"QOM BASKETRY"
THE PROJECT
This project was carried out between 2023 and 2024 as a proposal that bridges anthropology and design. It was initially led by anthropologist Florencia Tola —who has conducted fieldwork with Qom communities in Formosa for over thirty years— and became part of the university initiative “Che ena, tramando juntxs” at the National University of San Martín, involving Qom artisans and undergraduate Anthropology students.
We facilitated an encounter with design students from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires, who learned basketry directly from the Formosan artisans in a mutually enriching process of exchange.
The project focused on strengthening local knowledge systems, recognizing the value of artisanal expertise within its own context, and contributing ideas from design through a collaborative approach. All decisions were made collectively, with the aim of developing pieces that preserved their cultural identity while expanding their formal and commercial potential.
"A LITTLE PIECE OF THE CHACO FOREST"
From this exchange experience, interaction with the field of art also emerged, creating tensions between the worlds of art, craft, and design. As a result, an art exhibition titled “A Little Piece of the Forest” was created, featuring basketry, textiles, and drawings. Within this framework, I worked on possible innovations in traditional creations, highlighting the formal and symbolic potential of the zoomorphic patterns and figures made with local knowledge and materials from the environment. The exhibition invited reflection on the challenges of accessing raw materials and the creative use of discarded materials. The show was exhibited at the Spanish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires and the Spanish Cultural Park Center in Rosario (Province of Santa Fe).
ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS AND PROJECT DISSEMINATION
The results of this process were presented during a 2023 class in the course "Design, Craftsmanship, and Heritage" at the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism. Currently, we are working on a written production that gathers reflections and theoretical articulations derived from this enriching experience.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Agrupación Che´ena Tramando Juntos, Dra. Florencia Tola, Qom artisans from Formosa, anthropology students from the National University of San Martín, and design students from the course “Design, Craft and Heritage” at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism and the Qom Artisan Cooperative N´TETAXANAXAQUI in Miraflores, Chaco.