Exhibition Walk-through: Taming the Desert
IN PERSON
Solsiré Cusicanqui will discuss the fantastic creatures, powerful ancestors, and mythological beings found in this exhibition, which illustrates how ancient Andean societies looked for spiritual meaning and numinous help in an unpredictable and challenging world.
Taming the Desert: Resilience, Religion, and Ancestors in Ancient Peru (November 10, 2024–April 13, 2025) showcases 34 Moche and Nasca ceramics and textiles from LACMA and the Fowler Museum at UCLA, and explores how ancient Andean societies used religion and ritual to navigate the challenges of the Peruvian desert coast. Despite scarce resources and climatic extremes, the region fostered urbanism, trade, and advanced crafts. The exhibit highlights these artistic expressions while drawing parallels to modern issues of climate change and resilience.
Solsiré Cusicanqui is a Peruvian archaeologist coming to UCLA as a 2024-2026 CMRS Center for Early Global Studies (CMRS-CEGS) Postdoctoral Fellow. Having received her Ph.D. from Harvard University, where she taught as a College Fellow, she now joins the Fowler Museum. Her research will center on memory, mobility, and territorial transformation during the Spanish conquest of the Andes, contributing to the project “Race in the Global Past through Native Lenses.” While in LA, she will also work to develop events for the Peruvian residents in California and the wider Latino community. She has previously led archaeological research in northern Peru and is now directing a project in Cajamarca, in the northern Andes.
