Amazonian Arts: Pottery, Jewelry, Weaving, Dance, and Music

For thousands of years, Amazonian indigenous peoples have been utilizing the gifts of the Pachamama - Mother Earth - to create art and goods, such as bowls, cups, paints, jewelry, and even clothes. Also, many local dances celebrate the earth for her gifts and others tell stories of life in the rainforest including hunting, animal encounters, falling in love, and marriage.

This internship is a unique opportunity to experience the cultures of the Ecuadorian Amazon through the mediums of art, pottery, music, and dance.Interns support on-going arts projects and have the opportunity to design and implement their own workshops about art, marketing, tourism, or a different topic of interest with locals.

Potential internship activities include:

• Learn about the different art forms of the host community and who makes the artisan goods
• Attend music, dance, and storytelling events led by community members
• Hike through agroforestry farms in the forest and collect natural materials for drawing, jewelry-making, dying, and ceramics
• Practice different forms of art with locals, including weaving baskets and bags, making jewelry, wood carving, and more
• Assist local entrepreneurs with design and marketing of their woven goods, jewelry, and other products
• Design and implement arts-based workshops to share with community members
• Design and implement workshops topics related to a topic of interest and that incorporate art as a method of transmitting knowledge; using art to talk about recycling, environmental conservation, leadership, self-esteem, etc.
• Assist with tourism activities, including cooking, preparing cabins, guiding visitors, translating, and explaining on-going art projects
• Organize English lessons with locals who are eager to advance their language skills and receive Spanish and Kichwa lessons from them as well

An average day for an arts intern looks like:

• Incorporate local traditions in art and music with your skills and interests and collaborate on events for the community
• Gain experience in designing and implementing art and music workshops for kids and adults in schools, shelters, and after-school programs
• Practice your own works of art and dance to share with locals and your community back home
• Shadow masters in Amazonian arts, and learn how they use all-natural, plant-based ingredients to create materials
• Research & dissertation support available with partner organizations and universities, if requested
• **NOTE: Specific projects change throughout the year depending on the needs of our partner organizations. The projects interns work on during their internship are based on the organization’s’ immediate needs and workflow.***