{"id":15256,"date":"2026-02-17T09:30:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpmgarts.com\/media\/?page_id=15256"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:30:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:30:30","slug":"moa-tupananchiskama","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mpmgarts.com\/media\/campaigns\/moa-tupananchiskama\/","title":{"rendered":"MOA: Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmology"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PRESS RELEASE<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

MOA Explores Cosmic Worldviews of Indigenous Cultures of the Andes in:
\n\u2014 Tupanachiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision \u2014<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

World premiere exhibition features artifacts from MOA’s ancient Andean collection, including items dating back over 2,500 years<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/i><\/b><\/span>VANCOUVER, BC \u2014 The <\/span>Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA) presents the world premiere of <\/span>Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision<\/i>, <\/span><\/i>on display from <\/span>March 19, 2026\u2013January 3, 2027. Guest curated by <\/span>Luis Manuel Gonz\u00e1lez, Adjunct Professor in UBC Department of Anthropology, the bilingual (English and Spanish) exhibition offers a glimpse into Andean cosmovision\u2013a holistic and spiritual framework that explains the structure of the universe\u2013through an exploration of MOA\u2019s collection of ancient Andean artifacts. Featuring nearly 100 items crafted from ceramic, textile, bone, shell, and wood, the exhibition considers the ancestral understandings of a world where life and death coexist in a continuous cycle, or<\/span> \u201cTupananchiskama\u201d in the Indigenous language of Quechua, which translates to \u201cuntil life brings us together again.\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTupananchiskama<\/span> is rich in circular symbolism\u2013a salutation that carries within it an assurance that the person bidding farewell will see that person or being again,\u201d says Gonz\u00e1lez. \u201cI hope to bring this same sentiment to the exhibition itself. As a Peruvian, I was enacting the promise of Tupananchiskama when coming to these ancient belongings\u2013meeting my ancestors and reanimating their lived experience through the curation of this collection. As a conduit for learning and connection, the exhibition invites visitors from Vancouver and beyond to reflect on the teachings of their own ancestors. I believe there is hope, beauty, and stillness in this form of connection to our past. Three things we are in desperate need of in our fractured and fast-paced world today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision<\/span><\/i> draws from MOA\u2019s collection of ancient Andean artifacts, donated to the museum by American art historian, curator, and collector Alan R. Sawyer. The exhibition features works from various Andean cultures located in different geographical areas (coast and highlands) and from different periods (hunter-gatherers to the Inka). The majority of the pieces on display are ceramics from Peruvian cultures: the Moche on the northern coast and the Nasca on the southern coast. <\/span><\/p>\n

While ancient Andean culture is not a monolith, the exhibition highlights some of the common elements that are shared across cultures and eras. From the chakana\u2013also known as the Southern Cross, a geometric shape that depicts cosmological motifs and mirrors the Southern Cross (Crux) constellation in the southern hemisphere\u2013to the Staff God\u2013a deity archetype associated with creation and cosmic order\u2013these symbols represent similar yet distinct ideas of how people viewed the world and passed on their ancestral knowledge. Each civilization left its mark on various materials, and this collection of artifacts highlights the Andes\u2019 unified essence passed down through generations, but also how ideas, concepts, and beliefs shifted and transformed over time and within each community.<\/span><\/p>\n

One exhibition highlight includes the display of ancient wind instruments, including a trumpet crafted from a conch shell, panpipes, and ocarinas\u2013a whistling vessel crafted from clay. In Andean cosmology, wind holds deep symbolic and spiritual significance\u2013a powerful force that connects the physical and spiritual realms, and was often invoked during ancient rituals to cleanse spaces, purify individuals, or call upon spiritual allies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision <\/span><\/i>will also include an animated projection of an oil painting by contemporary Peruvian artist Miguel Araoz Cartagena of the Milky Way, which highlights the Inka\u2019s belief in a dual constellation system. Along with the more commonly recognized light constellations\u2013star groupings that resemble animals, gods, and heroes\u2013the Inkas also recognized dark constellations\u2013shapes identified within the dark patches of the Milky Way, made out of shadows.<\/span><\/p>\n

This exhibition is supported by Curatorial Liaison <\/span>Nuno Porto<\/b>, MOA Curator, Africa + South America and Associate Professor, UBC Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory.<\/span><\/p>\n

MOA will celebrate <\/span>Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision\u2019s<\/span><\/i> opening night on Thursday, March 19, 2026, from 6pm to 9pm, with free museum admission for all. <\/span>To learn more about the exhibition, as well as ancillary events, visit <\/b>moa.ubc.ca<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

About MOA (<\/b>moa.ubc.ca<\/b><\/a><\/span>)<\/span>
\n<\/b>The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is world-renowned for its collections, research, teaching, public programs and community connections. Its mission is to inspire an understanding of and respect for world arts and cultures. Today, Canada\u2019s largest teaching museum is located in a spectacular Arthur Erickson-designed building overlooking mountains and sea. MOA\u2019s collections consist of more than 50,000 cultural objects and artworks created in Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe and the Americas \u2014 with a focus on the Pacific Northwest. MOA\u2019s Multiversity Galleries: Ways of Knowing provide public access to many of these works. The Audain Gallery and the O\u2019Brian Gallery, MOA\u2019s feature exhibition spaces, showcase travelling exhibitions, as well as those developed in-house.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
LISTING INFORMATION<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nMOA presents <\/b>Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision<\/i><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dates:<\/span><\/td>\nMarch 19, 2026 to January 3, 2027<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Address:<\/span><\/td>\nMuseum of Anthropology
\nUniversity of British Columbia
\n6393 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Website:<\/span><\/td>\nmoa.ubc.ca<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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