Our Mission
The Roberto Burle Marx Foundation exists to activate, interpret and project Roberto Burle Marx's legacy as a living force in the contemporary world. More than preserving historical heritage, the Foundation operates as a cultural and intellectual platform that connects art, landscape, ecology, and critical thought, and fosters new relationships between culture and nature on a global scale.
Through direct support for the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Instituto Burle Marx, and initiatives dedicated to the preservation of Brazilian biomes, alongside the restoration and long-term preservation of Burle Marx's artworks, the Foundation transforms his legacy into an active instrument of cultural, educational and environmental impact.
Our Vision
The Roberto Burle Marx Foundation aspires to become an international reference for reflection on landscape, biodiversity, modernity and cultural identity, positioning Burle Marx's thinking not as a legacy of the past, but as an essential language for the twenty-first century.
We see his legacy as a territory in constant expansion, a field of experimentation that unfolds through exhibitions, curatorial projects, education, cultural policy and institutional collaboration.
Our vision is an institution that transforms memory into agency, heritage into a platform and aesthetics into an ethical responsibility, actively contributing to a more sensitive, diverse and sustainable future.
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More information
Who we are
Patron
Jorge Paulo Lemann
Brazilian entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. Co-founder of 3G Capital and one of the principal architects behind AB InBev, the world’s largest brewing company, he is a graduate of Harvard University and a former Davis Cup tennis player. Through the Lemann Foundation and other philanthropic initiatives, he has broadened educational opportunities for generations of Brazilian students, reflecting a longstanding commitment to education, leadership development, culture and philanthropy.
Foundation Directors
Andréa Burle Webb - Chair and Founder
Founder and Chair. A member of the Burle Marx family, she maintained a lifelong connection to the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx in Rio de Janeiro and collaborated with Roberto Burle Marx on his exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She studied History of Art with Curating at the University of London and has dedicated her work to advancing his environmental, artistic and cultural legacy internationally.
Duke of Rutland - President
President of The Roberto Burle Marx Foundation. Custodian of Belvoir Castle, he has long supported initiatives in heritage, culture and environmental stewardship.
Alexander Burle Webb
Foundation Director. Educated at Shrewsbury School and the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, he played collegiate tennis whilst completing a degree in International Business. He is currently undertaking a Master's in Sports Management and Marketing at the University of London.
Advisory Council
Jacques Leenhardt - Chair
Jacques Leenhardt is a philosopher, sociologist, art critic and curator internationally recognised for his scholarship on modern and contemporary art. He is Director of Studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, Honorary President of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), and was a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He has also served as Visiting Professor at universities in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.
A leading authority on Roberto Burle Marx, Leenhardt interviewed the artist and, in 1992, conceived and led a landmark international seminar on his work at the Crestet Centre d'Art in France. The seminar gave rise to Dans les jardins de Roberto Burle Marx, the first publication in French devoted to Burle Marx's work as a landscape architect and one of the most important books on his landscape architecture.
Advisory Board
Frédéric de Mévius
Executive Chairman and Managing Partner of PlanetFirst. Served for 13 years on the board of Interbrew (AB InBev) as a 9th-generation family member.
Izabella Monica Teixeira, PhD
Co-Chair International Resource Panel – UN Environment, Former Brazilian Minister of the Environment.
Carolina Dubeux, PhD
Senior Researcher at Centro Clima/COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Roberto Doring
Chief Adviser for International Affairs, Federal Supreme Court of Brazil.
Robério Dias, PhD
Landscape designer, former director of Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, and Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Maria-Athena Papathanasiou
International environmental lawyer and Founder of EcoProsperity Capital, a private Family Office focusing on Sustainability, Impact, and Clean Energy Investments.
Allan Schwartzman
International curator, writer and cultural advisor. Founding curator of Inhotim, he advises leading private collections, museums and philanthropic initiatives worldwide and is widely recognised for his expertise in modern and contemporary art.
Jean Lévy
Graduate of ENA, Paris, and Linacre College, University of Oxford. Former Diplomatic Adviser to the President of the French Republic, former Ambassador, and International Consultant.
Senior Team
Laura Maria de Moraes Mourão
Head of Landscape Heritage, Restoration and Project Implementation. Ecologist and landscape architect who worked closely with Roberto Burle Marx for a decade. She was formally recognised by his office for her distinguished expertise in the restoration and realisation of his landscape designs. She has led the restoration of landmark public and private gardens across Brazil, including those within the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Pampulha and the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Congonhas.
Annibale Sicurella
Senior Advisor to The Roberto Burle Marx Foundation. Agronomist, landscape designer and founder of laborArch. Mentored by Roberto Burle Marx, he specialises in ecological landscape architecture, green infrastructure and nature-based solutions.
Priscilla Mendes
Chief Officer for external affairs and communications, working across environmental justice, international litigation and public relations.
Artistic Director
Fernando Bicudo
One of Brazil’s leading opera directors and producers, Fernando Bicudo brings more than four decades of experience in the performing arts. His distinguished career includes directing the 1988 production of Ariadne auf Naxos, featuring sets and costumes by Roberto Burle Marx. He brings to the Foundation extensive experience in opera, artistic direction and the development of major cultural projects.
Ambassadors
Andrea Jones
Award-winning international photographer specialising in plants, gardens, and landscapes for over 30 years. Owner of the stock photo library Garden Exposures.
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Alexandra Foley
Founder of Alex Foley and Associates Limited, an international strategic communications consultancy specialising in environmental, ESG, scientific and arts-related projects.
Gisela Dantas Rodenburg
Chief Marketing Officer at Azzas Group, investor, and founder of The Bibi Fund at Solving Kids Cancer.
Carlos Eduardo Calfat-Salem
Distinguished businessman in the financial and real estate sectors with a commitment to humanitarian causes. Recognized with prestigious accolades including UNESCO's Simon Bolivar Medal and the Chevalier de L'Ordre National du Merite from France.
Gabriel Coutinho Flecha
International Lawyer and Tax Underwriter. Holds an International Taxation L.LM. from New York University School of Law.
Isadora Ganem
Director at Mendes Wood DM, specialising in advocating Brazilian art within the global cultural discourse. Holds a specialisation in ESG from the Cambridge Judge Business School.
Karen McClellan
Non-Executive Director of decarbonisation funds (Riverstone Energy, TT Intl). Lecturer on international climate policy (Stanford University) and cleantech investor. Has 25 years of experience financing alternative energy and carbon projects.
Roberta Dubeux Springer
Pianist and composer, specialising in piano pedagogy for children, with a longstanding career in Germany.
Robert Falkenburg III
Brazilian/American, entrepreneur, tennis player with a Marketing Degree from Santa Barbara, California and an MBA in Business from IBMEC/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Roberta La Rovere
Expert in Global Politics, Media and Political Communications.
Roland Giscard d'Estaing
Managing Founder at WOMAN UP.
Sarah Lovell Taylor
Dual-qualified lawyer (UK and US), specialising in international commercial law at Oufi Taylor Colombotti Limited, Solicitors.
Creative Direction and Branding
Marcela Ayd & Giuliano Cesar
Marcela and Giuliano are the creative minds behind art direction and brand identity creation for The Roberto Burle Marx Foundation website. A recognised creative team in art direction, design, and branding, they have led award-winning campaigns and shaped impactful brand strategies.
About the
Foundation
​Our Collaborators & Sponsors
Design for the Minister’s Rooftop Garden, Ministry of Education and Health, Rio de Janeiro, 1938 by Burle Marx | Image © Burle Marx Landscape Design Studio, Rio de Janeiro.
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Philodendron burle-marxii. Illustration by Margaret Mee, 1964 | Image © SRBM/ IPHAN.
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Garden of Casa Forte (City Hall), Recife, Roberto Burle Marx, 1935
Ink and pencil on paper | Image © SRBM.
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Roberto Burle Marx painting a tablecloth in the loggia at his home, date unknown | Photo © NOAA
The Roberto Burle Marx Foundation
Eccleston Square
London
SW1V 1PH
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Registered charity
No. 1208166
© Copyright The Roberto Burle Marx Foundation