ESSAY COLLECTION: HERITAGE, Paul. 2019. ‘Village Encounters: from the Amazon to Broadway’ in The Art of Cultural Exchange: Translation and Transformation between the UK and Brazil (2012-2016). Edited by Paul Heritage and Ilana Strozenberg. United Kingdom: Vernon Press, 2019. Portuguese version publicly available via People’s Palace Projects' website [references below refer to the English-language text which is a physical item].

HERITAGE’s introduction and essay (pp238-256) contextualises the process of contemporary artistic and academic discovery within the historical context of non-equitable, unethical exchange. The essay situates the exchange between indigenous peoples in the Amazon region and the British theatre maker Simon MCBURNEY within frames established by indigenous literature and knowledge-creation. HERITAGE details his process to establish and curate the exchange and addresses issues that arose through the chosen creative methods and research methodologies. These questions are taken up and developed further in an essay by MCBURNEY (pp.256-260) who reveals the insights from the discoveries which lead to a specific performance outcome (documented pp.260-264): The Encounter – a play written, directed and performed by MCBURNEY between 2015-2019.

Authors: Paul HERITAGE and TAKUMàKuikuro. UKRI, 2019. Publicly available on UKRI website.  

This case study explores issues of equitable and ethical cultural exchange between indigenous and non-indigenous artists (cinema/theatre).

HERITAGE curated two creative exchanges between MCBURNEY and indigenous peoples from the Amazon region: the Mayoruna in the village of Marajaí on the River Solimões (March 2014), and the Kuikuro when attending the Kuarup ritual in  the Yawalapiti village in the Xingu Indigenous Territory (August 2014). HERITAGE worked with MCBURNEY to research indigenous peoples’ experiences and environments, identify an indigenous artist (TAKUMàKuikuro) for an ongoing creative relationship, understand the issues, and design methods appropriate to establishing ethical and equitable exchange.

Material produced by MCBURNEY and the Complicite team during the fieldwork, which includes photos and video documentation about how the research material was used to create the theatre play The Encounter. Publicly available on Complicite's website. 

Material produced by MCBURNEY and the Complicite team during the fieldwork, which includes photos and video documentation about how the research material was used to create the theatre play The Encounter. Publicly available on Complicite's website.