Xapiri, a Cusco-based art gallery and media production studio, is working to raise awareness of the situation and funds to help indigenous peoples navigate the COVID crisis. In response to the pandemic, Xapiri has jettisoned its plans to visit indigenous partners in the field and instead focused on online fundraising campaigns

1. Using photography and in-
digenous art to help Ama-
zon communities during
COVID
byMongabay.comon23June2020
Xapiri, a Cusco-based art gallery and
media production studio, is working
to raise awareness of the situation
and funds to help indigenous
peoples navigate the COVID crisis.
In response to the pandemic, Xapiri
has jettisoned its plans to visit
indigenous partners in the field and
instead focused on online
fundraising campaigns.

2. Some indigenous communities in the Amazon
rainforest are being devastated by the COVID-
19 pandemic, recalling memories of the severe
toll wrought by diseases introduced during
first contact with the outside world last
century. Due to lockdowns and the remoteness
of some communities, the full effects of
COVID across the Amazon won’t be known for
some time, but the plight of some indigenous
peoples stranded in cities is readily apparent.
For example, some 200 Matsés are currently
trapped in the Peruvian city of Iquitos far from
their forest homes.
Xapiri (https://www.xapiri.com/), a Cusco-
based art gallery and media production studio,
is working to raise awareness of the situation
and funds to help indigenous peoples navigate
the COVID crisis. In response to the
pandemic, Xapiri has jettisoned its plans to
visit indigenous partners in the field and
instead focused on online fundraising
campaigns.
In a June 2020 interview with Mongabay, Jack
Wheeler, Xapiri’s founder and director, spoke
about his group’s work, the transition to a
COVID world, and why now is a more
important time than ever to support
indigenous communities.
In a June 2020 interview with
Mongabay, Jack Wheeler, Xapiri’s
founder and director, spoke about
his group’s work, the transition to a
COVID world, and why now is a
more important time than ever to
support indigenous communities.
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3. Mongabay: What’s your background and what
inspired you to start Xapiri?
Jack Wheeler: I’m a traveler and entrepreneur
at the core. From 2010 – 2015 I travelled far
and wide, mainly in the Americas while also
setting up a business from my homeland in the
UK, in between adventures. The corporate
business I started was ‘paying the bills’ but not
fulfilling me, as my passions were readily
found in nature, being connected to the
environment.
In mid-2014, I traveled through Roraima in
southern Venezuela, learning about the region
and the indigenous people living there. This
was the hook, where I became more inspired
and my determination to find a way to work in
this part of the world began, with the people
and the environment they lived in. As this
travel continued I wandered into the
indigenous art gallery CANOA in Paraty, Brasil
and met the owner Nina Taterka. I was
awestruck, seeing a space full of diverse and
wonderful indigenous Brazilian art. This was
the moment Xapiri was born.
ǀ ǜḮ ť ḎǴǴḵǴẃḙṎẤḎǴ⁄ ǀ ẤẎǺẎỴḙḵḵǀ ḅǴṙ ḂĎǀ Ṏ Ẵǀ ṎῢQṙ ẴẃẤǴẎӑ
ṙ ḂŬǀ ṿḙẃḙῢ
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4. How did you start working with indigenous
groups in the Amazon? What was the process
for finding and engaging these communities?
My first trip to the Amazon was in 2015, to
visit the Asurini of the Xingu basin in Brazil.
This expedition was thanks to Nina, as she;
alongside the photographer Alice Kohler,
already had longstanding relationships with
Ŭǀ ṿḙẃḙḅǀ ḵḵǴẃӑ
ǀ ǜḮ ť ḎǴǴḵǴẃḙṎẤḎǴ! Ṋǀ Ӣṙ ṎῢQṙ ẴẃẤǴẎӑ ṙ ḂŬǀ ṿḙẃḙῢ
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5. the Asurini. Thus the invitation to join the
expedition came. Everything I thought I knew
about indigenous culture was broken to pieces
in that first expedition, experiencing their way
of life up front, understanding the historical
context and extraction threats to their land
gave me my first authentic insight into
contemporary indigenous reality. All this
learning gave me the realization that the
process of working with Amazonian
communities would not be an easy one.
After this Xingu trip; alongside my partner in
Xapiri Tui Anandi, we traveled from Manaus to
Pucallpa by river stopping off when we could
to meet different communities and NGOs
working in the rainforest. This travel
culminated into the opening of the Xapiri art
gallery and cultural hub in Cusco, and from
here we were able to develop more
relationships with other Amazonian
communities throughout Peru.
Relationships with the various communities
started in different ways, be it an introduction
through an NGO for example, which is how we
began our work with the Matsés via Acaté
Amazon Conservation, or though personal
connections we have met through our gallery
at Xapiri, or on independent jungle travels.
One thing always remains the same, that in
order to engage the artisans and the
communities, it takes time. The most
important factor is developing relationships
with patience and trust, and from that pillar we
often find that anything is possible.
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6. What is your approach to working with these
communities?
Everything we do evolves around long term
relationships and sustainability. We aim to
implement structure for the fair-trade of art
between indigenous artisans and the
marketplace, while encouraging the
transmission of the ancestral knowledge from
⁄ ǀ ẤẎǴẎǴӁḎḙǘḙẤǀ Ấč ṙ ẃḙḮ ǀ ṎǜḎǀ ḙṎQẴẎǜṙ ῢQṙ ẴẃẤǴẎӑ ṙ ḂŬǀ ṿḙẃḙῢ
! ṎǴӁṿḵṙ ẃǀ Ấḙṙ Ṏṙ ḂẃḙẤẴǀ ḵǀ ṎǨ ḵḙṊḙṎǀ ḵẎṿǀ ǜǴῢĆḎṙ Ấṙ ǘӑ cẃḙḮ ǀ
œǀ ẃẎǴṎῢ
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7. the elders to the younger generation. We
support economic sustainability by stimulating
the value chains within each culture’s
traditional customs and currently we are
working closely with 5 communities in the
Peruvian Amazon. Our methods of working
change depending on each ethnic group,
moving within the same rhythm as the
communities themselves. Through these
authentic relations, we can then ensure quality
and commitment. Our vision as a whole is
simple, we believe that economic sustainability
is fundamental for the autonomy of rainforest
communities, and by securing the healthy
livelihood for the indigenous people, this in
turn protects the forests in which their
cultures thrives.
àǀ ḙẃᾷẤẃǀ ǨǴỹ ḙẤḎẤḎǴ⁄ ǀ ẤẎǺẎῢQṙ ẴẃẤǴẎӑ ṙ ḂŬǀ ṿḙẃḙῢ
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8. What are some of the examples of the work
produced by Xapiri?
Our most recent media production was to
illustrate an extraordinary project by the Matsés,
who recently completed a 5-year quest to map
their ancestral homelands. The project was
featured in Mongabay in May
(https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/painstaking-
mapping-initiative-helps-indigenous-peruvians-
defend-their-land/) and our video production can
be seen here. We value the importance of
photographic documentation. By representing
indigenous culture through this medium we can
raise awareness about the the Amazon, giving
voice to the indigenous peoples who call it home.
You can find two in-depth multimedia reports we
have produced about the Matsés and the Shipibo-
Konibo ethnics on our website here
(https://www.xapiri.com/reports).
In addition, we held an exhibition showing the
Matsés material at the Qorikancha museum in
Cusco. This was the first time such an exhibit
had been produced about this ethnic. We are
seeing that visual communications also have a
knock on effect in rejuvenating cultural pride
⁄ ǀ ẤẎǴẎǴӁḎḙǘḙẤǀ Ấč ṙ ẃḙḮ ǀ ṎǜḎǀ ḙṎQẴẎǜṙ ῢQṙ ẴẃẤǴẎӑ ṙ ḂŬǀ ṿḙẃḙῢ
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9. with the youth as they often engage more in
their culture once they are witness to the
creative media we are able to produce
alongside them.
This year, we had extensive plans in the way of
expeditions to visit our indigenous partners, to
develop further relationships, and create
media documentation. But for obvious reasons
our plans were derailed, and instead we are
putting our focus and energy into creating
impactful fundraising campaigns to support
the communities we work with.
How are the communities with which you work
being affected by COVID-19?
COVID-19 has reached all corners of the
Amazon, no less so than in Peru and with the
communities we work with. Again, the
situation varies per community, depending on
their geographical location and their
connection / relationship to the cities. For
example, the Shipibo-Konibo are one of the
most populous ethnics in the Peruvian
Amazon. Having been severely affected by the
pandemic, be it their population in the city of
Pucallpa or in the more remote communities
along the Ucayali river, the high infection rates
and many deaths have become a harsh reality.
Some Shipibo-Konibo villages have reported
infection rates of over 80% and they are still
fighting the outbreak.
Many Shipibo-Konibo families rely on
products from the city to live and to support
this way of life. One of the most common
sources of income is through the sale of their
arts. However, due to the recent pandemic
crisis, the sharp decline in tourism has
compromised their livelihood and economic
opportunities, creating much hardship for the
Shipibo-Konibo with little to no money to buy
the essentials much less medicines to combat
COVID-19.
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10. As for the Matsés, they tell a different
pandemic story. Although the majority of their
population are safe and well in their remote
territory; subsistence living from their farms
and rivers, still there were about 200 Matsés
stranded in the nearest city of Iquitos unable
to return to their land. Because the quarantine
put a stop to all travel throughout Peru, those
left stranded; a mix of men, women and
children, went with no resources to sustain
themselves in the city, no access to the basics,
and even lodging in some cases. At the
beginning there was minimal government
support for the Matsés. So without hesitation,
we at Xapiri along with Acaté Amazon
Conservation (who are based in Iquitos)
grouped together to form a fundraiser offering
emergency relief to the Matsés. Fortunately,
we received a great response from our
network, with generous support coming in
from all over the world. On the ground in
Iquitos, Acaté have managed the relief plan
excellently alongside the Matsés chief, Daniel
Vela, who was one of the 200 stranded in the
city. Now we are taking the final steps
logistically and bureaucratically to get the
Matsés safely back to their homeland.
⁄ ǀ ẤẎǴẎǴӁḎḙǘḙẤǀ Ấč ṙ ẃḙḮ ǀ ṎǜḎǀ ḙṎQẴẎǜṙ ῢQṙ ẴẃẤǴẎӑ ṙ ḂŬǀ ṿḙẃḙῢ
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11. What can people outside the region do to
help?
With many families and communities still in
need of aid and medication to fight against
COVID-19, the Shipibo-Konibo situation in
particular remains critical. Upon hearing first
hand from many of our Shipibo-Konibo friends
about the situation they are facing, we
decided to form a photographic fundraising
campaign ‘Photos x Action. This campaign
serves as a donation platform to support the
Shipibo-Konibo whereas the donor; in
exchange, receives a photographic print of
their choosing. Photos x Action
(https://www.xapiri.com/photos-x-action)
features 10 participating artists from Peru,
Europe and the US who have gathered in
support of this cause by kindly donating 30
beautiful photographs. Please have a look and
support if you can, the campaign runs through
the end of June. All monies raised go directly
to the emergency fund for aid on the ground,
managed by our allies, Alianza Arkana
(http://alianzaarkana.org/), an NGO with over
10 years of experience, based in the Shipibo-
Konibo heartland of Yarinacocha, Pucallpa.
The consequences of COVID-19 will remain in
the Amazon for many months to come, even
when the infection levels plateau, it will be a
slow and long way back to normality for the
communities. If you would like to stay updated
and engaged with our work with indigenous
communities, please follow us at Xapiri
Ground (https://www.xapiri.com/xapiri-ground)
to learn of our non-profit work focusing on art
and sustainability.
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12. ArticlepublishedbyRhettButler
ĆḎṙ Ấṙ ẎᾷӁᾷ! ǜẤḙṙ ṎῢQṙ ẴẃẤǴẎӑ ṙ ḂŬǀ ṿḙẃḙῢ
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