Indigenous presence in Bolvian Folk Art: Folk Art in Bolivia: Celebration of Everyday Life

Bolivian folk art is created in both urban and rural areas, and like the people of Bolivia themselves, it bears a strong indigenous imprint. Many contemporary works owe their current form to lengthy cultural processes over centuries, during which time local materials were worked, forms took shape, color codes were chosen, and iconographies defined. This cultural treasure is transmitted from generation to generation, and comprises a whole that brings us close to the aesthetic and symbolic world of cultures of the past and the present. Understanding the folk art produced in Bolivia today requires situating it in its cultural context and tracing its evolution through history. In other words, the whole in this case is greater than the sum of its parts: folk art objects are very much manifestations of the broader cultural developments from which they arise.