News The Olympic Torch Relay has paid a visit to a work of art that will be a familiar sight in Barra Olympic Park during the Rio 2016 Games The sacred flame visited the Inhotim Institute, one of the biggest centres for contemporary art in the world, last Friday (13 May) and passed in front of Calecanto Provoca Maremoto, a monument installation by Rio de Janeiro artist Adriana Varejão The work has been specially reproduced to decorate the exterior of the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, which will stage swimming and water polo during the Games Varejão’s work, made with 184 pieces imitating huge tiles, can be found at the Inhotim outdoor gallery in Brumadinho, 60km from Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais The Rio 2016 Olympic torch relay arrived in Inhotim after visiting Ouro Preto and Itabirito The sea and angels in a baroque style… introducing the look of the Rio 2016 Olympic Aquatics Stadium The Olympic Aquatic Stadium is wrapped in the work of Adriana Varejão (Photo: Rio 2016/Andre Motta) “It was a mix of excitement, joy and nerves, it was great”, said swimmer Ítalo Manzine, who has qualified for the 50m freestyle at Rio 2016, after carrying the torch The visit to Inhotim reminded him of an important moment in his life “It was here that I first asked my girlfriend out, five years ago It is a very special place for me Today was one of the best days of my life”, he said The brainchild of Minas businessman Bernardo Paz, Inhotim opened to the public in 2006 and is also a botanical garden Rosemary Calisto, Brumadinho resident and museum guide at the institute, was the first to carry the flame, initially to the Tamboril tree, a meeting point for visitors The tree is around 100 years old and has been in the same place ever since the region was a simple village Rosemary Calisto, who works at Inhotim, carried the Rio 2016 torch (Rio 2016/Andre Luiz Mello) Calisto, who has Down syndrome, got her first job at the institute where she is responsible for looking after the spaces and giving information to visitors She passed on the flame on to her colleague, Elton Silva, who works in the artistic collection He carried the torch up to the entrance of the Adriana Varejão gallery, passing on the way spaces dedicated to acclaimed Brazilian artists Cildo Meireles and Rivane Neuenschwander The Cildo Meireles gallery houses three of the Rio artist’s works, including his most famous Desvio para o Vermelho: Impregnação, Entorno, Desvio (Shift to Red: Impregnation, Environment, Shift, 1967-1984) The installation is a striking scene consisting of various objects and items of furniture painted red Then there is the Neuenschwander gallery, which is located in a small ranch house dating back to 1874, the oldest construction in the town where the museum is today Neuenschwander’s installation Continente/Nuvem (Continent/Cloud, 2008), fills the entire ceiling of the house with Styrofoam balls which move at random on top of a transparent sheet creating abstract and monochrome forms Elton Silva passes the flame to student Isabel Passos outside of the Adriana Varejão gallery Secondary school student Isabel Passos received the flame near to the entry of the Adriana Varejão gallery The space, inaugurated in 2008, measures almost 500 square metres and was designed specifically to house six of the artist’s works Isabel carried the torch up to Varejão’s Celacanto Provoca Maremoto, where she passed the torch to Manzine Swimmer Ítalo Manzine draws close to the work Beam Drop Inhotim (Rio 2016/Andre Luiz Mello) Travelling by golf cart, Manzine carried the torch to its final stop, the installation Beam Drop Inhotim (2008), created with 71 beams of iron The work is a recreation of the work of American artist Chris Burden (1946-2015), originally installed in a New York gallery but unfortunately destroyed three years after Swimmer Ítalo Manzine at installation Beam Drop Inhotim (Rio 2016/Andre Luiz Mello)