SARAYAKU: RIVER OF CORN , Michelle Cornejo's Visual Documentation, October 24th

Documentary Photographer, Michelle Cornejo, will exhibit her newest work- a visual documentation of the people and lands of Sarayaku, a small town in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

The Kichwa town of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon has been struggling with illegal and unconstitutional acts of oil companies for years. However, this show illustrates neither their struggles with the military presence in their “block” nor the violence they experience from the oil companies and even their own neighboring communities who have been paid off by these oil giants. This show, rather, is about the people of Sarayaku, their lives and their beautiful lands. All proceeds from the sale of the images will go to the people of Sarayaku and their cause.

To prove to these oil companies that petroleum is no longer our #1 demand, the artist requests that gallery patrons ride their bikes, skateboards, scooters, rollerblades, etc to the event if possible.

SARAYAKU: RIVER OF CORN will run October 24-29 at Desotorow Gallery. An opening reception will be held on Friday, October 24^th at 7pm.

About the Artist: Michelle Cornejo strives to explore and expose social issues in the world. She uses her images to change attitudes, behavior and policy. She is hopeful that her images will serve as a stepping-stone in the slow process of achieving change.

Desotorow Gallery is located in Savannah’s Starland Arts District at 2427 De Soto Avenue. For more information, please email info@desotorow.org, or visit the gallery’s website www.desotorow.org. Hours of operation are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 2pm-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm.

Desotorow is an art gallery that provides affordable exhibition space for emerging artists and fosters awareness and appreciation of the arts through educational outreach programming open to artists and the community.