The present project directly aligns with the aims of the Getty Connecting Art Histories initiative by bringing together art historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, museum professionals, conservation scientists, and traditional community leaders to train graduate students and improve methodological frameworks for community-based research in the field of art history in Latin America. Although the region is home to a myriad of traditional communities with their unique material culture, little has been done to establish solid collaborative approaches and methodological frameworks for community engagement in the field of art history in the region, as well as globally. 

This project brings together people from different disciplines and cultures to discuss, adapt, and apply frameworks and approaches of community-based research, focusing on the understanding, preservation, and dissemination of Indigenous and traditional arts and knowledge through sustained intellectual exchanges. It focuses on three traditional communities in Latin America (Tikuna, Marajó and Oaxaca), where the principal investigators have long-standing connections. This is a crucial condition for its development, since it can take years to create relations that support participatory research. 

A cohort of nine Indigenous and non-Indigenous graduate students will engage with Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and community members through one course, three field research activities, a workshop, and an open hybrid seminar. The project will produce academic and non-academic materials that can be adapted and applied globally.