Artists from indigenous peoples of the Americas exhibit at SESC Vila Mariana in São Paulo

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The ‘Encontros Ameríndios’ [Amerindian Encounters] exhibition, to open on July 31 at SESC Vila Mariana, features a selection of the artistic production of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The exhibition includes works by artists from the Guna people (Comarca Kuna Yala, Panama), Haida (Haida Gwaii Archipelago, British Columbia, Canada), Huni Kuin (Indigenous Land Alto Rio Jordão, Acre, Brazil), Shipibo-Konibo (Cantagallo Community, Lima, Peru, and Alto Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon) and Tahltan (Telegraph Creek and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).

Coordinated by Prof. Dr. Sylvia Cauiby Novaes (CEstA – Center for Amerindian Studies of the University of São Paulo) and curated by Dr. Aristotle Barcelos Neto (University of East Anglia, United Kingdom), the exhibition aims to bring together works that dialogue with each other and enable reflections on ancestry and contemporary issues, focusing also on the cultures of these peoples.

In the exhibition, the narrative proposed by the curators makes the worlds of the Indians recognizable and communicable not only to each other, but also to the public. The content addressed is deepened in the integrated programming to expand knowledge of the peoples – from their environment to philosophies of life to current issues.

The exhibition presents a selection of works, including paintings, drawings, digital art, embroidery and woodcarvings. The focus is on the individual creativity of artists, changes in their works over time, the thematic universe they address, their sculptural and aesthetic preferences, and philosophical and cosmological questions raised by the art of these Native American peoples.

The different Americas are coordinated through the selection of artists. The creative body consists of approximately 30 individuals and 45 works.

Canadian Gwaai Edenshaw and his brother Jaalen Edenshaw of the Haida people engaged in woodcarving between 2009 and 2017 to recreate the Great Haida Potlach Box. Artist Alano Edzerza, also from Canada, brings illustrations of animals found in the tradition of the Tahltan people.

Women of the Guna people from Panama exhibit Molas, textile art made from multiple layers of fabric that creates a variety of patterns depicting everything from native vegetation to the urban life increasingly present in their daily lives.

Further south, Peruvians Wilma Maynas Inuma and Olinda Silvano present the embroideries of the Shipibo people, the Konibo.

The collective work of artists from the Huni Kuin people (MAHKU collective) represents Brazil through a panel that explores the shamanistic universe of Nixi Pae (popularly known as Ayahuasca), a work also prepared exclusively for the exhibition but within the community itself.

“The idea of meeting others is crucial to Native American socio-cosmological worlds. Cross-cultural and cross-community encounters are highly valued by indigenous peoples in both the Amazon and British Columbia, who come together at their famous potlatch to celebrate their ancestry as well as their cultural and material wealth.”

According to curator Barcelos Neto, “the artists in this exhibition are the protagonists of new dialogic possibilities between American aesthetics, artistic techniques, and creativities.”

About the works/artists

‘Encontros Ameríndios’ includes works by Alano Edzerza, multimedia artist from the Tahltan people; the sculptural works of the Gwaai brothers and Jaalen Edenshaw, Haida artists; the fabric overlays of Ana Bella Fernandez, Angelmira Owens Perez, Benilda Mores, Briseida Iglesias, Buna Bipi, Conciencia Grace Rodriguez, Dilma Gardel, Edita Lopez, Emilsy Fernandez, Flor Fernandez, Gilda Tejada, Lea Amelta Tejada, Lonilda Gonzalez, Lucrecia Places, Rosalia Tejada and Victoria Gonzalez, Guna artists; the geometric embroidery designs of Olinda Silvano, Wilma Maynas, Silvia Ripoca, Ronin Koshi Arias Silvano and Dora Inuma Ramírez, artists of the Shipibo-Konibo people; and paintings by Huni Kuin artists from the MAHKKU collective.

The public may visit the exhibition free of charge and in-person, by online booking through each unit’s page on the SESC São Paulo website or at sescsp.org.br/exposicoes.

To ensure the recommended distance between visitors, seats for the sessions are limited, respecting the occupancy of up to five people per 100 m2 and the total capacity of each venue. The wearing of masks is mandatory throughout the time spent in the venue.

At SESC, on-site activities follow strict protocols set by the health authority. With free access, exhibitions have reduced visiting hours and limited occupancy.

The ‘Encontros Ameríndios’ exhibition will be open to the public and can be visited in-person starting July 31, 2021.