The second edition of the “Samayuio Children’s Art Workshop” took place at Casa Machankara from August 26th to 30th, 2024. Its purpose was to reveal the river symbols of each participant: an image representing their connection to the city’s historic water sources, preserved on a natural leaf thanks to exposure to sunlight.
The children had the opportunity to experience a profound encounter with Quito’s historic water source: the Quitu-Cara waterfall, protected by the San Francisco de Cruz Loma community in the Pichincha highlands. The encounter took place on the banks of the city’s emblematic river, the Machangara, where the Casa Cultural Machankara is located. This connection is essential to establish an emotional and spiritual bond with the pure spring water that still flows through Quito.
Throughout the week, participants were invited to reflect on the city’s water: its origin, and treatment. We worked on creating an emotional bond in their memory through the photographic creations. Finally, we revealed their personal river symbol on a natural leaf using the workshop methodology developed by Mónica Aguilar (Samayuio).
In this edition, we had the pleasure of collaborating with the UNESCO Quito office, with whom we combined art and science in the workshop’s content. We also had the presence of Dr. Blanca Ríos-Touma, a biologist and researcher from UDLA, a member of “Women in Science-REMCI” and “Women for Water,” who encouraged our participants to pursue scientific careers related to environmental conservation.
The creative results of this work will be exhibited at the Interactive Science Museum. Stay tuned to our social networks so you can join us!
We thank our collaborators and partners in the development of this workshop: UNESCO Quito, Colectivo Amaruna del Río, Wildlife Conservation Society WCS Ecuador, L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science, the Andean Rivers Observatory, and of course, the Machángara River and the Quitu-Cara waterfall.
Photos: Paula Calderón – PUCE Tec