culture. In the patriarchal society of the time, music was gradually becoming an acceptable profession for women, and teaching music provided an income without requiring them to leave home. On the other hand, the Conservatory became an important venue for debates on Brazilian musical Modernism, giving significant space in its concerts to works by national avant-garde composers. Since its founding, the Conservatory has become the most significant institutional reference in the state for music education, influencing the creation of other schools throughout the countryside.
Incorporation into the university