The Sanctuary of Water
Puri Nuckyumtur
A living sanctuary for water, created with the Indigenous Communities of Red Atacama in the Andean highlands
WHY THIS EXISTS
In the Atacama highlands, one of the driest places on Earth, industrial lithium extraction is depleting water sources and disrupting ancestral lands
IN DEFENCE OF WATER AND LIFE
The Sanctuary of Water emerges as a gesture of gratitude and responsibility; to protect water, to honor Indigenous knowledges, and to enact more equitable futures
THE PEOPLE
Our Puri Nuckyumtur is a tribute and a legacy that we will pass on to future generations in caring for water and the spiritual, political, economic, and cultural practices of Red Atacama communities
AN OFFERING TO PACHAMAMA
The Sanctuary of Water will rise like an apacheta, a mound of salt, a living memory of the path and of care, an ancestral gesture that asks permission and gives thanks
SUPPORT THE SANCTUARY
We are currently seeking institutional and individual partners to help realise the construction of the Sanctuary and to accompany the communities through the crucial early transition phase toward a self-led, community-based tourism model
AS FEATURED IN
The Sanctuary of Water is conceived by artist Tomás Saraceno for and with the Indigenous communities of Salinas Grandes, with the support of Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany, Aerocene Foundation, Studio Tomás Saraceno, and many others.
It is carried forward by the leading role and constant presence of the 11 communities that form the Red Atacama Community of Salinas Grandes whose support forms the ground is so valuable. Our deepest gratitude goes to every one of them: Comunidad de Cerro Negro, Comunidad de Rangel, Comunidad de San José de Esquina Blanca, Comunidad de Incahuasi, Comunidad de Matancillas, Comunidad de Linka Antai Corralitos, Comunidad de Cobres, Comunidad de Esquina de Guardia, Comunidad de Raíces Andinas, Comunidad de Tipan, and Comunidad de Casa Colorada. As well to all the communities of the Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc, especially Verónica Chávez.
For their support, warm thanks to Andrea Lissoni and Sarah Johanna Theurer, from Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany.
Thanks as well to the Friends of the Sanctuary of Water: Alicia Chalabe, Gastón Chillier, Graciela Speranza, Jakob Bräuer, Agustina Roca, Horacio Ruiz, Andrei Fernández, Celeste Valero; Paola Salaberri, Federico Borghini, Oscar Soria, Claudia Lamas, Nikolette Naylor; Pía Marchegiani de FARN; Macarena Albarracín and Santiago Escarrá; Nils and Lars Diederichsen del Instituto MEIO; Fabio Bassan; Maximiliano Laina, Hernán Vilchez and Joaquín Ezcurra; Yasmil Raymond, Lars Behrendt, Manuela Mazure Azcona, Thomas Charil, Niki Sidirourgou, Oriane Guidet, Klaas De Rycke, Bollinger + Grohmann, Mariana Lumi and Laura Lumi; as well the art galleries neugerriemschneider, Tanya Bonakdar, Pinksummer, Andersen’s and Ruth Benzacar.