Since time immemorial, people in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest have been living on or near the river floodplains, creating symbiotic cultures echoing the rhythms of the rich biodiversity that are found in this rainforest. However, recent centuries have brought resource exploitation and colonization to this area, which has forced hundreds of thousands to migrate from the deep jungle to Iquitos—a jungle city of half a million people and the largest in the world accessible only by river. 

Within Iquitos, floating and stilted communities maintain their traditional lifestyles along the city’s floodplain edges, offering crucial cultural, economic, and ecosystem services to the city. Despite their significance, their informal status presents layered challenges. For example, the regional government’s decision to relocate over 90,000 floodplain residents to new developments inland (an hour away from the river) raises concerns about the preservation of their unique riverine culture and the delicate white sand rainforest ecosystem that will be replaced by new developments.

“TRES COMUNIDADES, UN RÍO” is an interdisciplinary art showcase that invites visitors to explore the human and environmental stories behind this intricate tapestry. This exhibit, which is currently on the second stop of an international tour, began at the Ministry of Culture Amazonian Museum in Iquitos, Peru, in August 2022. “TRES COMUNIDADES” is a bilingual showcase that can be found on UW Seattle’s campus at the College of Built Environments gallery in Gould Hall until December 15th, 2023. Its time at UW marks the second stop on its international tour, with plans to open again at Pennsylvania State University in 2024.

This exhibit is part of the final deliverable from a Cohort 2 project that was funded by the EarthLab Innovation Grants Program, which invests in collaborations that span academic disciplines, engages multiple sectors and centers community needs at the intersection of climate change and social justice. To learn more about this granting program, click here.

About the exhibit

“TRES COMUNIDADES, UN RÍO” draws from a comprehensive survey of 136 residents across three river floodplain communities: Claverito (a primarily floating community), Bajo Belén (a primarily stilted community), and Nuevo Belén (a government-sponsored relocation community in the highlands).

Collaborating across disciplines, researchers and artists from Peru and the United States engaged with these three communities through surveys, drawings, and workshops to amplify residents’ views on their physical and social community, mental health, connections to nature, and knowledge of plants and animals. The interdisciplinary arts and sciences “One Health” perspective offered by the research team merges a multi-year collaboration between social scientists, public health researchers and landscape architects and ecologists, weaving a narrative that encompasses urban biodiversity, ecological health, and community well-being. 

During the inaugural exhibit in Peru, community members actively engaged with decision-makers and advocates, with over 75 representatives from all three communities—Claverito, Bajo Belén, and Nuevo Belén—in attendance.

One resident’s perspective echoes the hope that the exhibition will prompt consideration of their needs: “By reencountering our values, showing our culture, rooted in our ancestors, I am hopeful that this exhibition will successfully [spark] a little more consideration of our needs in all aspects.”*

Visitor reflections from the opening exhibition journal also illuminate this impact: “I feel that the exhibition shows a reality that Peruvians sometimes do not know or leave aside and that thanks to this context allows us to understand the behavior and vision of the Indigenous people in Iquitos.”*

This collaborative effort of researchers, artists, and community members sheds light on the multiple ways to successfully live in the jungle, with a focus on the connection to nature as a cornerstone for the well-being of individuals, communities, and environments. As the city continues to grow, this exhibit offers insights into the delicate balance of care and consideration needed for the thriving coexistence of human populations and healthy urban ecosystems.

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Visit the exhibit in person:
Gould Hall Gallery
3950 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105

Visit the exhibit virtually:
Three Communities, One River

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“TRES COMUNIDADES, UN RÍO” research team (from left to right):

Ursula Valdez, PhD, Lecturer and Tropical Avian Ecologist, UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts + Sciences

Gemina Garland-Lewis, Socio-Environmental Photographer, UW Center for One Health Research 

Coco Alarcon, PhD Student in Implementation Science, UW School of Public Health

Leann Andrews, PhD, RLA, Affiliate Assistant Professor, UW Department of Landscape Architecture 

Kathleen Wolf, PhD, Research Social Scientist, UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences

Additional “TRES COMUNIDADES, UN RÍO” teammates, not pictured:

Juan Noa Tunama, Community Leader, informal community of Claverito

Carlo Tapia del Aguila, Herpetologist, Centro de Investigaciones, Technologicas, Biomedicas y Medioambientales 

Susana Cubas Poclin, Ornithologist, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana

Christian Ampudia Gatty, Entomologist, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana

 

 

 

*Quotes were translated from Spanish to English.