57th Virtual Indigenous Architecture Colloquium: Shipibo-Konibo Iconography and Song

The 57th Virtual Colloquium on New Indigenous Architecture, organized by ARQA, the National University of Misiones, and the Autonomous University of Yucatán, will take place on Monday, May 18, 2026. The session, titled “Iconography and Song: Instruments for Memory and Landscape in the Shipibo-Konibo Culture,” will be led by Mag. Gizeh Arnaud Castañeda Toledo from Peru. The event will be livestreamed on ARQA's YouTube channel and Facebook page, with live chat participation. No registration is required. Castañeda Toledo, a cultural manager, art historian, goldsmith, and photographer, is a doctoral candidate at the University of the Balearic Islands. His presentation explores the interconnection between Kené (design) and traditional songs as tools for territorial memory and identity among the Amazonian Shipibo-Konibo people. Kené is not merely aesthetic but embodies worldview and spiritual knowledge, created by women on textiles, ceramics, and wood. The synesthetic nature of this practice links visual designs and songs (like Íkaros), where melodies encode designs and designs preserve melodies. This system has been recognized as Cultural Heritage of the Nation in Peru. The talk also examines how this memory adapts to urban contexts, such as the Cantagallo community in Lima, where Kené bridges the Amazon forest and the city.