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Rita Dany Sales Huni Kuin

Rita Dany Sales Huni Kuin is a visual artist, activist and mother. Drawing on her pedagogy degree and diverse artistic mediums, Rita works to give her culture visibility. Through multiple artistic manifestations that evoke Huni Kuin ancestral practices, she aims to share how her people, who live in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in the state of Acre, see the world, nature and being.

Born in the Chico Curumim village, Rita founded the Kayatibu Group, an Indigenous youth collective dedicated to promoting Huni Kuin culture among urban Indigenous youth, with a particular emphasis on music and ritual practices. Alongside other indigenous leaders, Rita uses the arts to give visibility to Amazonian cultures. Her work has been exhibited in various spaces, such as the Museum of Modern Arts of São Paulo (MAM), the Museum of Indigenous Cultures and Espaço Itaú Cultural, and she has travelled widely throughout Brazil and Europe to share her culture. In 2019, she produced the NI ISHANAI ~ Future Forest project, in partnership with the Kayatibu Group and the Mi Mawai label which was awarded by Rumos Itaú Cultural. This artistic residency at Kayatibu headquarters gave rise to a visual album. 

Rita draws her teachings from the forest. In the HealingEncounters project, she will delve deeper into research on indigenous women’s relationships to Nixi pae, the sacred drink of the Huni Kuin people, also known as ayahuasca. 

Exhibitions

Media