The IMS was founded by Walther Moreira Salles (1912-2001) and sponsored by Unibanco. It operates cultural centers in three states; one in Rio de Janeiro, home to a Technical Photography Archive and a Technical Music Archive; two in Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte and Poços de Caldas, home to Unibanco's roots); and a last one in São Paulo.

In addition to the cultural centers, IMS coordinates the activities of Unibanco Art Spaces/Unibanco Artplexes, a network of 48 movie theaters devoted to high-quality programming. These spaces are located in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Fortaleza and Juiz de Fora. The Artplexes of São Paulo, Porto Alegre also house the IMS Galleries, with exhibits related to the theaters programming and local art.

Highlights of IMS programming in 2004 were:

The IMS cultural centers hosted over 180,000 visitors, 26% more than in 2003.
There were 34 art exhibits.
A total of 38,933 students took part in 2,211 guided visits to the exhibits.
The Institute developed 105 projects of art education, cinema and theater shows for children and teenagers.
Box-office sales at the Espaços Unibanco/Unibanco Artplexes surpassed 3.6 million.
Some 100,000 visitors, mostly public school students, viewed the exhibit São Paulo, 450 years: Images and Memories of the City from Instituto Moreira Salles Archives. This tribute to São Paulo's anniversary included a special issue of Cadernos de Fotografia Brasileira on São Paulo.
IMS issued a special issue of Cadernos de Literatura Brasileira on writer Clarice Lispector.
The Unibanco Curitiba Arteplex opened in November, with five theaters and 757 seats.
A rare set of musical renditions, including the earliest of Brazilian recordings, was posted on the institute's website for free downloads. The digitalization of these recordings - which number above 30,000 and are property of IMS - was conducted in 2004.