On the 18th and 19th of April 2025, we had the pleasure to share a few days with Shipibo-Konibo artist and activist Olinda Silvano and filmmaker Rodo Arrascue for their event “An Immersive Journey through the Kené.” 

Through the medium-length documentary “Diseños de identidad. Universos del Kené” and “Kené conexiones inmersivo VR” we were able to travel through the world of Amazonian Kené design, visiting places like Lima and Pucallpa, in an effort to understand some of the social issues related to identity, tradition, and migration of the Shipibo-Konibo people, and the adaptations of Kené art in the city of Lima.

On this occasion, virtual reality also enabled us to experience ritual and traditional moments of the Kené, such as the ayahuasca ceremony, which invited the viewer into a simulation of a Kené vision, and the piri piri ritual that allowed us to witness its initiation rites deep in the Amazon rainforest.

This entire experience was thanks to filmmaker Rodo Arrascue and artist Olinda Silvano, who guided us through their stories and anecdotes. Olinda recounted the heroic journey of her migration from Pucallpa to Lima, inspiring the audience with accounts of her courage and talent, offering us hope that the impossible is possible, and that indirect paths can lead you to unexpected places. Rodo uplifted us with his presence and his sensitive, conscious, and passionate artform towards Amazonian cultures and their worldviews.

Olinda resolutely explained to us that Kené is not only an artistic expression that represents a culture, it is also a prayer, a legacy, the resistance of a people.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this special event. Thank you to Olinda Silvano for opening her heart, accompanying us with strength and wisdom, for the uninhibited sharing of her story with us, and for gifting us a heartfelt mural blessed by her song and prayer in the café of our Amazonian art house. Thank you, Rodo, for bringing your experience and perspective through the visual arts, and for your shared intimacy. 

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Biography | Olinda Silvano

An artist and master of the 'Kené,' Olinda is of Shipibo-Konibo ancestry, born in Paohyan, a community located between the districts of Loreto and Ucayali in the Peruvian Amazon. Her work has been exhibited in important cultural institutions both in Peru and abroad. She has exhibited her work worldwide, including, but not limited to, the 2024 Venice Biennale, Koshi Kené (The Power of Kené) by Olinda Silvano + Soi Noma and Harry Chávez, ICPNA, Lima, 2024, sharing workshops at the National University of San Marcos, the Vancouver Museum of Anthropology in Canada, and ARCOMadrid 2019 in Spain. 

She currently lives in Cantagallo, Lima, where she continues to practice her art and her dedication as an activist for her Shipibo-Konibo community.

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Biography | Rodo Arrascue

Rodo Arrascue is a filmmaker, visual anthropologist, documentary filmmaker, director of photography, producer, and academic researcher. Director of the documentaries “El viaje al origen del Kené” (Journey to the Origin of Kené), “Ino Moxo. El sueño del brujo” (Ino Moxo: The Dream of the Sorcerer), Kené conexiones (Kené Connections), and Diseños de identidad: Universos del Kené (Designs of Identity: The Universe of Kené).

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