A multi-media room that disseminates information about our organization and our practice.
Since 2015, we have been visiting and developing relationships in communities throughout the Peruvian Amazon as a small team of just a few people. Today we have grown and continue to expand into creative and spiritual areas of practice that allow for deeper learning and the sharing of this rich experience of being and collaborating within Indigenous communities.
We listen to the dreams and realities of individuals as advocates for cultural continuity. We share the tools of photography, journalism, and audio/visual media to provide reflection on the past, present, and possible futures both for the elders and the youth generations, the makers and the storytellers. We learn the importance of cultural codes as they are embedded throughout the artistic works of each ethnic group, to this we are vetted to sustaining their practices by offering both an economic platform and exhibition opportunities.
Xapiri Ground fosters deep connections with Indigenous communities in the Amazon through strategic collaborations with various nonprofit organizations, each dedicated to supporting sustainable development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation. By partnering with organizations such as the Mashko Yine, which focuses on artisanal creations; Comunidad Nativa Shipetari Manu, emphasizing community initiatives; Asociación de Artesanas Iskonawas, which supports artisan crafts; Bari Wesna, promoting cultural exchange; Acate Amazon Conservation, dedicated to environmental preservation; Yapit Arte y Tradición, which focuses on traditional arts; and sePeru, aimed at promoting sustainability and education, Xapiri Ground integrates a holistic approach to its collaborations.
These partnerships enable Xapiri Ground to engage effectively with local communities, offering platforms for Indigenous artists to showcase their traditions while also providing essential resources and support to foster economic and environmental sustainability. Each logo of these partners symbolizes their unique contributions and shared commitment to enriching and empowering the lives of Amazonian Indigenous peoples, thereby creating a network of support that reflects the diverse needs and aspirations of these communities. This collaborative model not only amplifies the voices of Indigenous peoples but also ensures that their cultural heritage is respected and preserved for future generations.
We have a three-fold structure that consists of:
This practice is based on developing sustainable economic relationships with as many of the Indigenous artists and providers where possible. In respect to the buying and selling of art goods, we make the purchases upfront and often support the artists in times of need in the form of a recoupable advance where the exchange of art at a later date is agreed upon. This economic model not only provides income for the artists and their families but allows Xapiri to fund its day to day operations and overhead costs at its physical location and shop in Cusco, Peru.
At our physical space we offer beverages and consumables from local providers. We purchase all goods upfront and resell the consumables at a low margin for quick turnaround in order to maintain quality.
Parallel to our social business is our not-for-profit organization which, unlike the former, all incomings such as donations and external funding are designated specifically for our groundwork in the Amazonian territory. The financial implications involve logistics, project development, community visits, exhibitions, publishing and media production.
We believe in the maintenance of long-term relationships that get nurtured through repeated visits (at least one per year) to each of the communities we work with. Our visits can range from one to four plus weeks, allowing us enough time to develop trust, dialogue and arrive at a mutual agreement for collaboration.
This aspect of our work demands time and care to best organize ourselves so that we can be the most present within the communities. Often there are long journeys, bad weather and communication difficulties even before arrival. We must be open to many variants and unexpected turns of events which is the magic of this humbling and revelatory work.
Work in the Amazon is challenging, our practice first and foremost involves a meeting with the head of the community and its other members where we present who we are, our intentions and ideas in order to have an equal exchange where their concerns can be heard before engaging in the nature of the work at hand. After this, the rest is about building relationships and flexible planning.
We are in constant dialogue with the leaders and individuals of the communities with whom we work. We position ourselves as cultural students who; with the utmost respect to the body of Indigenous knowledge and the complexities of cultural identity today, utilize audio-visual media to tell the stories of Indigenous people, their art and ancestral traditions and only with the prior consent of all those involved. Through the production of media we are able to create dialogues and reflection around these knowledge encounters both before and after they are made available to the public. All finished media is a record of these interactions and is accessible to all individuals and communities at large. Finished media, such as photos and video content, is always shared with the communities during our repeated visits where everyone can share personal reflections and ideas.
We are thankful to Antigua Casona Hotel and the Chacruna Institute for their continued support in our work both in the field and at our art house, as well as our private individual donors and patrons of culture.
We believe in long term relationship building with individuals and their communities who have consented to sharing their knowledge with us and the public. As multi-generational migrants, locals and foreigners, we seek to nurture a mutual understanding of the realities, ancestral and present, with our Indigenous collaborators through our practice in order to create didactic audio, visual and written representations of their ancestral knowledge for the benefit of the Indigenous people. Below is an open work of this documentation.
Photography: Davis Torres / Tui Anandi / Mike van Kruchen
© Xapiri Ground 2018 - 2024
