PETROPERU opens photographic exhibit with images taken by communities of the amazon

Hundreds of spectators witnessed a different vision of indigenous peoples last night through the photographic exhibition "Ojos de la Amazonia", which was inaugurated in the art room of PETROPERÚ, Av. Canaval y Moreyra 150, San Isidro. The exhibition will remain open until June 22. Free entrance.

The exhibition collects the photography workshops held with the enthusiastic participation of the Nueva Musa Candashi and Kigkis communities in Loreto. Thanks to these, the customs, experiences, traditions, emotions and daily activities of the Amazonian peoples, taken by themselves and in their own environment, are reflected in images to witness their lives and show them to the world.

These visual testimonies tell scenes of indigenous life, creating small family and community stories that allow us to know their experiences, concerns and customs around the space in which they live.

The president of PETROPERU, James Atkins, highlighted the commitment of the company in the permanent support to the indigenous communities of our country, seeking respect and dissemination of their ancestral culture and their environment.

"Today, we ratify this commitment and we will work hard to strengthen relations with communities adjacent to our operations and contribute to improving their quality of life," said Atkins.

The general manager of PETROPERU, Esteban Bertarelli, said that since the start of operation of the North Peruvian Pipeline (ONP), the company is committed to the visibility and dissemination of the cultures of Peru. "Among them is particularly relevant to us the native communities of our Amazon and with this approach they allow us to find a common language and a joint path for the development of our peoples," he said.

For its part, the manager of Social Management and Communications, Beatriz Alva Hart, said that this project was undertaken as part of the social vision, summarized in the slogan "The way we want", a strategy that has been developed to strengthen relations with the communities neighboring its operations.

He highlighted the work done to rebuild their relations with neighboring communities in all operations. "We are convinced that the development of the Amazon is a shared challenge between the State, cooperating sources, businesses and populations, who need to work articulately to cover basic conditions and generate income sources for families," he said.

There were 111 inhabitants, who thanks to the support of their authorities (apus), undertook this adventure to leave a visual testimony of their relationship with nature, representing what for them means the forest, the rivers, the sky, the soil, and Give them their true value and respect, as an essential part of their life.

The students and the protagonists of the images were children as young as five years old to adults in their seventies, who took them while they participated in the photography workshop carried out by the Ojos Propios association, in November of 2017, on behalf of PETROPERU.

This first approach of the indigenous communities with photography allows the recognition that our Amazonian people deserve and respect for their ancestral culture and traditions. It also manages to share feelings and create with them a coexistence in harmony and balance with their environment.

Of the more than six thousand photos registered by the communities, almost 70 were selected to be exhibited in the "Ojos de la Amazonia" exhibition. The exhibition is divided into four scenarios and moments: the forest, daily life, family and the river. It also includes a central installation in the form of a tree that serves as a support for the assembly of the photos and represents life in the Amazon.

This remarkable activity is part of the policy of PETROPERU that seeks to promote the culture and arts of the communities and Amazonian peoples, respecting their customs, biodiversity, landscape and the environment in general.

About Ojos Propios

An association that for seven years has been developing participatory photography workshops, making use of its own methodology in different regions of the country to generate photographic exhibitions. It proposes a horizontal way of taking a camera and involves the inhabitants of the communities to make known the strengths of their peoples, through their eyes, to spread their culture and way of life.

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