About Us
The collection of Andean and Amazonian cultural artifacts was acquired by the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) in Autumn of 2015 through a series of donations and purchases supported by Title VI Federal Funds.
The collection, which is housed in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese (Hagerty 255), supports a growing curriculum and innovative programming on the Andes and Amazonia connected to the Quechua Language Program and the Andean and Amazonian Studies Minor at OSU.
It is part of a developing “Integrated Learning Environment for the Study of Andean and Amazonian Languages and Cultures” that features activity-based and experiential pedagogies compatible with non-Western traditions and engages prevailing forms of indigenous knowledge, power, resistance, and self-determination.
The collection is managed and maintained by a team of student curators registered either under Independent Studies, Undergraduate Research, Undergraduate Thesis or Internship credits, and/or participating with the collection as part of the K’acha Willaykuna Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Arts and Humanities Collaboration Working Group. We stay busy under a unique model of collaboration and productivity. Kawsay Ukhunchay as an entity in and of itself has its own CV. Take a look! Collection CV 2023 update
Our Collection
The collection includes artifacts from the Andes and Amazonia such as:
- “Slice of Life” Tigua Paintings
- Unique Canelos Quichua Ceramics
- Etched story gourds
- Woven tapestries and shigras (net bags)
- Musical instruments
- Festival masks and ritual items
- Hunting implements
- Children’s toys
- Food ways implements
These items are paired with related literature, music and film CDs and DVDs.
Artifacts purchased from Sacha Runa Foundation and donated by Norman Whitten, Curator of the Spurlock Museum, have similar pieces on exhibit at the Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
Our Mission
Our mission is to work with educators and students to create an accessible learning space for indigenous knowledges in the Caribbean, Andes, and Amazon within The Ohio State University.
Our Collaborators
- Center for Latin American Studies
- Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD)
- Department of Spanish and Portuguese
- Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures
- University Libraries
- Rare Books and Manuscripts
- Area Studies Department
- The Teaching and Learning Department
- Institutional Repository Services—Knowledge Bank Center
- Restoration and Reformatting Division
- Digital Storytelling Program
- Arts and Sciences Technology
- History of Art Department
- Department of Anthropology
- Center for Folklore Studies
- Musicology Area, School of Music
- LiteracyStudies@OSU
- The History of the Book Program, an initiative of LiteracyStudies@OSU
- Humanities Institute and CLAS Working Group: Continuity and Change in the Andes and Amazonia
- Andean and Amazonian Studies Interdisciplinary Minor
- Ohio State Andean Music Ensemble
- Ecuadorian Consulate, Chicago
- Sacha Runa Research Foundation
- Title VI Federal Grant, Department of Education
Special Thanks To
- Norman Whitten, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology & Latin America Studies, Curator of the Spurlock Museum, Senior University Scholar, and Editor of UI Press series “Interpretations of Culture in the New Millennium,” at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Devin Grammon, D. in Hispanic Linguistics, Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellow, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
- Luis Morató, Senior Lecturer Quechua Program, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
- Katherine Martinez, Spanish Major (Class of 2016)
- Diego Arellano, Arts Management Major (Class of 2018)
- Osmari Novoa, Spanish Major/Andean and Amazonian Studies Minor (Class of 2020)