Bringing the Colors of the Maya to Jamaica Plain:

Indigenous Arts and Music Festival features Maya paintings from Guatemala

On Saturday, Aug. 6 and Sunday, Aug. 7 from 10am-5pm, Indigenous artists and musicians from across the globe will come together for Cultural Survival’s free admission Native arts and cultures Bazaar. Greater Boston is invited to join them to enjoy Indigenous music from Mali, Ecuador, and the US northeast, as well as art whose purchase supports the livelihoods of Indigenous communities around the globe. One attendee has called it “the best place to get unique global gifts while supporting Indigenous cultures!”

Among the artists to be featured at the Bazaar will be representatives of the Guatemala Art and Culture Connection, whose vision is to utilize arts and crafts as a means of producing intercultural connections across borders as well as to support local initiatives in the communities that they work with.

The organization, founded by Imre and Lorna Kepes of Western MA, specializes in original, authentic art from Mayan villages located around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lake Atitlán, in southern Guatemala. In this picturesque setting, the artists depict scenes of harvest, markets, ceremonies, and other facets integral to the life and culture of the Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel Maya people. The artists are known for their unique style; some of them have had work exhibited in the Smithsonian and in other exhibitions abroad.

With the sale of these colorful paintings and intricate beadwork, the organization donates a portion of the proceeds to help fundAyudame a Pintar Mi Futuro (Help Me Paint My Future), an afterschool youth art program that supports children from families suffering from poverty and other problems in the community of San Pedro La Laguna on the lake’s southern shore.

Also at the Bazaar, attendees will enjoy live music, as well as crafts from over a dozen Indigenous cultures worldwide.

Cultural Survival is a Cambridge-based NGO that advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures, and political resilience since 1972. Since 1982 the Bazaars have provided a market for thousands of artists and cooperatives spanning six continents and over sixty countries. Each year the Bazaars generate roughly half a million dollars for Indigenous artists, performers, and projects benefitting Indigenous communities around the world.Providing a unique space especially for Indigenous artists and their supporters, the Bazaars take attendees on “a trip around the world’s bazaars,” promoting both artistic and socio-political education.

Event information:

Loring-Greenough House

August 6-7, 2016

12 South Street

Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

10am – 5pm

Live music

Free admission // Rain or shine

Free parking
15 min from Green St. stop on the Orange line; Buses 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41 stop right outside

Food TBA

Musical guests: Bear Fox, Sidy Maiga and Afrimanding, Yarina, and others TBA

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