Stories: Aracari Team Insights

Although Cusco receives a lot of attention for its rich history and archaeology, the same could not exactly be said for folk art in the city. The exhibition Cusco: Herencia y Tradicion (Cusco: Heritage and Tradition) sets to redress the balance as I found out at last night's inauguration at the Instituto Cultural Norteamericano Peruano.  Curated by close friend and collaborator of Aracari Lisy Kuon, the exhibition displays a a wide collection of arte popular - or "folk art" - from the Cusco region over the last 500 years, most of which was produced in the last century. All of the pieces display the rich tradition of  art in the region, demonstrating indigenous legacies, syncretism with colonial influences, and how these  traditions have been incorporated into the psyche of local people, as expressed through day-to-day arts and craftwork. The pieces have been brought together from museums, universities and private collections - including those of more Aracari friends, notably Mari Solari of Las Pallas and specialist Lima insider John Alfredo Davis. "The exhibition is divided into three central themes," detailed Lisy, "The first, religion, as is seen in religious festivals and processions; the second, regarding objects of a magical character, propitiatory of Andean kindness; and, the third, objects of every day use. "Through the past and up until the present day, the artists of the Cusco region have shown a world of sensibilities, materilised in various forms and expressions as presented through folk art. In this selection we see expressions that have allowed the preservation of fundamental Andean traditions, reinvented throughout the centuries and acquiring new vitality and new meanings in modern times ." The objects on display are a treasure trove of trinkets, adornments and objects hailing from across the Cusco region. I was particularly impressed with the pieces related to the Corpus Christi