PERUVIAN POPULAR ART AND CULTURE ARE AT RISK OF DISAPPEARING

- From October 2 to 9 of this year, Cusco will host the II Meeting of Artisans "Guardians of popular art and biodiversity",

- A joint project between social organizations and public entities promotes and seeks to strengthen the artistic expressions of Andean and Amazonian communities in the region.

Cusco - Peru is considered among the seven millenary cultures of the world. In this sense, popular art is vital for the conservation of its cultural traditions, knowledge and wisdom transmitted orally from generation to generation. Its Andean and Amazonian peoples, mainly, have this sacred mission.

According to the National Registry of Artisans of Peru, as of 2021, about 20% of the people engaged in this activity are concentrated in Cusco, due to its great cultural heritage. However, with the progressive decrease of artisans, the living culture has a high risk of becoming extinct in the future.

The handicraft sector (which already had a precarious economy, subsisting on its main inbound tourism and export markets), suffered a strong impact with the social restriction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the internal political, social and economic problems (between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023) and the international crisis. All this aggravated their situation, generating shortage of sales and income; unemployment and migration to other economic activities in order to survive.

In the current context, where economic, social and political problems are becoming more acute, living culture runs a high risk of becoming extinct in the coming years, as a result of the progressive decline of the population dedicated to cultivating this art.

"The new generations are increasingly distant from continuing with these practices, and there is even a certain lack of knowledge of the ancestral knowledge of the millenary Tawantinsuyu, the meaning of the iconographies and pieces captured in works of art still preserved by the indigenous peoples of Cusco", says Rubén Baldeón, president of the "Pueblos Artesanos" Association.

He adds that another factor is "the lack of inclusion and recognition of the true artists and artisans of the rural Andean areas and native communities of the 13 provinces of the region, limiting their access to the regional and national market".

Meeting of artisans

Faced with this panorama, this cultural organization, in alliance with other public and private institutions, will hold the II Encounter of art of the indigenous or native peoples of Cusco - 2023 "Nawpa llactacunaq k'apchiy tinkuyñin" (Guardians of popular art and biodiversity).

This event will take place from October 2 to 9, 2023, as part of the activities for the Day of Indigenous Peoples and Intercultural Dialogue (every October 12). In this regard, Rubén Baldeón, from "Pueblos Artesanos", states that "this is a way of recognizing and paying tribute to the artists who carry ancestral knowledge and who, through their work, contribute to protect the intangible cultural heritage of indigenous peoples".

This initiative, which began to develop since 2022, aims to promote spaces for coordination between the public and private sectors, whose efforts promote the development of handicrafts to achieve policies, programs, projects and activities of social, cultural and economic inclusion that favor artisans and ensure their legacy to new generations.

Art and biodiversity

This year's edition focuses on the solid relationship between popular art and the conservation of our biodiversity. That is why it has been named "ñawpa llactacunaq k'apchiy tinkuyñin" ("Guardians of folk art and biodiversity"). This revalues the harmonious link that the ancient Peruvians had with nature.

This can be seen in the variety of genres and handicraft expressions such as wood and stone carving; jewelry and goldsmithing; textiles, pottery and ceramics; imagery, jewelry, metalwork and painting; also in leather and fur work; vegetable fibers, resin, glass and the manufacture of musical instruments, as well as masks, hats and clothing, among others.

Of these handicrafts, most are developed in Cusco, highlighting textiles, ceramics and jewelry, in Andean communities, and the work in vegetable fibers, in Amazonian localities.

Program of the meeting

The conference "Folk Art and Biodiversity" (October 2 and 3) will address the promotion of research on the folk art of the indigenous peoples of Cusco, the Andean cosmovision expressed in their cultural creations and the meaning of the Yine and Matsigenka iconographies, among other topics. In addition, there will be a panel with wise artisans, who will talk about the relationship between popular art and biodiversity. At another time, the management for the sustainable development of these expressions will be analyzed.

From October 5 to 8, the "Folk Art of the Indigenous Peoples" fair will take place, bringing together artisans with Andean and Amazonian (lowland jungle) ancestral knowledge from the 13 provinces of Cusco. On October 9, popular artists will be recognized as "Guardians of popular art and biodiversity", who took part in the II Encounter of Art of the Indigenous or Original Peoples of Cusco".

Find out more

- For more information and registration you can access this note from Pueblos Artesanos or its website.

- Here you can register to participate in the conference.