The Cuma Project

Cuma Project is an independent street art project supporting people and communities in Latin America and popular indigenous organisations whose right to live a free and meaningful life is threatened by poverty and by the policies of their governments.

In the months of April and May 2016, Cuma Project visited the indigenous communities of Llano Grande, La Ceibita, Las Delicias, Las Mesitas and Rio Blanco of the Lenca ethnic group in the Department of Intibucà and San Francisco Lempira, Honduras, where the street artists Stinkfish, Mazatl and Kill Joy painted a series of murals in schools and communal houses. During the course of the year the Cuma project worked along with the indigenous organisation COPINH (Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras), whose leader Berta Caceres was killed in March that year due to her activism against the violent imposition of hydroelectric projects, especially the construction of the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque River.

The communities visited by Cuma Project are affected by the projects of dams along their rivers, which have already had as a consequence the assassination of several members of the communities who were trying to stop the construction. Multinationals are forcing their presence thanks to the direct intervention of the military and its special units, the police, paramilitary groups, the private security companies and hit men.
The Lenca people are mainly very small farmers who work their land and fish for their own subsistence, thus the construction of the hydroelectric projects seriously affect their livelihood as the environment they live in with its unique variety of animals and plants.

Cuma Project as a street art project

For the first edition of Cuma Project their organisers decided to focus on Honduras because this country stands as one the most dramatic examples in Latin America of the extreme consequences of the privatisation of natural resources. This development has been paralleled with a dramatic increase of repression of the local communities.
As explained by the organisers, the main idea behind the project is to support and spread information about the struggle of local popular organisations and indigenous communities.

Unlike classic street art projects in the city, the participant artists could take their time, and with no rush talk extensively with the people from these communities and learn from their experiences. According to the organisers, a great lesson about the real consequences of neoliberal policies, privatisation of natural resources, regimes, repression of popular organisations.
Stinkfish, Mazatl and Kill Joy painted a series of murals in schools and communal houses. Here are a few images of the result.

 

Screen print

In addition to the new series of murals Cuma Project released recently a new print by Colombian street artist Stinkfish entitled “LAS DELICIAS GIRL”.
The 9 colours screen print on 330g Revere-Magnani paper, measures 71×71 cm and comes in an edition of 150. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Buying this screen print, €22 will be donated to the indigenous organisation COPINH (Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras).

The print is available here for €220.