Plastic Shaman
About
RISD Museum’s Research Resident, Aymar Ccopacatty (RISD BFA 2004 Sculpture) performs a ceremonial ritual as a Plastic Shaman to ask for permission and healing towards sacred Andean silver, bronze and textile objects within the museum’s permanent collection.
Permission is paramount for modern global culture before appropriating traditional Indigenous healing ceremonies desperately needed by the west. Prayer and meditation will be offered to these objects in the indigenous Aymara language of southern Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Aymara comes from the ancient Pukina language no longer spoken although likely to have been spoken around the time these objects were tied to the people who made them.
Free. Registration requested for this in-person program.
Join Aymar on Saturday, December 2 from 12-1 pm for a discussion about this performance and reconsidering the life of Andean objects in museum storage.
Aymar Ccopacatty is an artist, culture bearer, conservator, teacher and community organizer. Through sculpture, textiles, and installation, Ccopacatty’s work used traditional weaving techniques that speak to indigenous knowledge and environmental activism.In addition to his artistic practice, Ccopacatty consults with art institutions, such as the Smithsonian Institution, on collection care. He has a BFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Science with a concentration in Textiles Conservation from the University of Rhode Island.