Museo Otavalango, Otavalo, Ecuador (1821)

Artist/Designer:

Project Location: Ecuador

Figure 1: The factory space ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2023 | Photographer: michhwanderlust )

Figure 2: The office ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2023 | Photographer: michhwanderlust )

Figure 3 ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2023 | Photographer: michhwanderlust )

Figure 4 ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2023 | Photographer: michhwanderlust )

Figure 5: Exterior shot ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2023 | Photographer: michhwanderlust )

Figure 6: View of the multiple buildings ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2023 | Photographer: Management )

Figure 7: A dilapidated building ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2023 | Photographer: michhwanderlust )

Style/Period(s):
Spanish Colonial

Primary Material(s):
Brick

Function(s):
Exhibition, Cultural Center

Related Website(s):

Museum's website | Accessed : March 14, 2023

Significant Date(s):
1820-1829, 1821, 1850-1859, 1856, 1860-1869, 1868, 1870-1879, 1878, 1880-1889, 1884, 2010-2019, 2011

Additional Information:
Publications/Texts in Print:
Korovkin, Tanya. “Commodity Production and Ethnic Culture: Otavalo, Northern Ecuador.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 47, no. 1 (1998): 125–54. https://doi.org/10.1086/452389.
Stephen, Lynn. “Culture as a Resource: Four Cases of Self-Managed Indigenous Craft Production in Latin America.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 40, no. 1 (1991): 101–30. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1154519.

Additional Information:
The museum structure hails from the colonial era as it was built in 1821 to be a Spanish hacienda.
There are buildings on the land that are in a state of disrepair due to several earthquakes that have happened in the past two centuries and a lack of resources to fix the whole compound.

Project Description:
The Otavalango Living Museum was built in the former fabric factory, La Fabrica San Pedro. The museum was founded in 2011 by 20 Kichwa Otavalo families, who are the indigenous people that are from the north of Ecuador. In the past, they were forced to work in the factory under conditions that resembled slavery. Today the museum has exhibits that showcase indigenous customs, demonstrations, agriculture, weaving, and more. It is a museum but also acts as a cultural centre.

Building Address:
# 1230 Antigua Fabrica San Pedro, Otavalo 100450 Ecuador

Supporting Designers/Staff:
Dr. Jose Feliz Valdivieso - Original owner of the hacienda
Pedro Perez Pareja - Founding owner of the factory
José René Zambrano Cachimuel - President of the museum
Luzmila Zambrano Maldonado - General coordinator of the museum

Significant Dates:
1821 - Spanish Hacienda was built
1856 - Became a textile factory
1868 - Big earthquake
1878 - Restoration and factory began again
1884 - Sold to new owners
2011 - Became a museum

Associated Projects:

Tags:
Museum, Living Museum, Ecuador, Kichwa Otavalo, Indigenous people, Factory

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