Madame Tepuy brings Ye'kwana basketry from the Venezuelan Amazon to Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light
For the first time in the history of the Homo Faber biennial, organised by the Michelangelo Foundation at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, the artisanal voice of the Venezuelan Amazon will resonate across one of the world's most prestigious stages for contemporary creativity. Madame Tepuy, an initiative founded in Paris in 2021 by Paulina Palacios and Ana María Khan, presents the works of Dawanedu «Dawa» Emajenewa and the Association of Ye'kwana Women Weavers — pieces born deep in the Amazonian rainforest, carrying centuries of wisdom and a contemporary response to the ecological and cultural urgency of our time.
A bridge between the Caura River and San Giorgio Maggiore:
Homo Faber 2026 — An Island of Light, under the artistic direction of British scenographer Es Devlin, unfolds across 15 immersive installations in which light reveals the intelligence of human hands. Each artisan is an island. Madame Tepuy brings the island of the Venezuelan Amazon.
This presence is no accident. It is the culmination of years of work by Paulina Palacios and Ana María Khan, who have patiently and strategically built bridges between Venezuelan artisan communities and the world's most demanding cultural spaces. Bridges that have already carried Ye'kwana basketry to the Design Museum in London (the exhibition More Than Human), to ARCO Madrid 2025, and to the Grassi Museum in Leipzig.
Dawa: to weave is to belong:
Dawanedu «Dawa» Emajenewa (Luz María García), born in Santa María de Erebato, Bolívar State, Venezuela, in 1986, is the central figure of this presence in Venice. Founder and active member of the Association of Ye'kwana Women Weavers, she learned her art from her great-grandmother — as one learns everything that truly matters: slowly, in silence, with the body.
Tepuy
For the Ye'kwana people, weaving a basket is not a trade — it is a ritual act. Each basket is made from two materials gathered deep in the forest: the minñatö, a vine that forms the skin, and the mamure, a thicker fibre that gives structure. The pigments are plant-based: red comes from the leaves of the kidayo, black from submerging the fibre in Amazonian mud. Harvesting takes place on days without a full moon and during the dry season — the plants must not be touched during the rainy season, their moment of fertility.
Recognised by El País and the Andean Development Corporation among the «21 Latin Americans changing the world» for her commitment to sustainable development, her works form part of the collection of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, who publicly supported her work in the 2024 edition of Art News' Top Art Collectors. Her baskets have travelled to Milan, Madrid, London and Puebla. In March 2026 she opened her first solo exhibition — Ewasamu mükaju (Weaving the Thread of the Tree) — at Galería ABRA in Caracas. In September, they arrive in Venice.
Madame Tepuy: celebrating what Venezuela can be
Founded in Paris in 2021 by Paulina Palacios and Ana María Khan, Madame Tepuy is an initiative whose mission is to support, promote and add value to quality projects, raw materials and products capable of offering an innovative perspective on Venezuela from abroad.
«We firmly believe that around our products, social projects can be built that bridge economic development, environmental regeneration and the promotion of Venezuelan identity,» say its founders. «Behind each of our products lies the work of men and women who fight every day for their country and for the preservation of their traditions.»
For Madame Tepuy, Homo Faber 2026 is far more than an exhibition: it is proof that a Venezuela which does not wait for permission to exist — one of hands that create, of values that endure — has its rightful place in the global conversation about the value of the handmade.
Homo Faber will take place until September 30th.
@titinapenzini