Week 3 - Tambo Quirquincho

The Museo Tambo Quirquincho is steeped in history. Its past is as colourful and varied as the artwork it keeps. The name 'Tambo' represents many of its previous roles - a hotel for the wealthy, a nursery, a military chool and a market amongst others. CEINDES staff, beneficiaries and volunteers were given an overview of its history in its central square, once a market, surrounded by old white archways and three red-brick tiers of rooms.

The ground floor yielded sculptures of wood, ceramic, and metal - abstract works centred on animals and people. A guide explained the techniques that had been used to create each piece and pointed out those that had won awards. Some sculptures were particularly provocative, such as a representation of a man hung, drawn and quartered.


One tier up, CEINDES were shown rooms full of pictures that were intensely symbolic of capitalization, suppression, sexuality, poverty, history, industry, media, the future, protests - and Bolivia's infamous Black October - and much more. One particular room consisted of a sincle installation of clothes hangers and silhouettes of faces - a statement about identity perhaps.


Finally, the tour guide completed CEINDES' journey on the top tier of the Museo Tambo. Global warming, the moral price of money, and Inca heritage were some of the themes present in a set of vivid paintings.


Impressionism, cubism, surrealism and modernism were just some of the styles demonstrated by this museum. Watercolours, pen, pencil, oil paint, charcoal and many more material were used to depict such messages. learning about the techniques and materials used in the art allowed CEINDES to appreciate the works more fully, and the array of pieces from different artists provided exposure to a range of interests and ideas from a variety of sources.


The next day, the visit to the museum was followed by a painting and drawing session where volunteers and beneficiaries of CEINDES created art inspired by what they had seen the previous day. Beneficiaries of CEINDES provided background music, CEINDES  provided snacks, and everybody had a lovely and productive evening.