Bob Wolfenson’s multisensory show at Museu do Amanhã blends Amazon photos, sounds and scents, running Jan 15–Feb 10, presented by Vale.
In Rio de Janeiro, Museu do Amanhã opens Presences in the Amazon, “a visual diary by Bob Wolfenson,” inviting visitors to experience the rainforest through images, aromas and soundscapes. The exhibition takes over the museum’s lounge and runs from January 15 to February 10, presented by Vale.
Celebrating the photographer’s 55-year career, the show features impressions captured during the filming of the web series “Amazon: Together We Make a Difference,” led by Wolfenson and singer Gaby Amarantos in 2024. Produced by Vale, the audiovisual project became a campaign highlighting culture, economy, biomes and forest communities, and now culminates with the debut of Wolfenson’s visual diary at the museum.
“For four decades, Vale has been present in the Amazon as one of the leading agents of sustainable development and of preserving, valuing and spreading Amazonian culture. We carry out a series of initiatives that foster the bioeconomy, protect the standing forest and contribute to research and knowledge production in areas such as biodiversity, genomics and climate change. In this sense, presenting this exhibition at Museu do Amanhã has a special purpose: it proposes new ways of seeing and understanding the region in all its diversity, sparking reflection and new ways for us to act, together, for the present and the future,” says Grazielle Parenti, Vale’s Executive Vice President of Sustainability.
The photographs are arranged in three sections—The Forest, Presences and Magical Light—creating a narrative where landscapes, stories and communities appear in harmony. The route uses rustic, natural materials and lighting that shifts throughout the visit, echoing the day’s cycle.
“Photographing the Amazon was a profound, transformative experience. Facing such a powerful nature and, at the same time, meeting people who work to keep it standing gave my gaze a new meaning. Bringing these images to Museu do Amanhã, sponsored by Vale, is very significant: it’s a way to expand this dialogue and show that preserving the forest is also preserving stories, cultures and futures,” says Bob Wolfenson.
“Museu do Amanhã believes in art’s power to communicate what science demonstrates today and, by doing so, to help reconnect humans with the ocean,” says Fabio Scarano, curator at Museu do Amanhã.
The multisensory layer includes a subtle scent of fresh earth after rain and original rainforest sounds. The audio comes from a study by Vale’s Technological Institute (ITV), which compiled over 16,000 minutes of recordings from life in the Carajás Forest and revealed insights into Amazon biodiversity through its acoustic signatures.
A pause-and-contemplation area also brings together quotes, spoken excerpts and travel notes by Wolfenson, forming a poetic installation that reflects his creative process. The production is by Tantas Projetos Culturais and TM1 Brand Experience, curated by Cecilia Bedê.
Presences in the Amazon will also offer free educational programming that links the photographs to memories, scents, sounds and regional symbols. Activities include a photo walk with Bob Wolfenson at Praça Mauá, stamp workshops, a carimbó dance class, painting miriti toys and sensory experiences such as the traditional “bath of scents.” The full schedule is available on the museum’s website (https://museudoamanha.org.br/programacao).
With a focus on accessibility and inclusion, the exhibition provides tactile works, sound and scent devices, guided mediations, audio description, Brazilian Sign Language interpretation and adapted activities.
Museum partnership
Vale has been a sustaining partner of Museu do Amanhã through Brazil’s Federal Cultural Incentive Law since 2020, when Instituto Cultural Vale was created. Beyond supporting the annual program, the company has also worked with the museum on exhibitions such as “Fruturos – Amazonian Times,” focused on sustainable development in the Amazon and marking the museum’s first traveling initiative, with stops in Pará and Maranhão, and promoted the seminar “The future of museums in communities in rapid transformation: 5 years of Instituto Cultural Vale.”
Service
Exhibition “Presenças na Amazônia: um diário visual de Bob Wolfenson”
Museu do Amanhã
Praça Mauá, 1, Centro, Rio de Janeiro
Dates: January 15 to February 10
Daily except Wednesdays, 10am–6pm (last entry at 5pm)
Tickets: from R$ 20 (half-price) with access to the full museum
Educational program: https://museudoamanha.org.br/programacao
Photo: Bob Wolfenson
