For Immediate Release
Culture Xplorers Announces August 2014 Date
Of 10th Annual Weavers Awards Peru
Assisting Nine At-Risk Communities in Andes
KANSAS CITY, MO, Sept. 3, 2013 – The date is set to observe a philanthropic program that in 2014 will mark its 10
th year celebrating and honoring the indigenous textile artists of Peru.
The 10
th Annual Weavers Awards Peru will take place Aug. 12, 2014, in Cusco, announced Jim Kane, owner/founder of
Culture Xplorers that supports the
Culture Xplorers Foundation, the bedrock supporter and financial catalyst for these awards. Over the years the foundation has donated over $25,000 in prize money.
Up to 12 travelers may join a nine-day/eight-night Culture Xplorers trip departing Aug. 8, 2014, and coinciding with the awards and a community-hosted lunch in Chinchero in Peru’s Sacred Valley with some 30 winning weavers. See:
http://www.culturexplorers.com/destinations/peru
This awards program exemplifies how Culture Xplorers (http://www.culturexplorers.com/), a leader in sustainable travel, shares handcrafted journeys that deepen understanding and foster connection with indigenous (and often at-risk) communities around the world.
“These awards,” noted Kane, “act as a life-changing financial catalyst for the hundreds of textile artists who have participated over the years and they raise the self-esteem of these indigenous artists, whose rich culture went underappreciated for decades.”
In the meantime, the 9
th annual festivities take place Sept. 3, 2013, in Chinchero, Peru. The awards program was established by Culture Xplorers in collaboration with Nilda Callañaupa, director of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC
http://www.textilescusco.org), a store and museum. The participation of indigenous weavers has grown from five communities in year one to today’s nine communities with more than 600 weavers competing for pride and prizes. Annually 30 winners share an annual prize pool that has grown to over $6,000. Callañaupa and the CTTC cooperative's leaders in each of the nine participating communities serve as judges. They also facilitate four wool dyeing workshops annually that bring together weavers who might otherwise be unable to access the naturally occurring substances for dyes that are derived in low altitudes. See:
http://www.culturexplorers.com/blog/i-would-dye-for-you/1206
Nilda Callañaupa is a
National Geographic grantee, author and recognized leader in the decades-long effort to resuscitate the 2,000 year old Andean weaving tradition. From the Quechua-speaking community of Chinchero, she works to rally people into the competition. She often speaks at museums and universities worldwide on the Andean textile arts. For more details on the growing impact of these awards, please watch the following short documentary video:
http://vimeo.com/36357469.
“The deep-rooted, long-term partnership between Culture Xplorers and the CTTC is an international model for how conscious travel companies can make a lasting and positive impact on local communities while fostering the rich living traditions that make each destination unique,” said Kane, adding that he believed this program is unique in South America. “We hope that by announcing the 2014 date now that people interested in culture, creative communities and textiles will plan to join the Tenth Anniversary.”
Participation in the awards program can be life changing. From prize winnings one weaver of Pitumarca financed gall stone surgery; another in Accha Alta finished the roof of her house. Over time the weavers gain more self-esteem as they are recognized for their high-quality work and they gain socially in their communities.
An ongoing challenge for a weaver is finding new inspiration for creating fine textiles. An overall goal of the weaving exhibitions is to encourage younger generations to take up weaving. An estimated 50 children show their weaving prowess as well in a children’s category.
Said Dr. Charles Stanish, Director, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California Los Angeles, “In the last 20 years of my adult life I've seen the world globalize and homogenize to the point where you can go almost anywhere and see the same thing. We have these horribly similar cultures. So I think that one of the great responsibilities of people in our professions is to preserve and document the cultural diversity of the world."
Kane’s travel company since 2003 has been connecting travelers with indigenous communities to help fuel the global philanthropic efforts of the Culture Xplorers Foundation. Another project in Peru helps pay college costs for a young Lima artist who, in exchange, volunteers at a local elementary school to teach art to students who would otherwise not have an art instructor. For more on Lugo's story, see
http://www.culturexplorers.com/blog/lugo-our-first-arts-scholarship-fund/1670.
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