This special gathering marks the culmination of a rich exchange between artists Betel Cucué, Rosa Marina Flores Cruz, Dorine van Meel, Felipe Viveros, members of Futuros Indígenas and Cherán’s community and participants at Loughborough University.
The project is hosted by Radar, Loughborough University’s contemporary arts research programme (LU Arts), supported by the Mondriaan Fonds and part of Dorine van Meel's research fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies.
Centring the perspectives and cosmovisions of Indigenous and Afro-descendant people, the project engages with ecological justice and intersectional equity. It opens a space to learn from and with one another through artistic expressions that support struggles for territorial defence and help shape alternative narratives.
As part of the celebration, Radar will share for the first time the collectively created moving image work ‘Parhankua: Conversaciones Alrededor del Fuego’, alongside live performances, discussions, and music. The event invites participants across both locations to connect through a shared moment of reflection, creativity, and exchange.
The event will take place from 5pm-8pm in Stanley Evernden Studio (MHL0.14), Martin Hall, and online via Microsoft Teams.
By engaging with different ways of being and doing together, the project seeks to build long-term relationships rooted in care and solidarity, relationships that open a shared horizon for ecological and social justice to emerge.
The event is organised by Betel Cucué, Rosa Marina Flores Cruz, Dorine van Meel, Felipe Viveros, and members of Futuros Indígenas and Cherán’s community.
*The ‘Parhankua’ are stones used to support the griddle over the fire and are an essential element in traditional Purépecha culture in Cherán, Michoacán, Mexico. They symbolise family unity and the passing down of traditions through generations. In Purépecha culture, the fire is a central gathering space where families come together. It is here that much of the socialising takes place, especially among women, whether they are cooking, sharing stories, singing, solving problems, or planning celebrations. The ‘Parhankua’ is truly the heart of the home.