A Message from the Program Directors

Hoping you’ll join us online,
Blanka Kielb & Sarah Confer
Peru Study Abroad Directors

 

January 4-5

January 4: We flew into Lima at the crack of dawn and all were exhausted. After a brief rest at our hotel, we had a tour of the city we would be calling home for the next few days. The historical center of Lima is La Plaza de Armas. Situated at the north end is the Governmental Palace, where the President of Peru lives and works. There are five churches surrounding the plaza, and one of them is the cathedral on the plaza’s east side. We took a group photo in front of it, and a local family asked to have their picture taken with US---we are as much a curiosity as the city! Just around the corner is El Convento de San Francisco, a church and Franciscan monastery constructed in 1774. Under the church lie the famous catacombs of Lima. The catacombs were in use only until just after the independence of Lima in 1824. By 1825, there was a new cemetery just outside what was then the city’s border.  After our tour, we headed back to our hotel for a well-deserved siesta.

January 5: Our morning began with a tour of El Museo de la Nación where we got acquainted with the many cultures and forms of artistic expression that flourished in Peru.  The exhibits featured everything from Pre-Columbian ceramics, metals, and textiles, to paintings from the colonial era and modern Peruvian art whose imagery paid testament to the previous cultures of Peru.  Every extraordinary piece was made by hand and had iconographic imagery as part of the artwork itself. The indigenous peoples of Peru were very gifted in art and many were sent to Europe to classically train.  In the afternoon, we had a tour of Amano Museum. It features and cares for a large private collection of textiles. Its collection isbeautiful. Many of the textiles are funerary in nature, and they come from a wide variety of ancient cultures, the Inca, Paracas, and Wari among them. The evening was our time to relax and take in the breath-taking views of the Pacific Ocean from the Parque del Amor. The main feature of the park is a collosal sculpture entitled “The Lovers.” The whole park is literally covered in lines of romance poetry, artfully shown in mosaic. The view of the bluffs from the park is incredible. We had to take another group shot to celebrate our coming to Lima. 

Amy Cutchin
Art Conservation Major

 

January 6-7

January 6: We awoke in Lima to lovely summer weather, sunshine included, and started our day with a trip to the Museo Pedro de Osma in Barranco. The private institution was the architecturally French-inspired summer residence of Pedro de Osma, who was an avid collector of sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth-century Peruvian painting, sculpture and silverware. With the help of an excellent docent, we learned about the formation of the Cusco School of painting, which evolved as a result of the integration of European painting techniques, Spanish Catholicism, and traditional Incan iconography. A particularly interesting exhibit displayed some examples of conservation treatment performed by the museum's conservation lab. During the afternoon several students from our group gave presentations on textiles, and the lifestyles and ideologies of historic and present-day indigenous people who continue to make a great impact on contemporary Peruvian culture. The presentations contextualized the information that we have been accumulating during museum trips, and also relayed the significance of spirituality and creative vision in the meaning of the sacred artifacts.

January 7: The majority of this day was dedicated to a visit to the Yachey Wasi Conservation Institute, Peru's only conservation school. Since its establishment in 1993, the school has provided small groups of ambitious students training on the methods of preventative conservation and treatment of textiles, ceramics, paintings, and metals. During our morning tour of the paintings and textiles labs, we shared an exchange with the Yachey Wasi students about our mutual conservation interests, respective academic programs, and internship experiences. The morning also included two lectures given by Yachey Wasi faculty -- one on traditional textiles techniques, and the other on the materials, techniques and conservation of colonial paintings. After lunch, we had a backstrap loom workshop taught by traditional weavers, and after a few hours of practice we were able to weave small bands. Through this experience, we learned that to keep ancient textile arts alive today, the techniques must be continually practiced. At the end of the day, our group wholeheartedly agreed that meeting our peers in Peru, exchanging experiences and taking part in their traditional art was invaluable to our education. We realized how fortunate we are as American students to have access to conservation resources such as literature, equipment, and materials.

Teresa Garcia
Art Conservation and Art History Major

 

January 8-9

January 8: Saturday morning we began our trek from Lima to Arequipa.  Driving out of Lima we began to see the miles of impoverished neighborhoods, a stark contrast to where we were staying in Barranco.  Soon, the small towns were separated by more and more expanses of desert – huge mountains of sand and stone.  Saturday afternoon we arrived at Huaca Malena, which was absolutely amazing.  During our tour of the archaeological site with archaeologist Rommel Angeles Falcόn, we saw the after-effects of grave robbers.  The archaeologists that have worked there estimate that over 2000 of the graves had been robbed, resulting in scattered bones and discarded textile remnants.  We were lucky enough to come across three remnants that had survived both the test of time and the looters’ destruction.  One, a patchwork tunic, was an exceptional find due to its nearly complete state, and also to the fact that it is the first of its kind to ever have been found at this site.  El Museo Municipal Huaca Malena houses these textiles, and has an Adopt-a-Textile Project in order to raise funds for their care and conservation.  

January 9: After Huaca Malena we continued our drive to Arequipa.  Early Sunday morning we woke up to the bus making its way along cliffs above the coast, with Pacific waves breaking beneath us.  As we traveled further south, we began to see rocky desert mountains surrounding lush valleys fed by rivers.  Midday we arrived at Arequipa, a city significantly smaller than Lima but with a similar mix of colonial European architecture, adobe houses, and simple modern buildings.   At last, we met our host families, who greeted us in the plaza with a huge welcome sign and brought us to their homes.  All of the families are extremely sweet.

Krista Grant
Art History and Studio Art Major 

 

January 10-11

January 10: After getting acquainted with our host families and catching up on sleep, we had our walking tour of the historic center of Arequipa.  The tour of the main square of the city began at the Cathedral, the square's principle building.  We learned about the constant renovations needed on the buildings of Arequipa due to powerful earthquakes, and the use of sillar, a locally quarried volcanic rock used for its ability to withstand strong seismic activity.  Our tour also included a visit to the Jesuit Church of the Company of Jesus, whose Andean Baroque facade exemplified the blending of native and European aesthetics. Following the city tour, we strolled to our next destination, the Monasterio de Santa Catalina.  Established in 1579, the convent housed cloistered nuns from all social classes, and although the convent is still active today, the nuns have adopted a semi-cloistered lifestyle.  The sprawling complex functioned as a small town, complete with streets and a town square.  Showcases exhibiting the nun's handiwork and personal belongings rounded out the experience of learning what a nun's daily life was like.  Finally, we strolled together to the Instituto del Sur, our host University for our stay in Arequipa.  After a short tour of the building, we left to prepare for our first day of classes beginning the next morning.

January 11: After a week of phenomenal museums and walking tours, we returned to normal scholastic life with the start of classes.  First, our textiles class outlined the different types of fiber we will encounter during our studies in Peru, and their individual characteristics.  We completed a simple fiber identification lab, identifying fibers based on their reactions when held against an open flame. For our afternoon class on traditional painting techniques, we walked across town to Monasterio de Santa Teresa, a Camelite convent established in 1710.  In 2005, the nuns opened a part of the convent and its collections to the public in an effort to raise funds for the care of their objects and renovation after the disastrous earthquake of 2001, which caused extensive damage to the historic convent.  Our guest speaker was Franz Grupp, the Head Conservator of the Museo de Santa Teresa. Mr. Grupp gave us an overview of the convent’s history and showed us various exhibits on Peruvian art techniques.  We learned about the application of gold leaf, wall painting techniques, and the use of agave cactus as a base for sculpture as a substitute for wood.   We also learned about the significance of almost every piece in the collection, ranging from a large nativity scene to fine silver work.  While Mr. Grupp works as the principle conservator for the museum, he is also the Director of the Ministry of Culture in Arequipa, making him a dynamic and knowledgeable speaker.  The great variety of materials in the museum’s collection impressed upon us the need for versatility of the few trained conservators who work in Arequipa. 

Mary Hanes
Art Conservation Major

 

January 12-13

January 12: Today we visited what was described as the textile equivalent of Willy Wonka's Factory, Q'ori Exports! We started off with a presentation by Fernando Alvarez, the president of the company, who introduced us to the most luxurious and rare fibers in the world: alpaca, llama, vicuna, guanaco, and the most prized – qiviuk (Arctic Muskox). We were given samples of these fibers to keep and were taken on an exclusive tour to see the processes used to go from fiber to finished garment. The whole place was so beautiful and astonishing, and many of us had a hard time leaving. After lunch, we had our a formal classroom lecture – a comprehensive overview on wall paintings – one of the world's oldest forms of art. We learned about their characteristics, various compositions (such as media, binders, and techniques), and their unique conservation issues.

January 13: In the morning we learned about fiber processing and spinning. Following our lecture, each of us chose either sheep wool or alpaca hair to spin. It was the first time spinning for many of us and hilarity ensued as we tried to roll the fibers into a somewhat presentable yarn. The three methods we experimented with were thigh spinning, stick spinning, and bottom-weighted drop spindle. In the afternoon we hung out in the classroom reading, writing our journals, as Peruvian students continued to stare into the window and walk into the door just to look at us.

Gaby Irving
Art Conservation and Art History Major

 

January 14-15

January 14: Today we had a textiles lecture in the morning and an afternoon field trip for our wall paintings class. The textiles class was in two portions, student presentations on textile creation and decoration techniques and a lecture on looms and weaving. The student presentations ran the gambit from surface applications like embroidery, beadwork, and feathers to non-woven techniques such as plaiting and felting. As for the lecture on looms and weaving, we investigated the basic structure of what constitutes weaving as well as how patterns are created by passing yarns differently or using supplementary materials. To wrap up the lecture, we discussed which of these techniques were used in Peru. During the afternoon, we visited a quarry for sillar, the volcanic rock that makes up many of the buildings in Arequipa and is used as a support for wall paintings. Sillar is formed by the settling and solidification of volcanic ash from ancient eruptions of the volcanoes around the city of Arequipa and is now quarried to build earthquake-resistant buildings. While there, we got the opportunity to talk with some miners about how the stone is quarried and cut, as well as about their lives in general. The poor conditions are immediately evident but they do not seem to deter the father-son teams that work plots rented from the government. On our way back from the quarry, we stopped for a little hike which brought us past Inka-era irrigation systems before heading back to the bus and home for the night.

January 15: At around 7:30 am, we began the drive to Colca Valley, a beautiful area north of Arequipa. On the way, we got a little surprise as we took a detour through a National Reserve for vicuña, a South American camelid prized for its soft wool which is obtained in a large scale round up and shearing still done in largely the same traditional manner in which it has been done for over 500 years. During our transit through the reserve we also saw flamingo, coot, Muscovy ducks, and the two other camelids native to Peru, llama and alpaca. Just before leaving the reserve, we even managed to spot a viscancha, a cousin of the chinchilla which looks like a long-tailed rabbit and is rare to see due to its shy nature. According to our guide, all of these animals are “beautiful…but delicious!” The rest of our transit brought us through the foothills of the Andes where we saw terracing for farming which range in age from pre-Inka to present day. After many stops in small towns and at amazing vistas, we finally arrived to Colca Lodge where we settled first into hot springs, and then a camp fire where we told stories of the dreaded “Were-condor” before turning in to catch some sleep.

Nathaniel Dylan Kee
Physics Major  

 

January 16-17

January 16: We woke up early in the morning and took a bus to Cruz del Condor in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the majestic condor which has attained quite the reputation in Peru as an amazing sight to see. The guide informed us the condor is a very large bird which flies very high in the sky. During the time of the Inca reign, the feathers of the condor were reserved only for use by the royalty. We managed to see 5 or 6 condors from the lookout points along the trail. Additionally, because the hiking trail was located along the edge of a mountain, our group had the opportunity to see marvelous views of the Colca Valley and the surrounding mountains.

January 17: Today, we were back in Arequipa with our host families. After a much deserved morning rest from the weekend of riding on the bus and waking up early, we received a wonderful lecture on the history of mural paintings in Peru from Franz Grupp. He discussed the traditional materials used in the creation of the paintings, from the material the wall was made of to the visible paint layers and the techniques used to apply them. Additionally, we learned about the iconography and stylistic differences between colonial mural paintings and those from the post-1821 Republican Era.  Some important changes with the rise of the Republic included the shift from depiction of religious to decorative or political scenes, and occasionally portraits. Franz ended his lecture with a comprehensive list of potential sources of damage to mural paintings and a discussion of some techniques for damage prevention and conservation of these works.

Hannah Mancill
Art Conservation and Chemistry Major, Art History Minor

January 18-19

January 18: On Tuesday, we began our final project in our textiles class. We each received a fragment of a textile on which we will conduct a full conservation treatment. We will be doing everything from a condition report to a treatment proposal to cleaning the textile. In our paintings class, we learned about the anatomy of wall paintings and the various types of damages that can occur in preparation for the final project in Orurillo.

January 19: On Wednesday in textiles class, after we analyzed our textile and wrote up a condition report, we got to practice cleaning the textile using a low powered vacuum. Some of us even tried colorfastness testing, which tests for dye transfer. In the afternoon, we had the rare privilege of entering the cloistered convent and examining some wall paintings in the Monasterio de Santa Teresa’s chapel. The public is normally not allowed to enter the private home of the nuns. There we learned to identify the different types of damages to the design and plaster layers and put to practice everything we learned in paintings class the day before. The wall painting we examined had almost every kind of damage possible: rising damp, salt efflorescence, flaking and powdering of paint, structural cracks, etc. The chapel itself was damaged from an earthquake in 2001. Some of the sillar blocks in the vaulted ceiling had become dislodged and were now being held in place by wooden supports. Many of us made the trek up the make-shift scaffolding to get a better look at the upper wall and ceiling murals. 

Melissa Miller
Art Conservation Major

  

January 20-21

January 20: Today we had the opportunity to go back to Monestario Santa Catalina for paintings class.  Head Conservator Isabel Olivares gave us a tour of the museum’s paintings lab and talked to us about their current conservation projects.  Isabel showed us work that was being done on a cycle of badly-damaged canvas paintings from the convent’s Main Cloister.  While we looked on, the conservators cleaned one of the paintings and removed poorly attached patches from a previous restoration.  Next, Isabel took our group to a room that had been damaged by earthquakes and explained how the conservators at Santa Catalina were trying to stabilize the damaged structure using traditional materials.  We finally got a glimpse of wall paintings that were in the process of being treated in the Lower Choir of the convent’s church.  The room had multiple layers of design and major losses.  We talked about the conservation process and approaches to dealing with areas that had extensive loss.

January 21: This was a day that was devoted entirely to textiles, and we had all day to work on our final projects.  First, we practiced mounting textiles to supports using conservation stitches that we learned in class the day before.  Then, we did colorfastness testing on our actual Peruvian textile fragments and started to mount them to their own supports.

Ellen Nigro 
Art Conservation and Art History Major

 

January 22-25

January 22: This morning marked our first exposure to metigo ®MAP 3.0, a powerful piece of software designed for conservation documentation.  We learned how to rectify images, and how to map areas of damage on large scale paintings.  We also learned a little bit more about our upcoming wall painting documentation project in Orurillo, a remote highland town. After lunch, we had a free day.  Most of us met up to put together jigsaw puzzles and eat pizza.  Later in the evening, we went dancing. It was a welcome opportunity to relax in the midst of a busy trip.

January 23: In Arequipa, four of us (myself, Christina, Melissa and Amy) were staying with an extended family on two floors of a duplex house.  Our host family consisted of: a grandfather and grandmother, Carlos and Gloria; their two sons, Carlos Junior and Oscar; Oscar's wife Theresa, and their two children, Diego (13) and Matthias (1).  Needless to say, our big farewell family dinner on Sunday was warm and joyful, if a little chaotic.  Aside from that, Sunday was primarily spent relaxing and recharging for our trip to Orurillo.

January 24: Monday was our last full day in Arequipa.  In the morning, we put the finishing touches on our textile projects, and wrote up our condition reports.  In the evening, all of the students gathered together with representatives of their host families for one big final farewell dinner.  It was great to meet the families the other students had been staying with, and to have one final meal together before we left Arequipa.

January 25: We set out for Orurillo in the morning.  It was a long and windy drive up into the Andean highlands of Peru - scenery that is beautifully desolate, in which all sense of scale is lost.  With flat planes merging into mountain peaks, it is easy to forget that you are well over two miles above sea level.  Two things remind you: the chilly weather, and the persistent hollowness in your lungs as you breathe the thin air. Orurillo is a very small, very remote village.  It doesn't have a single hotel or guest house, so we are staying in dormitory-style rooms in the village's recreation center.  Our new home for the next four days is strange: our rooms are located on the third floor of an otherwise completely empty octagonal tower.  Still, we are eager to start documenting, and getting to know the town of Orurillo!

Susan Richardson
Art Conservation Major  

 

January 26-27

January 26: Today was our first work day in Orurillo. Our project goal is to document four lunette-shaped wall paintings underneath the Choir Loft in the Templo de Santa Cruz (Holy Cross Church.)  The church, built in an adobe technique typical of colonial churches in the Cusco and Puno regions, was completed in 1678.  We first split up into groups to assess the overall architectural and environmental condition of the Church. My group was assigned to document the major structural damage of the upper nave and transept. We found that the west wall was so badly damaged that it leaned outwards, while the three-gilded altar pieces along that wall leaned inwards and were held up by wooden beams. In the afternoon we started examining the wall paintings. The paintings were executed in what appears to be tempera over a lime preparation and a mud and straw rough coat.  Interestingly, during our examination we found evidence of pentimenti: a foot and two knees underneath the central figure in the composition suggested another design of a figure that was kneeling, and indicated that maybe the artist changed his mind. This project will teach us a lot about documentation, identifying damages to wall paintings, and some emergency conservation techniques. Although it is a bit cold, we are starting the documentation process that is much needed. The food so far has been great!

January 27: On our second day in Orurillo we starting working with metigo ®MAP 3.0. This program lets us document damages in a very organized and quantifiable fashion. Metigo ®MAP 3.0 allows us to put the damages into categories and each category has a specific color or texture when drawn in the program. We also worked on a condition report, which gives an assessment of all the problems within the paint, and plaster layers. In the afternoon, most of us continued mapping, while others started a light surface cleaning of the murals. On one of the ledges we found a part of a statue – a broken hand - which was sitting under layers of dust for many years. . Finally, at the end of the day, we learned a little bit about emergency conservation methods that we will be using on Friday.  In short, today we learned a lot and were very productive (plus we had chicken noodle soup!).

Debra Schwartzreich
Art Conservation and Art History Major

 

January 28-29

January 28: Today was our last workday in the church in Orurillo. The groups finished up all the condition mapping of the murals with metigo ®MAP 3.0. We felt a great sense of accomplishment to finally see all the work finalized. Having finished mapping – our primary project goal – the class was excited to finally begin emergency consolidation of flaking paint and plaster. We tested several types of adhesives in different proportions on small inconspicuous areas of the mural in order to determine the best match. It was great to have the opportunity to work hands-on with the paintings – especially after several laborious days of examining and documenting! In the afternoon, we took a short hike to a park that had an impressive view over the small town of Orurillo in front of the beautiful mountainous landscape. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to see a different perspective of the church we had been working in for the past few days. Afterwards, we all posed for a photo in front of the church with the unbelievably adorable and friendly parish priest, Padre Otto!

January 29: Despite the great experience we gained with wall paintings in Orurillo, after four days without showers and heat, we were all ready to move onto our next destination – Cusco. The bus ride took a large portion of the day. We were thrilled to see that our hotel was a beautiful place with a garden and a fantastic view over the city – but most importantly, a place with hot showers! For dinner we went into town to a little restaurant where we all had the chance to try some alpaca meat (besides the vegetarians, of course). The courses kept coming and all the food was delicious! It was a great end to an eventful day.

Christina Taylor
Studio Art Major, German Minor 

 

January 30-31

January 30: As we left Cusco Sunday morning, climbing high into the mountains in the bus, careening around corners and sharing the road with herds of cows, pigs, and sheep, we knew we were in for an adventure at Q’enqo. Q’enqo is a small village in the mountains outside of Cusco and is home to a natural dyeing and traditional weaving textile community. Once there, we participated in a natural dyeing workshop. We wound our own skeins and colored them with cochineal, local dye plants, and even fermented human urine. The colors were beautiful and the process was very satisfying. After we finished dyeing, we climbed up into the surrounding hills to visit the local herders and their animals. Just as the sun was setting, we were invited to participate in the nightly herding of the llamas, sheep, and donkeys back to the stables. We had so much fun hopping from rock to rock, trying to keep the herds in order. And the professional herders certainly had fun observing and correcting our antics.

January 31: On Monday morning, after spending the night with families in Q’enqo, we took a bus into the Sacred Valley. Stopping to observe raw cochineal living on cacti and to explore the archaeological site at Ollantaytambo, we continued on our way to Machu Picchu.

Marlene Yandrisevits
Art Conservation, Art History, and Chemistry Major 

 

February 1-2

February 1: Today we had our long anticipated trip to Machu Picchu! Our day started at 7:30am when our bus started the trek up the mountain. When we arrived, we had a short hike up to the first viewpoint, which offers and amazing view of the whole citadel of Machu Picchu from above. Just beyond, the mountain of Huayna Picchu was shrouded in fog and cloud for most of the day, giving the site a mysterious atmosphere completely appropriate to such an awe inspiring place. We had a great lecture and discussion led by our wonderful ´guide´, and Cultural Anthropologist, Jean- Jacques Decoster from the Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad of Cusco. We learned and elaborated upon the history of the Incan Empire (its rise and fall) as well as the possible functions for such a site as Machu Picchu. For example, there is archaeo-astronomical evidence that the inhabitants of Machu Picchu recorded and observed patterns of the sun, moon, and other celestial bodies using the architecture. There is also evidence of the site´s ability to produce a great deal of agriculture, which might reveal its history as a granary for the empire. Whichever the explanation, Machu Picchu was and is a truly wonderful and interesting place that everyone should experience.

February 2: This morning we began our day by travelling to three churches within the Cusco area known for their remarkable wall paintings. Our tour was led by Elizabeth Kuon , a researcher based in Cusco who has written extensively on the unique architecture and wall paintings of the Peruvian highlands. The first church, called Templo de San Pedro Apostol de Andahuaylillas, is currently undergoing conservation, an ambitious project that is supported by the World Monument Fund (WMF). We witnessed conservators treating wall paintings, gilded altarpieces, consolidating flaking preparatory layers on sculptures, and making cedar reconstructions of missing areas of molding. The most memorable wall murals in this church depicted the path to heaven and hell, in which the path the heaven is lined with thorns while the path to hell is lined with roses. The second church we visited was the Iglesia de San Juan de Huaro, whose wall paintings were recently conserved, also with the support of the WMF. Our third stop was the precious chapel of Canincunca, where we were lucky enough to arrive in the middle of a festival being celebrated in honor of the Virgin of the Candle. Outside there were food and drinks and many people celebrating the occasion. Later in the afternoon we visited the Center for Traditional Textiles in Cusco (CTTC). This organization supports nine communities in the area in their textile weaving. They organize dyeing, accounting, and other workshops that allow the weavers to take control of their industry. They also set up competitions in order to revive disappearing techniques and styles. This center is an example of a great effort to preserve the amazing weaving abilities of communities in the area. On each textile piece available for sale, there is a card letting the buyer know by whom and where their new textile was made. It makes the experience of buying a new textile more personal when you are able to see the story behind it.

Caroline Western
Art Conservation and Anthropology Major

Program Overview

Our journey starts in Lima, where students will be given an overview of the country’s cultural development throughout history, from pre-Incan times to the Spanish conquest. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of colonial painting traditions with visits to monasteries and museums featuring important collections of viceregal art. We will also visit archaeological museums and ruins near Lima for an introduction to the rich Peruvian textile tradition and learn about their technological achievements in textile production. Students will learn about painting and textile conservation practices in Peru through tours of the conservation labs at the Museum of Art in Lima and the Instituto Superior de Conservación y Restauración de Yachay Wasi. 

From there, we will head to Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The historic center of the ”White City,” with its robust walls, archways, and intricate Baroque facades made of white volcanic stone, will be our base for class time and practical work. Students will have the opportunity to gain further hands-on experience in paintings conservation at the Monasterio de Santa Teresa, an 18th-century Carmelite convent, with which we are closely affiliated. We will have a weekend excursion to the stunning Colca Canyon to learn about indigenous life, ancient forms of terrace agriculture, mestizo architecture and take in the sweeping views of the valley while bathing in natural hot springs. 

Our final destination is Cuzco, once the heart of the Inca Empire, and a base for us to explore the living traditions of the Andes. In addition to visits to important museums and Inca ruins, students will have the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of weaving traditions and their importance in preserving cultural identity. We will tour a llama and alpaca preserve, participate in dyeing and weaving workshops in a traditional village, go to one of the richest indigenous markets in South America, and visit the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco to learn about its mission to preserve weaving traditions and living heritage.  Our stay in Cuzco will also include a tour of the area’s most important wall painting sites, including “the Sistine Chapel of the Americas.” 

This program was designed for UD undergraduate students interested in art conservation and with a sense of adventure. The program includes two courses that offer an overview of the history & techniques of Peruvian painting and traditional textile production with an introduction to basic conservation practices.  The courses will consist of lectures, guest speakers, museum and archaeological site visits, practical work, and tours of indigenous communities and ruins.