Research Guides

The Sofía Ímber Collection - Colección de Sofía Ímber


Life and Legacy of Sofía Ímber
Sofía Ímber was born in Soroca, Moldova (then Romania) in 1924, and as a child, settled in Venezuela with her family. She was one of the most important figures in modern-day Latin American culture. A bold and tireless journalist, she was the only woman to win the National Journalism Prize of Venezuela. Ímber and Guillermo Meneses founded the CAL (Criticism, Art, Literature) Magazine along with the designer Nedo MF. Later, she founded the television program Buenos Días, with Carlos Rangel, that aired on Venevisión. “Buenos Días” featured interviews with important figures, artists, and intellectuals including writer Jorge Luis Borges, the Dalai Lama, Fernando Botero, Nobel Prize in Literature winner Octavio Paz, Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa, and hundreds more. The show contributed to the cultural and political literacy of the public and reached remote areas. Ímber was passionate about reaching and educating a wide audience as well as combating anti-Semitism. In 2006, she along with a large group of other artists and intellectuals signed a protest letter condemning anti-Semitic remarks made by the president of Venezuela. She was also the director of the cultural pages of the newspaper El Universal and had a column in El Nacionaland wrote for Últimas Noticiasand Diario 2001. A collection of her essays was published in 1971 in book form under the title Yo la intransigente. One of her greatest contributions to Venezuelan culture was the founding of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Caracas, which Ímber created from nothing. It opened in the early 1970s, and she served as Director and principal curator until 2001. She reportedly said that "A museum is a home with beautiful things. It is more than a cathedral because those items 'speak' to me and to others.” Throughout her life, Ímber’s work functioned as a cultural bridge between Europe and Latin America, which is evidenced in her journalistic work and her curation at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Ímber died in Caracas on February 20, 2017. Ímber leaves an incredible legacy of her contributions to the field of journalism and the development of cultural institutions in Latin America.
Sofía Ímber in Paris
Sofía Ímber in Paris
George Segal, Cornelis Zitman, Soledad Bravo, and Sofía Ímber at Soledad Bravo’s house
Subject Specialist

Katherine Villa

  • Peer Research Consultant / UGrow Fellow 2020-21
  • kkv8@miami.edu
  • (305) x

Lilianne Lugo Herrera

Martin Tsang

  • CHC Librarian, Curator of Latin American Collections
  • mtsang@miami.edu
  • (305) 284-4900
Books/Libros (UM)

Ímber, Sofía. Yo, la intransigente. Editorial Tiempo Nuevo, 1971.

Ímber, Sofía, and Arlette Machado. Sofía Imber: mil Sofía. Editorial Libros Marcados, 2012. Richter Library's copy is signed by the author. 

 

Ímber, Sofía, et al. La señora Ímber: genio y figura. Editorial Planeta Venezolana, 2016. 

Shoer Roth, Daniel, and Confederación de Asociaciones Israelitas de Venezuela. Presencia judía en el periodismo de opinión venezolano: cinco pensamientos hacia una misma dirección: Gustavo Arnstein, Alicia Freilich, Paulina Gamus, Carlos Guerón, Sofía Imber. Ediciones CAIV, Confederación de Asociaciones Israelitas de Venezuela, 2001.

Books/Libros (Non UM)
Kübler, Manón. Sofía Imber, la intransigente. Grijalbo, 1994.
Articles/Artículos

García, Manuel. “Sofía Imber: dame un garaje y hago un museo.” Lápiz: Revista internacional del arte, no. 171, Publicaciones de Estética y Pensamiento, 2001, pp. 53–63.

Delgado Flores, Carlos. “Por y para Sofía.” Comunicación, vol. 177, 2017, pp. 181–90.

Tartakoff, Laura Ymayo. “The Presence of Sofía Imber.” Society, vol. 47, no. 1, 2010, pp. 48–53. 

Tartakoff, Laura Ymayo. “Arlette Machado, Mil Sofía, Memorias Conversadas (One Thousand Sofía, Memorable Conversations).” Society, vol. 50, no. 4, 2013, pp. 415–417.
Sofía Ímber in Rimini 1956
Sofía Ímber in Rimini 1956
Remembering Sofía Ímber, by Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
Patricia Phelps de Cisneros remembers Sofía Ímber's life and comments on her legacy. // Patricia Phelps de Cisneros comenta algunos de sus recuerdos personales con Sofía Ímber, y comenta su legado.


MACSI.org  

MACSI.org is a digital platform containing biographical information about Ímber. It focuses on her work as the founder, main curator, and director of the Sofía Ímber Museum of Contemporary Art from 1972 to 2001. // La plataforma digital MACSI.org contiene información biográfica sobre Ímber, y se centra en su labor de fundación, curaduría y dirección del Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Sofía Ímber de 1972 hasta el 2001.    

 

Archivo Digital Sofía Ímber y Carlos Rangel

This Archive has made available the interviews conducted by Sofía Ímber and Carlos Rangel between 1969 and 1993. // En este Archivo se pueden consultar las entrevistas realizadas por Sofía Ímber y Carlos Rangel entre 1969 y 1993.  
 

News on the exhibition Sofía Imber: The legacy

Short article commenting on the exhibition Sofía Imber: The legacy, curated by Maria Luz Cardenas, from December 6th to 9th 2018, in Pinta Art Fair, Miami. // Noticia de la exposición Sofía Imber: El legado, curada por María Luz Cárdenas, del 6 al 9 de diciembre de 2018, en Pinta Art Fair, Miami. 

 

Review about the play “La Vida de Sofia Ímber"

"La vida de Sofia Ímber, dama insigne de Venezuela, llega a las tablas de Miami", by Arturo Arias-Polo, July 2, 2019. The Miami Herald.

Breve reseña acerca de la obra teatral “La vida de Sofia Ímber”, presentada en Miami en el 2019. Brief review about the play "The life of Sofia Ímber", presented in Miami in 2019. 

El País: Obituary 

Obituario del diario español El País ante la muerte de Ímber.  

Ímber's obituary in the Spanish newspaper El País. 

 
La Razón: Obituary

Obituario del diario La Razón de México ante la muerte de Ímber.  

Ímber's obituary in the Mexican newspaper La Razón. 

 
SOFÍA ÍMBER, MI MADRE

https://revistaestilo.org/2019/10/28/sofia-imber-mi-madre/

Click the image above to access an online publication by one of Ímber's daughters, Adriana Meneses, who writes about her mother's life, her family, and their influence on Latin American culture. Emotional personal memory, accompanied by numerous family photos. // Una de las hijas de Ímber, Adriana Meneses, escribe sobre la vida de su madre, su familia, y la influencia de esta en la cultura latinoamericana. Emotivo recuerdo personal, acompañado de numerosas fotos familiares. Pinche la foto para acceder la publicación digital.  

Sofía Ímber’s YouTube Channel

It contains interviews from Ímber’s TV program Buenos Días. Among her interviewees were Fernando Botero, Jorge Luis Borges, and many other relevant cultural and political figures. // Canal de YouTube de Sofía Ímber. Contiene muchas entrevistas de su programa de televisión Buenos Días. Entre sus entrevistados se encontraban Fernando Botero, Jorge Luis Borges y muchas otras figuras relevantes de la cultura y la política.  

Sofía Ímber interviewed by Plinio Apuleyo
Sofía Ímber interviews the Dalai Lama

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