*View the interactive works in the virtual gallery (you must use the Firefox browser).
I am Callao by Betsaida Paz Majluf and Gabriel Marroquín
The concept behind the “I Am Callao Park” is imagining a public space that captures the community potential and positives of daily life in the Callao province: the tradition of salsa, kinesthetic expression, community art (street murals), and good food. Thus creating a positive and proud narrative about the chalaca identity.
It is important to mention that we visualize this as a space by and for the chalacas that positively resignifies their identity (which is usually synonymous with stigma or discrimination in a country such as Peru which is striken with classism and racism). This is a community space, not of gentrification or for tourism, but for empowerment and a laboratory for positive social movements to the chalaca community, based on public health and art as a means of cohesion, community, and social reflection.
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Cosmovision of the Pandemic by Carla Carignano
This piece is a criticism of the situation of the planet, which is awash in pandemic plastic. The data is difficult to get, but it is said that plastic consumption has grown 250-300% just in the United States since the coronavirus began. These images seek to reflect on the harmony of our past between the three worlds: the world above (Hanan Pacha), this world (Kay Pacha), and the world below (Uku Pacha).
Our present is full of political nervousness and a lack of empathy, which has brought more infections and more death.
And finally the vision of a dark future, if we do nothing.
It is the time for us to rethink — What did we receive from our ancestors, and what are we doing today to build the future? What awaits us?
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Texere by Cristina Ocampo Acuña
“Texere” is a word that comes from Latin and means “to weave, braid or build.”
Weaving was chosen as the main source of inspiration for this project, often considered an oppressive activity that has relegated women to the domestic sphere. However, through the years, weaving has given voice to women and to their silenced bodies. This project is an installation that mixes weaving, space and technological tools to create a new sound weaving piece as the centerpiece to start a dialogue around violence against women and raise awareness around “femicide.”
In addition, Texere aims to be a vehicle for healing and expression, questioning social structures and public spaces which often turn out to be unsafe for women and their needs as citizens.
I hope that people, especially women, use the work to give voice to women that are no longer with us, that were silenced, and can empathize with them.
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How Do Older Adults Live in Isolation? by Daniela Salas
The project is an audiovisual offering based on the exercise “Postcards of the Future,” which makes us contemplate the deep isolation of older adults, and how this time of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and increased this feeling of helplessness, loneliness, indifference, and in some cases increased dependence on a caregiver. It is a call to reflect on and if possible take care of our most vulnerable population.
For this project, the images collected were taken from the web but the testimonies and stories are real, provided by friends, relatives, and close friends who kindly decided to share their experiences and contribute their voices.
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Ancestors and Future by Giovanna Pillaca Morote
In the Ayacuchana tradition, when one passes away, there is a 5-day ceremony in which the family comes together to remember, forgive, and clean. We keep vigil over the body, finish conversations that we couldn’t during their lifetime, understanding that their energy is still present but will soon move on. Finally, we collectively gather by the shores of the river to play, laugh, and cry; the running water taking our pain, and the morning sun recharging us while drying our tears.
During the era of internal conflict and terrorism in Peru, many were unable to say goodbye to their relatives. In Ayacucho, many did not even know that this was happening, but the losses were felt. People died without saying goodbye to their loved ones. The souls of the deceased are present in the lands they inhabited through the burials of their bodies. This is what happened with my grandmother, who when she died, her soul went to stay in the most important tree in her town. Today in the age of COVID, we have to see high numbers of deaths per day; today, we have to call a stranger so that their body can return as ashes in a box.
