Xingu Encounter
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Drama
Abstract
This project builds on a large body of research that has explored the value of cultural exchange between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures, models for equitable and ethical forms of exchange, and how research can contribute both to the preservation of indigenous knowledge and culture, and to sustainable socio-economic development for indigenous people in Brazil and beyond. Over four years HERITAGE and AIKAX have engaged a broad range of collaborators from creative and cultural professions in the UK and Brazil, and academics from a diverse range of disciplines, with indigenous researchers and artists.
This follow-on proposal responds to the need to defend indigenous knowledge, cultures and territories in a context of increasing political and environmental threats, in Brazil and worldwide. The particular catalyst was the discovery of deliberate vandalism of a sacred site where mythical stories of the ancestors of Waujá and Kuikuro people living in the Xingu region were recorded through rock carvings. Using digital technologies to create a 3D physical reproduction of the original cave with its ancient images, alongside an exhibition documenting the shocking destruction of the carvings in 2018 and offering interpretative material to support audiences in engaging with the significance of the cultural artefacts to the Kuikuro and Waujá people, Factum Arte/ Factum Foundation will produce a high-profile installation in central Venice for one month during the 2019 Biennale. This artistic and technological statement aims at a real-world impact: responding to the urgent need to raise awareness of the risks to of indigenous peoples, whilst disseminating new means to preserve and provide non-harmful access to indigenous cultures.
Simon McBurney and theatre company Complicite will partner to produce a two day international forum 'Encounter' which frames the threats to indigenous people and ways of life as a critical contemporary issue for the global community. 15 indigenous and 15 non-indigenous guests will be invited to attend, coming together to address the challenges faced by the erasure of indigenous peoples' environment and heritage. They will discuss how we can respond to the specific needs identified by the indigenous partners for increased public exposure to, and stakeholder engagement with, the key findings of the research in an equitable and ethical way.
While the events are being produced by generous contributions from partners Factum and Complicite, this application will enable Paul Heritage and four Brazilian indigenous speakers, artists, legal and political activists/advocates to travel for a week to participate in these events in Venice, bringing the results of the previous research work to global attention (up to and bringing international press attention to the fragility of indigenous cultural heritage and the methods that the collaborative team is developing to help indigenous communities protect it.
The United Nations Millennium goals recognised the vital role of indigenous culture and communities in protecting the environment, preventing deforestation, preserving bio-diversity and combating climate change. Yet Brazil is entering a new phrase where indigenous communities are increasingly under attack from environmental change, the encroachment of destructive intensive farming methods, short-term commercial exploitation and global geopolitical pressures that bring into question their very existence. This Follow-on project connects with wider discussions about the value of arts and culture in preserving knowledge relevant to contemporary geo-political and social debates. It mobilises AHRC-funded research and disseminates it to a broad public, demanding that audiences pay attention, to the problems, to the solutions and to the innovative methodologies and technologies at our fingertips that can contribute to creating a more just and sustainable world.
This follow-on proposal responds to the need to defend indigenous knowledge, cultures and territories in a context of increasing political and environmental threats, in Brazil and worldwide. The particular catalyst was the discovery of deliberate vandalism of a sacred site where mythical stories of the ancestors of Waujá and Kuikuro people living in the Xingu region were recorded through rock carvings. Using digital technologies to create a 3D physical reproduction of the original cave with its ancient images, alongside an exhibition documenting the shocking destruction of the carvings in 2018 and offering interpretative material to support audiences in engaging with the significance of the cultural artefacts to the Kuikuro and Waujá people, Factum Arte/ Factum Foundation will produce a high-profile installation in central Venice for one month during the 2019 Biennale. This artistic and technological statement aims at a real-world impact: responding to the urgent need to raise awareness of the risks to of indigenous peoples, whilst disseminating new means to preserve and provide non-harmful access to indigenous cultures.
Simon McBurney and theatre company Complicite will partner to produce a two day international forum 'Encounter' which frames the threats to indigenous people and ways of life as a critical contemporary issue for the global community. 15 indigenous and 15 non-indigenous guests will be invited to attend, coming together to address the challenges faced by the erasure of indigenous peoples' environment and heritage. They will discuss how we can respond to the specific needs identified by the indigenous partners for increased public exposure to, and stakeholder engagement with, the key findings of the research in an equitable and ethical way.
While the events are being produced by generous contributions from partners Factum and Complicite, this application will enable Paul Heritage and four Brazilian indigenous speakers, artists, legal and political activists/advocates to travel for a week to participate in these events in Venice, bringing the results of the previous research work to global attention (up to and bringing international press attention to the fragility of indigenous cultural heritage and the methods that the collaborative team is developing to help indigenous communities protect it.
The United Nations Millennium goals recognised the vital role of indigenous culture and communities in protecting the environment, preventing deforestation, preserving bio-diversity and combating climate change. Yet Brazil is entering a new phrase where indigenous communities are increasingly under attack from environmental change, the encroachment of destructive intensive farming methods, short-term commercial exploitation and global geopolitical pressures that bring into question their very existence. This Follow-on project connects with wider discussions about the value of arts and culture in preserving knowledge relevant to contemporary geo-political and social debates. It mobilises AHRC-funded research and disseminates it to a broad public, demanding that audiences pay attention, to the problems, to the solutions and to the innovative methodologies and technologies at our fingertips that can contribute to creating a more just and sustainable world.
Planned Impact
'Xingu Encounter: Venice' seeks to harness a body of research which has engaged a diverse range of academic, non-academic and indigenous peoples, to impact on the ways in which audiences understand the potential of exchange between indigenous and non-indigenous communities and the possibilities of innovative and immersive technologies in the ethical conservation and preservation of cultures; and to raise awareness of the contemporary challenges faced by indigenous communities in Brazil and beyond.
Through presenting this research in Venice, coinciding with the 2019 Biennale, this proposal will ensure that AHRC-funded research is disseminated to new audiences and is at the forefront of debates about the place of art in contemporary social and geopolitical debates.
This research has already had demonstrable benefits for the range of collaborators involved, and specifically the Kuikuro people of Brazil's Xingu region. Using innovative and immersive technologies, the Kuikuro have been able to document and preserve elements of their material and non-material culture which are being destroyed by intensive non-indigenous contact; they have been able to grant access to sites beyond the reach of the general public, in ways that preserve and protect indigenous sites at risk of destruction by the environmental and cultural impacts of intensive non-indigenous human contact. In addition, this body of research has explored how indigenous peoples in Brazil can develop an equitable and ethical paradigm for cultural exchange with non-indigenous societies, and the Kuikuro have now hosted a total of three residencies for a range of Brazilian and international participants which actively stimulate economic development and welfare in ways that have not been destructive to their environment, culture and language.
In response to recent political shifts in Brazil, which place indigenous communities in an ever more vulnerable position, the Kuikuro have identified the need to disseminate the findings of this body of research to larger international audiences. Responding to this urgent plea Factum Foundation has offered to undertake its specialist work to develop a 3D model of the caves, before and after vandalism, as well as to sponsor a site for the installation in Venice, coinciding with the 2019 Biennale. Alongside the exhibit, this follow-on fund will support the participation of HERITAGE and four indigenous speakers from across Brazil at a two day forum produced by Complicite Theatre company for up to 30 high-profile stakeholders, which will mobilise the influence of the attendees and identify a series of next steps for furthering AIKAX's mission.
'Xingu Encounter: Venice' situates the Kuikuro people on an international platform and demands that audiences at the Venice Biennale take notice of what an equitable exchange looks like - the benefits, solutions and opportunities offered by cultural exchange - and the potential of new technologies in the preservation and ethical conservation of vulnerable sites.
Mobilising AHRC funded research, this project demands that a broad and diverse public take notice of the challenges faced by indigenous communities, and the destruction of their cultures, environments and customs more generally. Significantly, it is not only the Kuikuro people, indigenous communities more generally, or associated partners, researchers and audiences that will benefit from dissemination of this research. As an indigenous representative from the Guarani community in Brazil recently said: 'if indigenous peoples become extinct and dead, the lives of all are threatened, for we are the guardians of nature. Without forest, without water, without rivers, there is no life, there is no way for any Brazilian to survive.'
Through presenting this research in Venice, coinciding with the 2019 Biennale, this proposal will ensure that AHRC-funded research is disseminated to new audiences and is at the forefront of debates about the place of art in contemporary social and geopolitical debates.
This research has already had demonstrable benefits for the range of collaborators involved, and specifically the Kuikuro people of Brazil's Xingu region. Using innovative and immersive technologies, the Kuikuro have been able to document and preserve elements of their material and non-material culture which are being destroyed by intensive non-indigenous contact; they have been able to grant access to sites beyond the reach of the general public, in ways that preserve and protect indigenous sites at risk of destruction by the environmental and cultural impacts of intensive non-indigenous human contact. In addition, this body of research has explored how indigenous peoples in Brazil can develop an equitable and ethical paradigm for cultural exchange with non-indigenous societies, and the Kuikuro have now hosted a total of three residencies for a range of Brazilian and international participants which actively stimulate economic development and welfare in ways that have not been destructive to their environment, culture and language.
In response to recent political shifts in Brazil, which place indigenous communities in an ever more vulnerable position, the Kuikuro have identified the need to disseminate the findings of this body of research to larger international audiences. Responding to this urgent plea Factum Foundation has offered to undertake its specialist work to develop a 3D model of the caves, before and after vandalism, as well as to sponsor a site for the installation in Venice, coinciding with the 2019 Biennale. Alongside the exhibit, this follow-on fund will support the participation of HERITAGE and four indigenous speakers from across Brazil at a two day forum produced by Complicite Theatre company for up to 30 high-profile stakeholders, which will mobilise the influence of the attendees and identify a series of next steps for furthering AIKAX's mission.
'Xingu Encounter: Venice' situates the Kuikuro people on an international platform and demands that audiences at the Venice Biennale take notice of what an equitable exchange looks like - the benefits, solutions and opportunities offered by cultural exchange - and the potential of new technologies in the preservation and ethical conservation of vulnerable sites.
Mobilising AHRC funded research, this project demands that a broad and diverse public take notice of the challenges faced by indigenous communities, and the destruction of their cultures, environments and customs more generally. Significantly, it is not only the Kuikuro people, indigenous communities more generally, or associated partners, researchers and audiences that will benefit from dissemination of this research. As an indigenous representative from the Guarani community in Brazil recently said: 'if indigenous peoples become extinct and dead, the lives of all are threatened, for we are the guardians of nature. Without forest, without water, without rivers, there is no life, there is no way for any Brazilian to survive.'
Organisations
- Queen Mary University of London (Lead Research Organisation)
- The Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation (Collaboration)
- Horniman Museum and Gardens (Collaboration)
- Institute of Contemporary Arts (Collaboration)
- Pennywise Foundation (Collaboration)
- Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Alto Xingu (AIKAX) (Collaboration)
Publications
Arts And Humanities Research Council
(2019)
Research Collaborations Brazil: UK and Brazilian research in the arts and humanities
Heritage P
(2021)
Indigenous peoples must drive climate research
Jesus T
(2021)
Reimagining Museums for Climate Action
Newton Fund And GCRF
(2020)
Protecting Brazil's indigenous communities during the COVID-19 pandemic
| Title | 1st Brazil Indigenous Film Festival |
| Description | In the lead-up to the UN Climate Summit, COP26, People's Palace Projects, Queen Mary University of London and The University of Manchester, in partnership with the ICA and APIB, presented 12 productions by Indigenous filmmakers from Brazil, home to the world's largest remaining rainforest. The three-day festival (22-24 October 2021) featured short films, documentaries and animations that raise Indigenous voices. The programme celebrated their rituals and heritage and asserts their rights to their lands and to cultural expression, which have been brazenly dismantled and vilified under Brazil's current government. The filmmakers address these issues both poetically and provocatively in the first edition of this festival, which seeks to open up conversations about our role in preserving the planet and what we can learn from Indigenous people. Programme: Friday, 22 October, 18:15 - The Right to Earth: a programme of short works about different forms of Indigenous struggle - symbolic, practical, political, mythological - for the right to land. The opening night will be followed by a conversation with the festival curators and an indigenous leader from Brazil, moderated by People's Palace Projects' director Paul Heritage. Saturday, 23 October, 16:20 - The Ritual Dimension: from sport to religion, myths to social narratives, this four-film programme documents and celebrates the Maxakali and Kisedjê peoples in rural Brazil - and shows that while rituals may be political, the political can also be ritualistic. Sunday, 24 October, 16:20 - The Orality, Film and History: Parakanã, Guarani-Nhandewa and Guarani-Kaiowá filmmakers produce a kind of video-orality to present Indigenous communities' historical, social and philosophical perspectives. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Due to its huge success, the ICA extended the festival by two weeks in October and November, and has offered to host a second edition of the festival in 2022. Total attendance: 429 people. |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/1st-brazil-indigenous-film-festival-at-ica/ |
| Title | A View from the Xingu as part of The Encounter 2020 |
| Description | Simon McBurney (Complicite) reworked the stage performance of the stage play The Encounter (2015) for an online audience, which was used to raise funds for the Kuikuro's Covid-19 response. As part of the re-framing for this online streamed version, Heritage and Takumã Kuikuro produced the video 'A View From the Xingu'. The estimated audience for The Encounter is 209,000 and over 7,071 people saw 'A view from the Xingu'. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | The Just Giving campaign advertised alongside this production and the films release raised £32,482 for the Kuikuro's Covid-19 response. |
| URL | https://www.thespace.org/resource/encounter-case-study-live-streaming-theatre#:~:text=The%20Encounte... |
| Title | Amazon Hope: Xingu Village immersive installation |
| Description | The multimedia installation that was piloted at the Horniman Museum in London in 2018, travelled to New York in October 2019 and was displayed for a month at the Affirmation Art Gallery as part of the event Amazon Hope. The audio-visual installation takes a 3D model of the Ipatse village of the Kuikuro and transforms it into a large projection screen (w3,7 x h3,15 x d2,8m). The bird's-eye view model of a village, which is home to approximately 400 Kuikuro people, shows a large open, oval centre surrounded by ocas (traditional ancestral houses of Brazilian indigenous peoples for over a thousand years) and the forest. The installation displays a continuous screening of a 20' mapped film created by renowned indigenous cinematographer Takumã Kuikuro, drawing on his intimate archive of over 10 years of filmmaking. I allows the audience to see, hear and experience the Kuikuro's everyday life, from the early hour when the first bird starts singing to the time the last star falls asleep. Visitors embark on a journey through the spectacular houses the Kuikuro people build for their families to live in, join their daily activities of fishing and cooking, and discover the unique language that inspires their music and dances. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The installation was seen by Gabriel Kozlowski, Assistant Curator at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2020, who invited us to showcase it as part of the main pavilion of the event in Venice. |
| Title | Amazon Hope: Xingu Village immersive installation |
| Description | The multimedia installation that was piloted at the Horniman Museum in London in 2018, travelled to New York in October 2019 and was displayed for a month at the Affirmation Art Gallery as part of the event Amazon Hope. The audio-visual installation takes a 3D model of the Ipatse village of the Kuikuro and transforms it into a large projection screen (w3,7 x h3,15 x d2,8m). The bird's-eye view model of a village, which is home to approximately 400 Kuikuro people, shows a large open, oval centre surrounded by ocas (traditional ancestral houses of Brazilian indigenous peoples for over a thousand years) and the forest. The installation displays a continuous screening of a 20' mapped film created by renowned indigenous cinematographer Takumã Kuikuro, drawing on his intimate archive of over 10 years of filmmaking. I allows the audience to see, hear and experience the Kuikuro's everyday life, from the early hour when the first bird starts singing to the time the last star falls asleep. Visitors embark on a journey through the spectacular houses the Kuikuro people build for their families to live in, join their daily activities of fishing and cooking, and discover the unique language that inspires their music and dances. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The installation was seen by Gabriel Kozlowski, Assistant Curator at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2020, who invited us to showcase it as part of the main pavilion of the event in Venice. |
| Title | BBC Radio 4 An Orchestra Of The Rainforest |
| Description | BBC Radio 4 show. The destruction of the rain forest has reached a critical stage - so how can the people who live there grab the attention of the world? One community, the Wauja, who live in the Xingu reservation in Brazil, had a new idea - music. Two years ago they invited a young UK composer, Nathaniel Mann, to collaborate with their musician, Akari. The hope was that they would eventually perform with the State Orchestra of Mato Grosso, one of the most exciting in Brazil, and also record a CD that might lead to publicity. We follow Nathaniel as he gets to know Akari - 6 foot tall, powerfully built, and regularly decorated in dramatic body paint. Akari is also familiar with the world outside the indigenous reservation - he has a flat screen TV in his home, and a mobile phone (albeit rarely with any signal). But the music he performs is surrounded by complex traditional rituals. As Mann learns some of the history of the Wauja music, he also learns about a sacred cave, thousands of years old - The Kamkuwaka Cave - which is under threat. Every year, the young Wauja are taken on a two day journey to visit the cave, where they are taught their creation myth, but the cave now lies outside the protection of the Xingu reservation, where developers are keen to bury it under a road carrying the spoils of Brazil's massive agriculture industry. Mann alerts Factum Arte in Madrid, who in the past have made 3D scans and replicas of such sites as the Egyptian tombs of Seti I, Thutmose III and Tutankhamen, and so the race to save the cave begins. Presenter: Nathaniel Mann |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The radio show has received very positive reviews. |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000765p |
| Title | Indigenous Research Episodes |
| Description | People's Palace Projects, Queen Mary University of London (PPP, QMUL) and the Indigenous Association of the Kuikuro People in Xingu (AIKAX) hosted the International Seminar on Indigenous Engagement, Research Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilisation in Rio de Janeiro in 2019, on behalf of AHRC and ESRC. The 3-day event looked to explore research partnerships between indigenous and non-indigenous partners, with particular focus on culturally sensitive knowledge exchange, equitable co-creation and mobilisation for meaningful impact. There were a wide range of partnerships, approaches and disciplines represented, as well as interdisciplinary discussions, workshops and presentations. The conversations were documented by indigenous filmmaker Takumã Kuikuro and the Kuikuro Cinema Collective and transformed into 9 short episodes available on the playlist Indigenous Research Episodes. The clips offer non-indigenous researchers working in this field insights on challenges when engaging with indigenous communities whilst ensuring co-production of knowledge and effective knowledge mobilisation, with the potential for broader impact beyond academia. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | The mini-film series which is publicly available ensures that the research findings are accessible to a wide range of HEI and general audiences, the series has been widely shared on the partners' online platforms. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcz-eAe2LHOaHA360dXHCCwSnVqs4GHB9 |
| Title | Kuarup, Future Assembly |
| Description | Takumã Kuikuro, PPP Associate Artist, produced a video about the Kuarup ceremony for the Future Assembly installation by Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann, Studio Other Spaces. They invited all Biennale participants to come together and offer more-than-human Stakeholders from their local situations for Future Assembly, in order to find novel, imaginative ways of spatially representing diverse, nonhuman agencies. More than 50 proposed new planetary representatives now make up the Assembly. Surrounding the central assembly, Future Assembly Chart forms a living collection of attempts by humans to recognise and secure the rights-of-nature. The installation was a response to Biennale curator Hashim Sarkis's invitation to imagine a UN multilateral assembly of more-than-human Stakeholders. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The artwork was set at the Central Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, which attracted over 300,00 visitors. |
| URL | https://studiootherspaces.net/futureassembly/ |
| Title | Mini film series on Indigenous Research Methods |
| Description | Following the Indigenous Research Methods workshop and seminar, Heritage and the research team produced a mini film series of nine episodes about the learnings, all of which are publicly available from the People's Palace Projects youtube page (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcz-eAe2LHOaHA360dXHCCwSnVqs4GHB9). |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | The mini film series which is publicly available, ensures that the research findings accessible to a wide-range of HEI and general audiences, the series has been widely shared on the partners online platforms. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcz-eAe2LHOaHA360dXHCCwSnVqs4GHB9 |
| Title | Music Album Akari Wauja, Wauja Songs from Upper Xingu |
| Description | Nathaniel Robin Mann, aural artist from Factum Foundation, collaborated with the Wauja musician, Akari Waurá, and recorded a CD of traditional songs of his community. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | All the CDs were given to Akari Waurá for him to distribute to his community and friends. |
| Title | Natural Future Museum |
| Description | In collaboration with the Kuikuro Indigenous Association, PPP is one of eight organisations (264 entries/48 countries) that has been given space to create an installation for Reimagining Museums for Climate Action (RMCA) at Glasgow Science Centre in the lead up to COP26. 'Natural Future Museum' asks what it would mean to confer museum status on existing indigenous territories that play a key role in climate action. It marks a radical step towards recalibrating indigenous engagement in museum practices beyond current discussions on the acquisition, handling and display of their tangible and intangible heritage. The installation will re-work and re-purpose digital visualisations and installations created for 'The Challenge of the Xingu: indigenous cultures in the museum of the future' and will connect museums and galleries to indigenous peoples, cultures and sites that are beyond the compass or comprehension of the general public. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | COP26 attracted heads of state, climate experts, business leaders, educational audiences and campaigners, as well as thousands of visitors and high-profile media. Renaming indigenous lands as museums and indigenous peoples as curators is an imaginative and creative process that requires collaborative action across interconnected spheres to become a concrete reality. We have already received significant interest from policymakers, activists and stakeholders in the approach that we are taking with the Kuikuro people and the technologies used to create the research outputs. COP26 offers the opportunity to achieve outcomes beyond the academic and artistic. |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/reimagining-museums-for-climate-action/ |
| Title | OCA RED: Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 |
| Description | The research team have been invited by the Venice Architecture Biennale to create an immersive audiovisual installation at the Central Pavilion in the Giardino to celebrate indigenous ways of living on a planet facing crises that require global action. The 25' minute installation re-worked and re-purposed digital visualisations and installations created for 'The Challenge of the Xingu: indigenous cultures in the museum of the future' and connected museums and galleries to indigenous peoples, cultures and sites that are beyond the compass or comprehension of the general public. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The Biennale attracts the attention of thousands of people from the global architecture/design community and hundreds of thousands of interested members of the public (The 2021 edition attracted over 300,00 visitors). The research team used public engagement and media exposure to create new partnerships with high profile creative stakeholders, enabling the development of future collaborations/new ways of working. Following Venice, there has already been interest in taking the installation to cultural venues in North America (Bishops Museum/Hawaii, The Shed/New York) and South America (Museum of Tomorrow/Rio). |
| URL | https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2021/across-borders/acasa-gringo-cardia-design |
| Title | The facsimile of the restored Cave of Kamukuwaká |
| Description | The Cave of Kamukuwaká had its ancient petroglyphs systematically destroyed in 2018 as a result of the ongoing tensions with the farming communities in the state of Mato Grosso, the region of Brazil most adversely impacted by the expansion of the soy economy and recent changes in hydroclimate over the past decade, including deforestation, river alteration and regional aridification and forest fires. Our partners from Factum Foundation employed high-resolution scanning and 3D printing technologies to digitally restore the ancient carvings, resulting in a 1:1 facsimile of the entrance to the cave with all the petroglyphs, measuring 8x4x4m. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The restored cave had a notable impact on the indigenous representatives from the Wauja community. Akari Waurá, singer and oral historian, said he is now able to tell the stories of his people again to the future generations. He also said he wants the cave to be seen by people all around the world so they can understand their culture and the threats to indigenous communities in Brazil. Those who attended the inauguration of the facsimile in Madrid were clearly impacted positively by how arts and technology can help preserve and resurrect stories and memories of local communities for generations to come. |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/the-sacred-cave-of-kamukuwaka/ |
| Title | Video The Sacred Cave of Kamukuaká - The Destruction of Indigenous Cultures in Brazil |
| Description | A film by Óscar Parasiego from Factum Foundation documenting the research and the process of creating the facsimile of the Cave of Kamukuaká |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The audience that attended the event in Madrid was positively impacted by it. |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/357352529 |
| Title | Virtual Reality interface of the Kamukuwaká Cave |
| Description | Development of an educational VR interface of the Kamukuwaká Cave with the Wauja communities in the Xingu Territory (Brazil) as a tool to maintain traditional knowledge transmission, using new technologies. This was particularly important to the community following vandalism to the Cave in 2018 that destroyed unique petroglyphs recording creation myths at this sacred site. The Wauja communities themselves designed the virtual reality experience through online meetings on Zoom, conversations on WhatsApp, community presentations and discussions at the four Wauja villages of Piyulaga, Ulupuwene, Piyulewene and Topepeweke. Besides the VR of the cave - made with 3D data provided by Factum Foundation - all digital content - recordings telling the stories of the petroglyphs, videos, photos etc. - were made by the indigenous teams. We are working on a dedicated page for the project within People's Palace Projects' new website (under development) that will host the documentation of the project, including videos, photos and an experiential video-tour of the VR reality for the general public. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | We carefully designed a project framework that was sensitive to community decision-making practices which are central to Wauja culture. Combined with a flexible attitude towards schedules, the project was agile and responsive to changing environmental conditions and community needs as they arose. The project contributed to the installation costs of sustainable energy sources (solar panels) and internet in two of the villages - Piyulewene and Topepeweke - and equipped four communities with VR equipment, laptops and hard drives. These facilities will be used well beyond our project, in school activities, other community projects etc. It was very emotional to see communities' reactions and interactions with the VR experience, identifying the petroglyphs and sharing stories with the youngsters as they used to do at the Cave. This project showed that there is room for collaborative virtual work with the Wauja communities, and we intend to explore this in future projects. |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/kamukuwaka-vr/ |
| Description | NB: PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AHRC WERE INFORMED ON 13/05/19 THAT WE WOULD RE-CALIBRATE OUR PROPOSAL IN THE LIGHT OF THE DELAYED PANEL MEETING. AS IT WAS NO LONGER POSSIBLE FOR US TO STAGE THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IMPACT EVENTS AT THE VENICE BIENNALE 2019, WE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS TO CREATE TWO ALTERNATIVE EVENTS THAT FULFILLED THE AIMS OF THIS PROPOSAL. THE PANEL AWARDED THE GRANT ON THE BASIS OF THESE REVISIONS. 1. Innovative technologies for digital capture and re-materialization can reduce harm and risk to indigenous cultures (material and non-material). As this was a follow-on project no new research was undertaken, but at a public event in Madrid in October 2019 we showed a digital re-materialization of pre-historic drawings and carvings of the Kamukuwaka´ caves that were captured by the skills learned during the original research. The installation highlighted the significant new knowledge from the original research about the recent destruction of those engravings by forces opposed to the preservation of indigenous cultures and territories in Brazil and demonstrated what had been achieved during the research collaboration between Paul Heritage and People's Palace Projects, the Association of Indigenous Kuikuro People of the Upper Xingu region of Brazil (AIKAX) and Factum Foundation. 2. Showcasing AHRC research at high-profile international events raises public awareness of the urgent threat to fragile indigenous cultures in Brazil and beyond. By staging two very different public events in galleries in Madrid and New York in October 2019, we were able to extend the impact of the outputs from the original research to a wider general public. We were also able to target and engage specific stakeholders (civil society organisations/NGOs, Trusts and Foundations, government agencies, universities, etc) through the research outputs (digital installations, publication, talks, seminars, workshops, etc). Both events have increased the research capacity of the original team by bringing new areas of expertise (e.g. archaeology, environmental science, geography and economics). 3. Ethical and equitable cultural exchange between indigenous and non-indigenous cultural practitioners and scholars is an essential methodology for the delivery of positive economic and social impacts for beneficiaries (indigenous communities under threat). This finding is reinforced by the ESRC/AHRC workshops being curated by HERITAGE on Indigenous Research Methods (Brazil: April 2019; UK: May 2020). Despite the considerable logistical challenges of bringing indigenous researchers from the Xingu territories in Brazil to Madrid and New York, all the evaluation showed that how they narrated the research collaboration in person was key to the success of the impact and public engagement in the issues. Indigenous communities are a vital research resource and their involvement as collaborators opens up a new range of research questions. 4. Research-led initiatives achieve effective mobilization of new knowledge for influential and high-profile artists, activists, environmentalists, researchers and opinion leaders to respond to specific needs identified by indigenous partners. The collaboration with Factum Arte in Madrid (Adam Lowe and his creative team), Complicite in London (Simon McBurney and his collaborators) and the Affirmation Art Gallery in New York achieved a dissemination of the research findings that went far beyond an academic audience. Participants in the seminars included: Francisco Gallo (Fundación Cultural Hispano-Brasilenã), Patricia Alonso (Museo de Antropología Madrid), Nicola Ure (AbuDhabi Louvre), Alvaro Laiz (National Geographic), Shirley Djukuma (Krenak People), Akari Waurá (Wauja people), (Madrid); Dorshow Wetherbee (Earth Analytic), Deborah Harding (Carnegie Museum of Natural History), Glenn Sheppard (Museum Goeldi, Brazil), (UCLA/Smithsonian), Stephan Schwartzman (Environmental Defense Fund), Marcelo Salazar (Instituto Socio Ambiental, Brazil), Eduardo Neves (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia USP, Brazil), Afukaka Kuikuro (AIKAX), Chris Mathias (Puente Institute), Laura Subin (Pennywise Foundation) (New York). Both events have led to new collaborations and partnerships which will be taken through to the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2020 (at the time of writing, postponed until August 2020). |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes are already being taken forward to new initiatives in 2020. As a direct consequence of the demonstration of our work at the Affirmation Art Gallery in New York, we have received an invitation to stage the collaborative installation about the Xingu at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2020 (postponed because of the Coronavirus until the end of August 2020). The invitation came with funding support of approximately €10k). The Pennywise Foundation (who hosted the installation at the Affirmation Art Gallery) have offered a $20k donation to support the installation of our work in Venice which will include research from other participants at the New York seminar. The Pennywise Foundation is also coordinating a new network of US partners (universities, galleries and museums) who are interested in hosting a tour of the Xingu installation in 2021. We are currently working with Glasgow Life on taking the Cave installation to Glasgow in November as part of 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). We have also been awarded a grant from the British Council for: Kamukuwaká - enabling digital futures for indigenous knowledge from the Xingu. This project will engage a team of indigenous and non-indigenous experts to develop an innovative VR interface of Kamukuwaká, enabling the indigenous Wauja community to access knowledge once held by millennium-old rock art that was violently destroyed in 2018. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Creative Economy Education Environment Healthcare Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | This Follow-on project built on the impact of a body of research undertaken in a series of AHRC-funded projects led by HERITAGE (PI): The Art of Cultural Exchange: translation and transformation between the UK and Brazil 2014-16 (AH/M003612/1); Social Change through Creativity and Culture Stage 3 (AH/P007252/1); The Currency of Cultural Exchange: rethinking models of indigenous development (AH/P007708/1); and The Challenge of the Xingu: indigenous cultures in the museum of the future(AH/R010366/1). It was also informed by the learning from an ESRC/AHRC workshop HERITAGE curated on Indigenous Research Methods in Rio de Janeiro during 2019. Each of these research-led activities has investigated questions about the value of the exchange between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures, engaging collaborators from diverse academic disciplines in partnership with indigenous researchers and using research methodologies. The AHRC and the ESRC have recently taken steps to promote critical reflection on the process of engaging with equitable, context-specific, historically, culturally and linguistically sensitive research, knowledge co-creation and mobilization with indigenous communities. There is an increasing demand that attention is paid to the importance and potential of scholarship undertaken in partnership to ensure indigenous research traditions and knowledge are in-built from the outset and continuously mobilized in the research process. This project sought to demonstrate the conditions necessary to ensure that good quality and effective research is conducted, measured and shared with the general public and key stakeholders. Responding to clear needs identified by the indigenous collaborators, Xingu Encounter sought to extend the impact from these four interconnected research projects, using methodologies for knowledge exchange that were developed and tested during the original research to engage a range of potential users, stakeholders and general audiences with research findings and learning within the context of high profile public events in Madrid and New York: 1. The story of the Kamukuwaka´ cave A 9-metre x 5-metre x 4-metre 3D facsimile of the Kamukuwaka´ Cave in the Indigenous Territories of Brazil's Upper Xingu region. The installation - including a full-scale digital re-materialization of the Cave with its prehistoric drawings and carvings - was presented at the Factum Arte Studios, in Madrid. The installation was a collaboration between HERITAGE, Takuma~ Kuikuro (research associate on AH/M003612/1, AH/P007708/1, AH/P007252/1 and AH/R010366/1) and Factum Foundation (partner on AH/P007252/1 and AH/R010366/1). In a region whose culture is largely sustained by practices and impermanent objects, the Kamukuwaka´ Cave provides a vital insight into ancient Xingu cosmogonic and ethnohistoric cartography. The original indigenous cave art (representing the foundations of the cosmologies of the Xingu peoples) was presented alongside a display showing the recent destruction of those engravings by political forces opposed to the preservation of indigenous cultures and territories in Brazil. These events took place over two days and showcased the role innovative partnerships, ethical cultural exchange and new technologies can play in the ethical conservation of fragile cultural heritage sites. Brazilian indigenous speakers included: Akari Wauja - Indigenous activist, oral historian and singer; Takuma~ Kuikuro - Indigenous activist and filmmaker; Shirley Djukuma Krenak - Indigenous activist and a leader of the Krenak people. Guests over the two days included lawyers in cultural property rights, museum curators, journalists, academics (Cambridge University, University Oberta de Cataluña, Universidad de Madrid III), digital technology specialists, environmental activists, artists, cultural policymakers, etc. In 2021 we were awarded a grant from the British Council Digital Collaboration for: 'Kamukuwaká VR - enabling digital futures for indigenous knowledge from the Xingu'. In March, PPP and Factum Foundation started working with the Wauja people on the development of an educational VR interface of the Kamukuwaká Cave as a tool to maintain traditional knowledge transmission, using new technologies. The Wauja communities themselves designed the virtual reality experience through online meetings, community presentations and discussions at the four Wauja villages of Piyulaga, Ulupuwene, Piyulewene and Topepeweke. Besides the VR of the cave - made with 3D data provided by Factum Foundation - all digital content - recordings telling the stories of the petroglyphs, videos, photos etc. - were made by the indigenous teams. The VR interface will be finalised by April 2022. 2. Amazon Hope: Xingu Village. At the invitation of the Affirmation Arts Gallery in New York City (http://www.affirmationarts.com/ HERITAGE worked with leading Brazilian museum designer Gringo Cardia and the indigenous filmmaker Takumã Kuikuro to create a month-long installation for the main gallery based on the Xingu Village (presented at the Horniman Museum in 2018). The installation was launched as part of a three-day workshop entitled Amazon Hope which brought together academics (from the University of Vermont, University of Florida, MIT, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and QMUL), museums (Smithsonian, Carnegie, Goeldi and the Brazilian National Museum), civil society organizations and foundations (Environmental Defense Fund, Instituto Socioambiental, Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu, Puente Institute, Pennywise Foundation). The aim was to share learning from researchers working in the Xingu territories across a range of disciplines (including archaeology, ethnology, anthropology, drama, design and filmmaking) with civil society organizations addressing key challenges to the preservation of indigenous rights and culture in the Xingu territories. The aim of both events was to produce new networks and collaborative research projects which will strengthen the resilience of indigenous peoples in the lower Amazon basin (the Xingu territories) of Brazil. The survival of these peoples and their cultures is integral to the protection of environments that are threatened by the climate emergency and extractivist economic development. The follow-on funding has enabled the research team to mobilize learning from the original projects so that the outcomes are now being taken forward with a diverse range of academics and civil society organizations working on the most urgent environmental challenges. It has also provided an opportunity to create innovative ways to engage a wider public and an international audience in the findings that are produced by collaborations that bring together indigenous and non-indigenous researchers. Outcomes include an invitation to re-create the Xingu installation at the Central Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale (2021), which attracted over 300,00 visitors; and the creation of a new work for the Reimagining Museums for Climate Action exhibition at the Glasgow Science Centre, part of COP26 Green Zone. The exhibition was seen by over 60,000 people in 5 months. In partnership with the Wauja Indigenous Association, PPP piloted a programme of online workshops for 20 young people from the Xingu and Wales linked by their experiences and responses to climate change. This project is a partnership with Dirty Protest in Wales, and is funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. The learnings and knowledge exchange which have come out of this project have impacted several other collaborations in this area of research. For example, PPP's presence at COP27 and COP28 with Indigenous partners, raising awareness on a global scale about Indigenous issues. The From the Ashes festival which highlighted the creativity of Indigenous artists in Brazil, and PPP's work with the Xingu community after the devastating vandalism of the Kamukuwaka Cave, leading to restoration of the Cave through the use of 3D technology. |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic |
| Description | Involvement at COP28: the establishment at COP28 of the Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action. |
| Geographic Reach | South America |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | At COP28, PPP also made valuable in-person connections contributing to cultural change and public visibility, leading to changes of opinion. PPP's team met the head of Pogust Goodhead, an international law firm, with headquarters in London with a focus on social and climate litigation. We are now in conversation to work in partnership with Pogust Goodhead with a strong possibility of funding. Our Indigenous research collaborator, photographer and teacher Piratá Waurá, who travelled in the Queen Mary group was able to meet in person with: Brazil's Ministry of Environment; Brazil's Ministry of Culture; Brazil's Ministry of Indigenous People; President of Brazil's National Indigenous Association, APIB, Dinama Tuxá; Leader of Brazil's Indigenous Women Association; Activist and key speaker at COP26 in Glasgow, Txai Suruí. PPP's Communications Manager Yula Rocha worked closely with Sam Gough (QMUL International Communications Mgr) in Dubai to strengthen relationships with the press, especially in Brazil. Press and social media work increased visibility of PPP's work and disseminated knowledge to the wider public via COP's global impact. |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/the-climate-crisis-is-a-cultural-crisis/ |
| Description | Engaging Young People With Climate Research |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2021 |
| End | 11/2021 |
| Description | General Funding - for ECHOES Indigenous Film Festival |
| Amount | £3,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Embassy of Brazil in London |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 05/2023 |
| Description | II Brazil Indigenous Film Festival UK - Raising Voices for Indigenous Rights: the second edition of a festival curated by Brazilian Indigenous filmmakers, featuring about 20 productions by Indigenous artists at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in |
| Amount | $20,000 (USD) |
| Funding ID | G-23-2131735 |
| Organisation | Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 02/2023 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | Indigenous Film Festival contribution |
| Amount | £6,921 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2021 |
| End | 11/2021 |
| Description | Indigenous Research Methods programme 2020-2021 |
| Amount | £29,110 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 11/2021 |
| Description | Kamukuwaká VR: enabling digital futures for indigenous knowledge from the Xingu |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | British Council |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 02/2022 |
| Description | Kamukuwaka Caves |
| Amount | $100,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Iron Mountain |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 12/2024 |
| Description | National Portfolio 2023-26 |
| Amount | £403,728 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts Council England |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | Prize for "Reimagining Museums for Climate Action" design competition |
| Amount | £2,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Climate Action Network Uganda |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Uganda |
| Start | 11/2020 |
| End | 11/2021 |
| Description | QMUL CPE Small Grant |
| Amount | £1,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Description | QMUL Impact Fund 2021 Award |
| Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | QMUL SRI fund |
| Amount | £4,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | Horniman Museums and Gardens |
| Organisation | Horniman Museum and Gardens |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | People's Palace Projects (PPP) offered the opportunity for the Horniman to develop a partnership with all collaborators: AIKAX, Factum Foundation, WeSense, A Casa Gringo Cardia, Playground Entertainment and Rio Planetarium. PPP invited Robert Storrie (Anthropology Keeper, Horniman Museum), to join the residency organised by PPP in partnership with AIKAX in the Ipatse Village in the Upper Xingu between 5-16 September 2018. PPP produced the 2-day immersive installation 'Xingu Village' at the Horniman Museum on the 15 and 16th December 2018, offering to over 200 people the opportunity to embark on a digital journey into the Kuikuro village, using augmented reality and video technologies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Robert Storrie (Anthropology Keeper, Horniman Museum) participated in the Xingu residency in September and actively supported the development and curation of the digital experience. The Horniman hosted the 2-day immersive installation 'Xingu Village' at their Music Gallery on the 15 and 16th December 2018. |
| Impact | The collaboration resulted in a 2-day immersive installation 'Xingu Village' at the Horniman's Music Gallery on the 15 and 16th December 2018. Using augmented reality and video technologies, the fully-booked event (207 attendees) offered the audience the opportunity to embark on a digital journey into the Kuikuro village, and to meet face to face with indigenous artists Takumã and Yamalui Kuikuro. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Institute of Contemporary Arts, London |
| Organisation | Institute of Contemporary Arts |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Host organisation for ECHOES Indigenous Film festival |
| Collaborator Contribution | Hosting event |
| Impact | - Festival brought attention to issues around the future of Indigenous peoples, their experiences, from ongoing struggles for land rights to the impact of the climate emergency on Indigenous cultural heritage, and what their arts represents to an international audience. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Alto Xingu (AIKAX) |
| Organisation | Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Alto Xingu (AIKAX) |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The Kuikuro people, in partnership with the Wauja people from the Xingu, worked closed with People's Palace Projects, Factum Foundation and a group of independent Brazilian anthropologists on informing the importance of the Kamukuwaká cave for the culture, language and tradition of the indigenous communities of the Upper Xingu, as well as its meaning for the preservation of indigenous cultures, and the ways in which the facsimile of the cave can best serve the indigenous communities in Brazil. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Takumã Kuikuro, president of AIKAX, has supported the approval and the communication of all the steps of the project, from the expedition to the sacred cave of Kamukuwaká in September 2018 when the cave was found vandalised, to recording videos with interviews, writing a chapter for the publication 'The Sacred Cave of Kamukuwaká: the preservation of indigenous cultures in Brazil", as well as attending the two-day event at Factum Foundation's workshop in Madrid to inaugurate the facsimile of the restored cave in October 2019. |
| Impact | AIKAX is working with People's Palace Projects on the immersive installation RED OCA, which will be part of the main pavilion of Venice Architecture Biennale 2020. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Alto Xingu (AIKAX) |
| Organisation | Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Alto Xingu (AIKAX) |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | People's Palace Projects facilitated a two-week pilot residency programme to enable the Kuikuro people to establish a cultural exchange with ten non-indigenous artists in their village in September 2017, forging new connections with the broader cultural industries in Brazil. People's Palace Projects also hosted ten Kuikuro artists in Rio on a return visit in October to participate on Multiplicidade Festival's Xingu week (17-22 Oct) at Oi Futuro Flamengo. The programme showcased the collaborative work produced by the Kuikuro and the five emerging artists from Rio, and included a series of talks, film screenings, art installations and workshops on the Kuikuro culture. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Kuikuro have hosted ten non-indigenous artists and the research team at their village for two weeks in September 2017. Various members of their community have engaged directly with the group, working in collaboration with the Rio and British artists to develop new artworks inspired by the Kuikuro culture, language and traditions. The Kuikuro leaders were have shared their stories and knowledge with the group in forms of conversations, interviews and rituals; various individuals of the community have engaged in activities for the wellbeing of the residents such as fishing, cooking and harvesting; some individuals have given workshops to group of non-indigenous artists in Kuikuro language, music, house-building and fishing. AIKAX filmmakers have also documented the exchange and interviewed all the non-indigenous artists for a 20 minute documentary they will be producing about the pilot programme. Ten Kuikuro artists have travelled to Rio for one week in October to participate on the programme specially curated for them by Batman Zavareze as part of Multiplicidade Festival at Oi Futuro Flamengo. They have performed their rituals wearing traditional costumes, engaged in a series of public talks on knowledge exchange with creative industries, indigenous rights, and the development agenda, organised public screenings of AIKAX productions (Hyperwomen, As Kariokas and London as a Village), and led a series of workshops on Kuikuro language, traditional paintings and crafts. |
| Impact | AIKAX accepted People's Palace Projects proposal to be partners on 'The Challenge of the Xingu: indigenous cultures in the museum of the future', project selected for the AHRC Immersive Experiences Award commencing in May 2018; Takumã Kuikuro was awarded a Fellowship of Queen Mary University of London during the winter graduations ceremonies. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Migrate Art collaboration with PPP and Wauja community |
| Organisation | Kuikuro Indigenous Association of the Alto Xingu (AIKAX) |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The research team and I introduced MigrateArt to two Indigenous communities based in the Brazilian Xingu region - the Kuikuro and Wauja people. We negotiated and supported a visit of one week to three villages in the region, translating and facilitating a dialogue between MigrateArt and each community. We drew up a proposal with MigrateArt for the collection of two regional ingredients for pigment: ashes from forest fires, and red urucum seeds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | MigrateArt funded the research trip of Simon Butler to the Xingu to meet local communities and gather samples. The proposal has now been considered and approved by the regional Council of the Indigenous communities of the Xingu at its 2022 Annual Assembly, giving consent by all of the peoples of the Xingu for the use of common property (the seeds and ashes gathered from the territory) for this project. Now the agreement is complete, MigrateArt will use the pigments to produce paints and distribute the paints to selected international contemporary artists, whose eventual work will be auctioned for the benefit of equipping the Kuikuro and Wauja communities to fight forest fires. |
| Impact | Approval at the 2022 Annual Assembly of the Indigenous Communities of the Xingu Territory of the project proposal between Ulupuene Indigenous Association (Associação Indígena Ulupuene - AIU), People's Palace Projects and MigrateArt. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Pennywise Foundation |
| Organisation | Pennywise Foundation |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Professor Paul Heritage, designer Gringo Cardia and indigenous filmmaker Takumã Kuikuro made a presentation about the collaborative artistic exchange between indigenous and non-indigenous artists led by Poeple's Palace Projects and AIKAX, as part of the event Amazon Hope. Amazon Hope tool place in New York in October 2019, joining together the specialists most intimately engaged with the Xingu and the diverse indigenous peoples who call it home. It aimed to jointly consider the current crisis - the hardest hit portion of the Amazon - and communicate its vitality and importance to interested partners, potential donors and the public. The disastrous fires, which catapulted to the world stage recently, have plagued the region for a decade. They are the result of drought conditions, which have become the new normal in the arc of deforestation. Local fire prevention efforts have succeeded in curbing the collapse of the closed moist forests of the region, but far more is needed. Through Amazon Hope, scientists, artists and indigenous leaders worked to devise solutions. The creation of a southern Amazon indigenous "firewall," will be used as a tool to protect the lands, forests, waters and cultural heritage. Technology will empower indigenous people themselves, who constitute a veritable army of committed individuals, zealously looking for solutions to defend against the decimation of their lands and |
| Collaborator Contribution | Pennywise Foundation invited Professor Paul Heritage, designer Gringo Cardia and indigenous filmmaker Takumã Kuikuro to travel to New York to attend the event, covering all related costs of flights, hotel accommodation and subsistence on the event days. Pennywise Foundation also covered the costs of remounting the Xingu Village multimedia installation, thats was displayed for a month at the Affirmation Art Gallery between October-November 2019. |
| Impact | Pennywise Foundation has introduced PPP to new networks and collaborative research projects which will strengthen the resilience of indigenous peoples in the lower Amazon basin (the Xingu territories) of Brazil: academics (from the University of Vermont, University of Florida, MIT, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and QMUL), museums (Smithsonian, Carnegie, Goeldi and the Brazilian National Museum), civil society organizations and foundations (Environmental Defense Fund, Instituto Socioambiental, Indigenous Association of the Upper Xingu, Puente Institute, Pennywise Foundation). |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | The Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation |
| Organisation | The Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | People's Palace Projects (PPP) offered the opportunity for Factum Foundation to advance the partnership they have previously developed with AIKAX during Social Change through Creativity and Culture Stage 3: Extending Research Activity for Further Impact (AH/P007252/1) and to collaborate with WeSense, A Casa Gringo Cardia, Playground Entertainment and Rio Planetarium. PPP invited Ferdinand Saumarez and Arthur Prior (photogrammetry and LiDAR scanner specialists) to join the residency organised by PPP in partnership with AIKAX in the Ipatse Village in the Upper Xingu in September 2018. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation is a not-for-profit organisation, established in 2009 to demonstrate the importance of documenting, monitoring, studying, recreating and disseminating the world's cultural heritage through the rigorous development of high-resolution recording and re-materialization techniques. Its primary objective is to ensure that future generations can inherit the past in a condition in which it can be studied in depth and emotionally engaged with. Factum Foundation hosted a 2-day visit on their workshop in Madrid for PPP team and one WeSense technology specialist in May 2018. The focus of the visit was to experiment with never-previously used technologies, in conjunction with the equipment and techniques developed by Factum Arte, and explore the production of innovative immersive experiences that advance the understanding of artistic conservation, public access and cultural exchange. Ferdinand Saumarez and Arthur Prior (photogrammetry and LiDAR scanner specialists from Factum) joined the residency organised by PPP in partnership with AIKAX in the Upper Xingu in September 2018 and documented the vandalised ancient cave of Kamukuwaka using high-resolution 3D-imaging technologies, including laser-scanning and photogrammetry. Factum supported the production of the 2-day immersive installation 'Xingu Village' at the Horniman Museum on the 15 and 16th December 2018, offering their digital recordings to the construction of a 3D model of the village. |
| Impact | The multidisciplinary collaboration resulted in a 2-day immersive installation 'Xingu Village' at the Horniman's Music Gallery on the 15 and 16th December 2018. Using augmented reality and video technologies, the fully-booked event (207 attendees) offered the audience the opportunity to embark on a digital journey into the Kuikuro village, and to meet face to face with indigenous artists Takumã and Yamalui Kuikuro. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | The Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation |
| Organisation | The Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | As part of The Challenge of the Xingu: indigenous cultures in the museum of the future (AH/R010366/1), People's Palace Projects invited two specialists from Factum Foundation to join an artistic residency in the Xingu in September 2018, aimed to document the Kamukuwaká cave using high-resolution 3D-imaging technologies, including laser-scanning and photogrammetry. People's Palace Projects supported all the communication and translation between the various specialists from Factum in 3D scanning, 3D modelling and the Brazilian indigenous communities at all stages of the partnership, as well as co-edited the publication "The Sacred Cave of Kamukuwaká: The Preservation of Indigenous Cultures in Brazil". |
| Collaborator Contribution | 2 Factum specialists joined in September 2018, an expedition to Kamukuwaká. Upon arrival at the site, it was revealed to have been devastated with the most important petroglyphs hacked away. Factum Foundation's team recorded the site in its vandalised state using high-resolution 3D-imaging technologies, including laser-scanning and photogrammetry. The mapping of the vandalised areas of the cave from the LiDAR and photogrammetry data was used in combination with photographic documentation dating from before the attack to produce an accurate 3D restoration of the cave, at a scale of 1:1. Factum produced videos, reports and interviews, as well as self-published the book "The Sacred Cave of Kamukuwaká: The Preservation of Indigenous Cultures in Brazil". On the 18-19 October 2019, one year after the vandalism was discovered, Factum hosted a two-day event in their Madrid's workshop to inaugurate the facsimile of the restored cave. It was unveiled by a leader of the Wauja community, Akari Waurá, oral historian and song carrier, and his son Yanamakakuma Waurá, alongside Takumã Kuikuro, filmmaker from the Kuikuro people, and Shirley Djukuma Krenak, leader of the Krenak people. During the event, they explained the importance of the cave and its meaning for the preservation of indigenous cultures, and discussed ways in which the facsimile of the cave can best serve the indigenous communities in Brazil. |
| Impact | The facsimile of the restored Cave of Kamukuwaká Publication "The Sacred Cave of Kamukuwaká: The Preservation of Indigenous Cultures in Brazil" BBC Radio 4 An Orchestra Of The Rainforest Music Album Akari Wauja, Wauja Songs from Upper Xingu Event The Xingu Sacred Cave of Kamukuwaka: An Emergency Forum on indigenous cultural heritage in the Brazilian Amazon (Madrid, 18-19 October 2019) |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | 4th International Seminar on Indigenous Research Methodologies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Running for three weeks from Monday 18th October to Friday 5th November 2021, the 4th International Seminar on Indigenous Research Methodologies (IRM) opened alongside Queen Mary University's Sustainability Week, as part of the activities that PPP are promoting in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. The programme brought together a series of online webinars, and art installations at QMUL Mile End campus and the 1st Brazil Indigenous Film Festival at the ICA on 22-24 October. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/full-programme-of-indigenous-research-methods-seminars-relea... |
| Description | Aislan Pankararu: Artist Residency |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Aislan Pankararu spent the month of May 2023 in an art studio in London producing 13 painting for his FEEL IT exhibition at he the Brazilian Embassy as part of the Indigenous Film Festival project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Amazon Hope: The Kuikuro Exchange |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Professor Paul Heritage, designer Gringo Cardia and indigenous filmmaker Takumã Kuikuro made a presentation about the collaborative artistic exchange between indigenous and non-indigenous artists led by People's Palace Projects and AIKAX, as part of the event Amazon Hope. Amazon Hope tool place in New York in October 2019, joining together the specialists most intimately engaged with the Xingu and the diverse indigenous peoples who call it home. It aimed to jointly consider the current crisis - the hardest hit portion of the Amazon - and communicate its vitality and importance to interested partners, potential donors and the public. The disastrous fires, which catapulted to the world stage recently, have plagued the region for a decade. They are the result of drought conditions, which have become the new normal in the arc of deforestation. Local fire prevention efforts have succeeded in curbing the collapse of the closed moist forests of the region, but far more is needed. Through Amazon Hope, scientists, artists and indigenous leaders worked to devise solutions. The creation of a southern Amazon indigenous "firewall," will be used as a tool to protect the lands, forests, waters and cultural heritage. Technology will empower indigenous people themselves, who constitute a veritable army of committed individuals, zealously looking for solutions to defend against the decimation of their lands and livelihoods. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.pennywisefoundation.org/amazon-hope.html |
| Description | COP26 - An Emergency London Gathering |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | COP26 -An Emergency London Gathering at the Roundhouse. Despite being represented in Glasgow, the indigenous people and activists from the Global South did not have a seat at the negotiating table. With theatre company Complicite, PPP called an emergency gathering in London to reflect on what can be done next. With Takumã Kuikuro, Simon McBurney, Fehinti Balogun, Yamalui Kuikuro, Shirley Krenak, Sarah Shenker, Raull Santiago, and Professor Paul Heritage. Hosted by Conrad Murray. Funded by Complicité, People's Palace Projects & Queen Mary University of London and supported by Survival International, Five Fifty Five and The Roundhouse. (Attendance: 79 people) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Creative Climate Connections Xingu-Wales (CCC) workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 7 workshops with 20 young people from the Xingu Indigenous Territory (Brazil) and Wales were linked by their experiences and responses to climate change. In partnership with Dirty Protest and the Wauja Indigenous Association, PPP piloted a programme of seven online workshops for students to co-create a collective artistic response to the climate crisis in drastically different lived environments. The project was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. Creative Climate Connections was featured on ITV news Wales. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/creative-climate-connections-xingu-wales-ccc/ |
| Description | ECo-Nversations: The Role of the Arts in the Climate Emergency |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | How do we change hearts and minds about the climate crisis? Is it time to get cultural institutions, artists, and storytellers on board? When will we paying attention to the voices on the front line of the fight for climate justice? Eco-nversation is a podcast that brings together activists, artists, and academics to discuss our roles and responsibilities in the climate emergency, produced by People's Palace Projects at Queen Mary University of London In this first episode, we talk about the role of artists and arts organisations in responding to the climate emergency. Guests: Madani Younis and Zoe Svendsen. Madani is chief executive producer of The Shed (New York, USA) and former creative director of the Southbank Centre (London, UK), and artistic director of the Bush Theatre (London, UK) and Freedom Studios (Bradford, UK). Madani says we must make active commitments, drive change and find ways to hold each other accountable. Zoe Svendsen is an associate artist at Donmar Warehouse (London, UK) and lecturer at Cambridge University (Cambridge, UK), with vast experience as a director and dramaturg, including at the Barbican, Young Vic and Shakespeare's Globe (London, UK). For Zoe, the questions we need to ask about who we are and how we live in the world must be articulated as a conversation, both in and beyond the theatre. Hosted by Paul Heritage, director of , an art research centre for social justice and Professor of Drama and Performance at Queen Mary University of London. Executive production and script: Yula Rocha/ People's Palace Projects Audio design: Image: #ShowYourStripes by University of Reading |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/show/5IheM3KhVjgJpQ7BafoFQL |
| Description | Earth Allies: Climate Activism course |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | PPP participated in 2 sessions of the Earth Allies climate activism course in November 2021, organised by the Glasgow Science Centre. During the sessions, young climate activists from the Wauja indigenous community who participate in the Creative Climate Connection workshops talked about their journey into climate activism and the work that they do to instigate change and raise awareness of the issues in their community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Echoes Indigenous Film festival in Paris bringing three Indigenous curators for a screening of short films + Q&A |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In partnership with Amazonie Immersive, the Festival travelled to Paris this year for a condensed two-day programme at Publicis cinema in Champs-Elysées. Graciela Guarani's first feature film Horizonte Colorido (Colourful Horizon) had its world premier in the ECHOES Festival in Paris.Graciela Guarani, Takuma Kuikuro and Ziel Karapoto engaged with the french audience on Q&A Sessions after the screenings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/echoes-indigenous-film-festival-ica-london/ |
| Description | FEEL IT: Aislan Pankararu solo exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During a month-long residency in London (May 2023), Aislan Pankararu produced 13 new oil-based paintings on linen canvas. Aislan's first international solo exhibition FEEL IT (19 May- 1 June 2023) was launched in a sold-out event at the Brazilian Embassy in London. He made history as the first Indigenous artist to exhibit at the Embassy in over 200 years. The exhibition opened to a sold out opening event at the Brazilian embassy and finissage concert. The exhibition will garner over 400 visitors. 1 artwork has been donated to Brazil's government's permanent art collection. The reach and impact of this exhibition has been extended through appearances in the press, in outlets such as TV Cultura and Radio France international. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/echoes-indigenous-film-festival-ica-london/ |
| Description | Film screenings at ECHOES Indigenous Film Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Screening of 18 short films + Q&A sessions with Indigenous curators/filmmakers. Featuring 18 works from 21 filmmakers, Echoes represented 13 ethnic groups from 10 regions in Brazil and neighbouring countries, and was a rich celebration of diversity and versatility of Indigenous storytelling. The festival took place over 7 days in London and 3 days in Paris. The total audience reached was 350+ people at the ICA in London + 100 people at the Publicis Cinema in Paris. This was followed by 1 month of online streaming for ICA members and 1 private meeting with the British Film Industry. There was a screening and discussion about climate policy at the FCDO Climate and Forest Units, potentially impacting future policy decisions. The audience reach was expanded by an extensive press campaign, with article and news reports from outlets such as TV Cultura, Radio France international, Monocle, Kermode and Mayo's Take, SBT News, and This Pieces. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/echoes-indigenous-film-festival-ica-london/ |
| Description | From the Ashes: Exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was the exhibition resulting from British artist Simon Butler's visit to the Xingu Indigenous territory. His work addresses the urgent need for conservation and protection of the Amazon Rainforest, and supporting the fight of the communities who call it home. The exhibition attracted over 500 visitors to the Truman Brewery art gallery. The exhibition and auction included new works by 29 Indigenous and non-Indigenous contemporary artists including Aislan Pankararu, Cornelia Parker, Mari´a Berri´o, Richard Long, Shezad Dawood and Tacita Dean. The exhibition called for the urgent need for conservation of the Amazon and support for the guardians of the rainforest. Proceeds raised will provide vital support for Xingu Indigenous communities, such as firefighting equipment, reforesting initiatives, and monitoring technologies in the villages. An extensive press and social media campaign ran by PPP's communications manager Yula Rocha meant that the the exhibition reached wide audiences, raising awareness about the challenges facing the Xingu communities, and showcasing their art and creativity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/from-the-ashes/ |
| Description | I Webinar on Indigenous Research Methodologies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The webinar was an opportunity to address the increasing number of UK-based scholars working transnationally and internationally among Indigenous peoples. They inform the international development research community, across disciplines, on challenges when engaging with indigenous communities whilst ensuring co-production of knowledge and effective knowledge mobilisation, and to help identify areas where good practice is established or additional work is required. The 2-hour online event brought together 57 participants and was an opportunity to learn how indigenous partners are being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to draw the agenda for the next events in 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/webinar-indigenous-research/ |
| Description | II Webinar on Indigenous Research Methodologies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The second webinar was an opportunity to bring together indigenous and non-indigenous researchers to discuss the challenges for indigenous research in different regions and fields of knowledge. The event also hosted a conversation between Simon McBurney (Complicité Theatre) and Ailton Krenak (leader of the Krenak people, Brazil). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcz-eAe2LHOaSzYGm-C4nZmQiWdHbeIvE |
| Description | Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Resilience - COP26 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Professor Heritage, Senior Project Manager Thiago Jesus, and Indigenous artists Takumã Kuikuro and Yamalui Kuikuro participated on the panel Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Resilience, hosted by PRAXIS in partnership with the British Council as part of the Resilience Hub at the Blue Zone. Representatives of Indigenous communities from across the globe will highlight the growing impact that climate change is having on Indigenous communities and their livelihoods, and the often-overlooked role of Indigenous knowledge and traditional practices to address climate change and increasing climate resilience. The event interspersed hard-hitting short films with interactive discussions with researchers and practitioners working with Indigenous communities (attendance: 98 people online) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AhmTTk3RvI&list=PLP9pjMsarzwi7I02i0YZuEuWZEoD2r6id&index=2 |
| Description | Indigenous Research Methods - Art installations at QMUL |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Display of art installations 'Oca Red: Living Beyond the End of the World' and 'Natural Future Museums' at Mile End campus, Queen Mary University of London, as part of the 4th International Seminar on Indigenous Research Methods. The installations were visited by 52 audience members. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Kuikuro Fundraising Campaign: Fire Brigade 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Kuikuro people from the Xingu territories in Brazil's Amazon basin are being left alone to fight a record number of fires. They have created an indigenous fire brigade and need resources to save the forest and to expand it to the Wauja people. To coincide with the programme of activities for COP26, PPP set up a fundraising campaign to supply the Kuikuro people with fire equipment and protective clothing (including helmets, boots and gloves) as well as petrol for the car needed to reach remote areas effected by the fires. Donations will also cover expenses for training and equipping new volunteers from the Wauja indigenous community, who will then be able to launch its own fire brigade. The campaign fundraiser £669 by the 1 December 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/indigenousfirebrigade |
| Description | Kuikuro and Yawalapiti Fundraising Campaigns: Covid-19 Emergency Appeal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alongside the remaking of The Encounter 2020, a JustGiving page was set up to raise money for the Kuikuro and the Yawalapiti's response to Covid-19. This collaboration between AIKAX, HERITAGE, People's Palace Projects and Complicite raised in total £32,482 for the Kuikuro people, and £8,844 for the Yawalapiti. Donations have supported the Kuikuro and items that have been procured from funds raised include: 1,293 kg food; 440 hygiene items; 915 litres of diesel;1,850 litres of petrol; 8,257 items of PPEs (gloves, face shields, masks, safety glasses, aprons, thermometers, oximeters); 650 reusable face masks; 5,394 items of medicine; 20 hammocks; 84 litres of hand sanitiser. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Kuikuroagainstcovid |
| Description | Meeting with Indigenous Activists: Takumã Kuikuro, Akari Wauja and Shirley Krenak |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Event organised by Factum Foundation with Madrid-based community organisation Maloka at Ingovernable in Madri on 17th October 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/events/cs-la-ingobernable/encuentro-con-activistas-ind%C3%ADgenas-de-brasil... |
| Description | Our Village: What Does it mean to Belong? - COP26 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Heritage and PPP Associate Artists Takumã Kuikuro participated in the event 'What Does it Mean to Belong?', part of the 'Our Village programme' organised by the NGO If Not Us Then Who at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow (CCA) during COP26. 34 audience members attended the event, which was also streamed via zoom (80 online guests). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73kBLqN_1U4&feature=youtu.be |
| Description | Panel Art and Activism: Transforming Culture through Artistic Influence, at the IETM Aarhus Plenary Meeting 2023. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Thiago Jesus mediated the panel exploring the transformative potential the arts have in instigating cultural change. How can artists and the arts play a key role in influencing the narrative on climate change and inspire positive change - both within the arts sector and in society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Panel at Copenhagen DocFest Inter:Active Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Research team members Pirata Waura and Thiago Jesus participated in a public panel event "My Story, Your Story, Our Story: Sharing the Power of Creation" alongside the producers of The Territory (2022 film) to give a public talk about collaborations with Indigenous communities in the film industry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Press articles about the pilot VR experience of the Kamukuwaka Cave |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two articles published on the Kamukuwaka VR pilot project: The audience Agency, VR Kamukuwaka - 02/01/2023 https://www.theaudienceagency.org/resources/case-in-point-digital-futures-for-xingu-indigenous-knowledge BBC World Service, Pirata about Kamukuwaka VR- January 2023 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct37sl |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct37sl |
| Description | Press coverage for the VR experience of the Cave of Kamukuwaka |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Press coverage was achieved in five publications during 2022, taking the project to wider public audiences: https://www.screendaily.com/news/cphdox-reveals-nine-immersive-projects-for-in-person-cphlab/5167795.article https://www.imdb.com/news/ni63537416 https://www.dailyadvent.com/news/40e49511cc890c5cf87bf115343b1872-CPHDOX-reveals-nine-immersive-projects-for-inperson-CPHLAB Latam cinema.com - Kamukuwaka, 11 March 2022 https://www.latamcinema.com/xr-proyectos-latinos-fortalecen-su-recorrido-internacional/ Where the Leaves Fall, Yula + Pirata, Nov 2022 https://wheretheleavesfall.com/explore/article-index/xingu-resistance/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Public taster of the pilot Kamukuwaka Cave VR experience at Copenhagen DocFest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Six research team members [Pirata Waura, Mafalda Ramos, Thiago Jesus, Yula Rocha, Alejandro Romero Hernandez, Nathaniel Mann] participated in the Copenhagen Film Festival (DocFest) CPH:LAB Inter:Active Symposium, which ran as part of the CPH: DOX film festival (March 23-April 3). The Kamukuwaka VR experience was selected as one of 9 immersive projects exploring the subject of 'Transformations'. The team presented a 5-minute pitch for the VR experience of the Kamukuwaka Cave to a full theatre of industry professionals. An afternoon showcase allowed attendees to test the pilot VR experience with headset. The 4 team members then participated in two half days of meetings with the film/VR industry (producers, distributors etc) to hear feed back on the pilot VR experience and pointers on the next phase of development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://cphdox.dk/the-sacred-cave-of-kamukuwaka/ |
| Description | Raising the Roof: Voices for the Amazon - COP26 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Organised by NGO Global Canopy in partnership with The New York Times, 'Climate Hub: Raising the Roof - Voices for the Amazon' was an evening of talks, music and films about the Amazon rainforest and the role of Indigenous peoples in its survival and future prosperity. The event hosted a special screening of the OCA RED video installation and a talk with PPP Associate Artist Takumã Kuikuro. The event at the NYT Climate Hub was attended by 80 guests and streamed live for an audience of over 380 people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C2LjO6sLkM |
| Description | Research team attendance at COP27, Egypt |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Research team members Thiago Jesus and Shirley Djukurna Krenak attended the COP27 Climate talks to participate in policy dialogues about Indigenous people's protagonism within international solutions to the climate crisis. (Thiago Jesus's participation was funded by Queen Mary University of London). Press coverage was secured, and interviews were recorded with other participants of the COP27 talks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2022/pr/queen-mary-tackles-sustainability-and-environmental-challe... |
| Description | Screening of two short films for the staff of FCDO/ Forest Unit. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The screening was part of the ECHOES Indigenous Film Festival curated by Brazilian filmmakers Takumã Kuikuro, Graciela Guarani and Ziel Karapotó in 2023 at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. The festival focused on the contemporaneity of Indigenous culture and its alternative aesthetically representation through audio-visual arts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/echoes-indigenous-film-festival-ica-london/ |
| Description | Showcase of the Kamukuwaka Cave VR pilot experience at UNESCO's Headquarters in Paris |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The VR prototype was showcased at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, in December 2022, during the official High-level launch event of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages where Indigenous leaders, investors and UN member states/diplomats had a chance to experience a taster of the Kamukuwaká VR. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-celebrates-international-decade-indigenous-languages |
| Description | Talk with Indigenous filmmakers at the ICA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Screening of 18 short filmes + Q&A sessions with Indigenous curators/filmmakers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | The Xingu Indigenous Occupation - COP26 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PPP produced 'The Xingu Indigenous Occupation' at the Landing Hub in Glasgow: a day of films, conversations, music and workshops with the Kuikuro artists during COP26. The programme included two Kuikuro language workshops with Yamalui Kuikuro (attendance: 50 people), a screening session of Takumã Kuikuro's films (attendance: 30 people), a conversation between Takumã Kuikuro and Professor Paul Heritage on indigenous filmmaking (attendance: 30 people), and the panel 'Creative Climate Connections between indigenous activists and youth in the UK', a PPP project in partnership with Dirty Protest Theatre funded by the AHRC (attendance: 23 people and 137 online via live streaming). PPP's Xingu Occupation in Glasgow was featured in The Herald Magazine. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.thesustainableglasgowlanding.com/thelandinghub/indigenous-occupation |
| Description | The Xingu Sacred Cave of Kamukuwaka´: An emergency forum on indigenous cultural heritage in the Brazilian Amazon |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Inauguration of the Facsimile of the cave of Kamukuwaka´ / Discussions / Talks / Film Screenings / Performances. A two-day event at Factum's workshops, where the facsimile of the restored cave will be unveiled by a leader of the Wauja community, Akari Wauja, a song carrier who will be travelling to Madrid with his son Yanamakakuma, to tell the myth of the cave and its meaning for the peoples of the Xingu. The focal point of the event was the ceremony on Friday 18th October to unveil the facsimile of the restored cave of Kamukuwaka´. On Saturday 19th October the audience had the opportunity to experience other aspects of the Xingu culture through a programme of films by the indigenous filmmaker Takuma~ Kuikuro, performances of traditional song and dance, as well as tours and talks that introducing the many techniques - digital and traditional - that went into creating the facsimile. Special Guests from the Xingu Indigenous Territory, Mato Grosso, Brazil: Akari Wauja - Indigenous Activist, Oral Historian and Singer. Takuma~ Kuikuro - Indigenous Activist and Filmmaker. Shirley Djukuma Krenak - Indigenous Activist and a leader of the Krenak people from Brazil Other speakers included: Adam Lowe - Founder of Factum Foundation Professor Paul Heritage - Director of People's Palace Projects, Queen Mary University of London Professor Jerry Brotton - Author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps, Queen Mary University of London Ferdinand Saumarez-Smith - Project Director, Factum Foundation Mafalda Ramos - Consultant in Archaeology and Anthropology Nathaniel Mann - Musician, Composer and Broadcaster |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/the-sacred-cave-of-kamukuwaka/ |
| Description | What it means to make Indigenous cinema - ECO-nversations podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A podcast hosted by PPP's communications manager Yula Rocha for the podcast ECO-nversations in May 2023. Guests were the curators of the Indigenous Film Festival ECHOES: Graciela Guarani, Takuma Kuikuro and Ziel Karapoto. In this episode, they discuss what it means to make Indigenous cinema and what is next for Indigenous filmmakers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |