Shipibo Youth Fine Arts Center

Above: Nixon Yuimachi painting the Shipibo legend of the chuyachaqui in his Youth Fine Arts Center.

A group of Shipibo youth, led by Nixon Yuimachi, in the indigenous community of San Francisco de Yarinacocha have begun forming a youth group for those interested in learning and teaching about the traditional Shipibo fine arts. The art center has commenced operations in Nixon's home in San Francisco, yet they have a dream of expanding into a new location. They would like to construct an art center with lodging also available for Shipibo youth who have to travel from far away communities to attend week-long art workshops. They could construct this new center and also purchase art supplies in bulk to get the center functioning at their desired capacity for only about $300 USD. The art center will be free to anyone wishing to attend classes (Shipibo, Peruvians, and foreigners alike) and all who staff the center are volunteers. The only expenses are art supplies, although many paints, dyes, and other supplies are available naturally on the art center grounds. They would also like to be able to provide travel scholarships for youth from far away communities who cannot afford to travel to San Francisco de Yarinacocha. They plan to maintain their programs through the sale of their art both locally, nationally, and internationally. They are looking for international connections to people interested in helping to sell their art in international markets.

Above: An intricate painting of a shamanic vision where the shaman connects with Mother Earth in a dream world full of medicinal plants and important Shipibo symbols.

Below: An interpretation of Shipibo life in the past as painted by the art center youth.

Above: A beautifully intricate painting of a Shipibo women elder.

Shipibo art is unique in that most supplies are made from naturally-available resources the Shipibo cultivate or that are gathered wild from the surrounding forests. It is also unique for its cultural designs, an important symbol of Shipibo identity. Many paintings are inspired by Shipibo legends, history, nature, and also from shamanic visions of other worlds. Also, many paintings are done collaboratively with many youth contributing to each painting.

Above: A shamanic vision painted by Nixon Yuimachi and donated to Village Earth in order to raise money for future collaborative projects between the Shipibo people and Village Earth.

If you are interested in purchasing a piece of art or supporting the Youth Fine Arts Center, please contact Village Earth's Peru project coordinator, Kristina Pearson: kristina@villageearth.org or call Village Earth's main office: 1-970-491-5754