HOW (AND WHY) IT ALL BEGAN
There was something missing in the story of the Waorani culture of Amazonian Ecuador. The majority of Waorani live in Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. For several years now, mass media outlets have told the story of Yasuní Biosphere Reserve in terms of oil or other natural resources within this biodiverse hotspot. The world has learned of the existence of the Waorani culture, but exposing the mere existence of such an ancient society will not suffice to tell its story. There was one very important voice that was sorely missing: that of the Waorani people themselves.
When I began working with Waorani communities in Yasuní Biosphere Reserve as a Fulbright grantee in October 2014, I had a very minimal understanding of their culture. As a photojournalist, I soon realized that the most effective way I could learn about their way of life and their intrinsic relationship with the natural world would be through visual exploration and discovery, not just through my lens but also through theirs. I began teaching photography workshops in Waorani communities in Yasuní with several colleagues who, like myself, believed in the power of the image to advance environmental and cultural understanding and conservation. I had no idea where these workshops would ultimately lead, but I knew that there was a crucial story waiting to be told within this threatened region of the world.
As I approached the end of my Fulbright grant period, which finished in the middle of August 2015, I have come to realize that the images created by the Waorani participants in our workshops were meant to do more than occupy space in external hard drives and fill a few community photo albums; they were created to tell the story of the Waorani inhabitants of this hallowed jungle ground, of past traditions and present changes. These images were not just made to please the individual who pressed the shutter button; these images were intended for every Ecuadorian, every American, every citizen of the world, every governing body, national and international, for you, for me, for a reason.
These images went on display first in 2015 at the Centro Cultural (Cultural Center) of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador) in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, giving the Waorani a long-overdue visual voice. Later, we opened a second temporary exhibition at the Archeological Museum and Cultural Center of Orellana in eastern Ecuador, a third temporary exhibit in the Casa de Las Artes (House of the Arts) in La Ronda neighborhood of Quito, and a smaller fourth exhibit at the Schoonover Center at Scripps College of Communication (Ohio University) in the United States.
Directors
Megan Westervelt is currently pursuing an MFA in Communication Media Arts at Ohio University. She received her Master of Arts degree in Photography from the School of Visual Communication at OU in 2014 and a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies and Journalism from the University of Denver in 2010. As a conservation visual storyteller, Megan has worked on projects ranging from exotic animal ownership in Ohio to human interaction with the coastal environment in eastern Scotland. Her first thesis project and short film took her to Loja province, Ecuador, where she worked in conjunction with the Tropical Disease Research Program at Ohio University and Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) in their effort to stop the spread of Chagas disease. After working with biologists on a project to comprehensively document the peoples and cultures of the northwestern corner of Yasuní National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Ecuador, entitled Yasuní en Imagenes, in 2014, Megan received a Fulbright grant to continue work in Yasuní on a collaborative project with PUCE and indigenous Waorani communities to create a joint visual storytelling exhibition about the changing culture and environment of the Amazonian region, entitled Wao Mimo. She now aims to launch a non-profit organization that will empower other indigenous communities globally to visually tell their own stories and create change within their communities to forward the preservation of their culture and conservation of their environment.
Jorge Castillo is an Ecuadorian environmental visual communicator passionate about nature and the stories around it. He obtained his biology degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, his M.A. in photography at Ohio University, and now is in charge of visual communication and multimedia at Tropical Herping. Jorge has spent years studying and documenting the unique ecology of Ecuador’s highest peaks and paramos. He is also a contributor of the photographic projects Yasuni en Imágenes and Wao Mimo, which portrayed Yasuni National Park’s natural wonders, cultures, and threats. By combining his passion for nature with his geeky abilities, Jorge likes to find creative ways to tell stories about nature.
Jorge Castillo is an Ecuadorian environmental visual communicator passionate about nature and the stories around it. He obtained his biology degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, his M.A. in photography at Ohio University, and now is in charge of visual communication and multimedia at Tropical Herping. Jorge has spent years studying and documenting the unique ecology of Ecuador’s highest peaks and paramos. He is also a contributor of the photographic projects Yasuni en Imágenes and Wao Mimo, which portrayed Yasuni National Park’s natural wonders, cultures, and threats. By combining his passion for nature with his geeky abilities, Jorge likes to find creative ways to tell stories about nature.