Ecological Repairs: Coca Plant, Conflict and Creation

On 23 June, Minga Prácticas Decoloniales, a collective composed primarily of artists Estefanía García Pineda and Edinson Quiñones, reflect on their work rooted in the territory of Cauca, Colombia. In this region, the coca plant carries complex and often contradictory meanings: on one hand, it is a sacred plant used ancestrally and ritually by Andean Indigenous communities; on the other, its large-scale cultivation has fueled violence linked to the production and trafficking of cocaine. The artists’ work explores these tensions: reclaiming the cultural and ancestral value of the plant while denouncing its exploitation through illicit economies.

One of their ongoing projects ­– or plan de vida (life plan), as the artists refer to it ­– involves the creation of handmade paper using coca leaves, developed in collaboration with campesino (farmers) and Indigenous communities in Cauca, Colombia. This event is grounded in that practice and invites a broader audience to join the workshop and engage directly with the coca plant by making paper together.

In addition, an artistic performance will address the global chain of cocaine production and consumption, and the devastating violence it generates in Colombia, particularly in the Cauca region.

The workshop is limited to fifteen participants. To register, please email researcher and organiser Maria Suarez at m.p.suarezcaicedo@uva.nl by Friday 20 June, 2025.

This workshop is in English. Admission is free.

Do you also think art should be free and accessible? Please consider supporting us with a donation when registering or by becoming a Framer Framed Friend!

The event may be photographed and filmed. Kindly let us know in advance if you prefer not to have your picture taken.