Partners: Fundación Compass Urbano, Imprenta La Linterna Cali, La Rufina, Comfama.
Timeline: August 2022.
Approach: visual art, illustration, desk research, advocacy.
Topics: activism against mining projects, protection of the land, indigenous and peasant sovereignty.
My role: researcher, designer, illustrator and tamesina.
Context
The Fundación Compás Urbano and La Rufina, accompanied by La Linterna, came together to present the call for posters on the Southwest of Antioquia (Colombia) and its geographical, ethnical, and cultural richness. They called it: Expanded Geography of the Southwest of Antioquia Contest.
The design proposals had to be developed from the idea of territory and what it means to live in it, but above all, to live it from the multiplicity of its landscape, human and cultural diversity. The expanded geography of the territory is to think that there are other marks in the territory besides the geographical ones that speak of what happens there.
Outcome
Sí a la vida, no a la mina (Yes to life, no to the mine) represents a collective fight for the defense of the territory and against the mining exploitation that threatens the Southwest of Antioquia. The community of Támesis resists and demands respect for the land of which they are part of. A land that they share with the petroglyphs, with the mountains, with the water that lives on the ground and in the sky, with the birds and with the flowers.
This poster is among the four winning designs from more than 100 proposals that came from different parts of the country.
*Hay Festival
The poster is part of an ongoing exhibition in different regions of Colombia that started with the Hay Festival in Jericó, Antioquia. The fifth edition of the Jericó Hay Festival was celebrated from January 20th to 22nd, 2023, and this time met to imagine the world and weave conversations around literature, education, cinema, science, and nature.
* The Hay Festival is a non-profit organization created 35 years ago in the United Kingdom and with a presence in several countries (Spain, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru), which creates inclusive festivals for all audiences in which we celebrate literature, thought, ideas and exchange.
La Linterna Poster Show – We Are Sudamerican Printers
Sí a la vida, no a la mina was part of the exhibition tour We Are Sudamerican Printers held from June to July 2023 in Columbus, Boston, and New York.
The exhibition showcased a curated selection of posters reflecting the rich heritage and artistic craftsmanship of La Linterna, a printing studio in Cali, Colombia, that has used Vintage Printing machines since 1934.
Project Details
For the poster’s design, I took inspiration from my hometown Támesis, located in the Southwest of Antioquia, 111 km from Medellín. I wanted to depict not only the landscape’s particular beauties, but also the community’s struggle to protect the territory from mining projects. These extractivism projects, coming from abroad, are threatening the livelihoods of indigenous and peasants communities, endemic species of bears, birds and plants, numerous sources of fresh water, the mountains and the air.
This poster recognizes the courage and persistence of a community that continues to resist despite the push from politicians and businessmen that only see money in the mountains.
