We returned end of May from a five months stay in San Pedro La Laguna on Lake Atitlan. Living in this Mayan community has challenged us to open our hearts and minds to what it means to be a citizen of the world. We feel like we have embarked on journey of discovery and are regularly amazed and humbled by the graciousness, openness, faith, resilience and heart of the people there. Each year our experiences are more and more profound and our connection with the community gets deeper and deeper. Our intention has been use this art and crafts, images and stories of the life and people there to promote greater understanding and appreciation across borders and cultures and to support the artists, artisans and local initiatives of some of the towns on Lake Atitlan.

This last year our focus there was on organizing a gallery show at the Augusta Savage Gallery at UMass Amherst. Our concept is to utilize the art and words of the local people to show how they still remain connected to their rich Mayan heritage despite incredible past challenges and how can this survive for the future generations under the more subtle but equally threatening influences of the modern world. This led us to discover many new artists and to have the opportunity to get a better understanding of their history, perspectives and hopes for the future.  

We will continue to be participating in the Cultural Survival Bazaars this summer and fall. The Bazaars feature indigenous arts and crafts from all over the world and are a great way to support the artists and artisans, their communities and the work of Cultural Survival. We hope to see you there. 

Check out the "News and Events" page for the Cultural Survival Bazaar Schedule and the dates for the Mayan Tapestry show at the Augusta Savage Gallery

We have also continued to work with and support the youth art program Ayudame a Pintar Mi Futuro (Help Me Paint My Future) that was created and is led by two of the artists we work with: Henry and Jose Mendez Chavajay. You can see more info on this program at the Projects We Support page. 

 We are also working on helping to get visas for some of the artists to be able to travel to the US to take part in the show and the Cultural Survival Bazaars. Several members of a group of artists called Canal Cultural will be in the area at the time of the show. One of the artists who is an internationally recognized Mayan RAP artist may perform at the Amherst Cultural Survival Bazaar and they may have a table there. We also have connected with one of the pre-eminent scholars of Mayan history and culture and we are hoping that we can organize a forum with him, the artists and scholars here to discuss the theme of the show – how can the essence of such a profound culture as the Maya retain its essence, relevance and vitality in a rapidly “globalizing” world?

We always love to hear from you. We welcome your questions, experiences, insights and ideas on how we can improve the work we do.  

Yours in Peace and Justice

Imre and Lorna

PS – please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think may be interested.