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    Realidades
    Intersectadas

    EN ESTA CASA - PUBLICATION

    Special thanks to our friends at Ruta del Castor for the opportunity, trust, and especially their warm company every Tuesday.
    Deep gratitude also to the caregivers at Casa Cuna.

    CASACUNA - Ruta del Castor,  Residency 2024
    Carolina Pimenta & Ornella Cremasco

    Over the course of this 10-week residency, Carolina and Ornella have explored the concept of identity from both artistic and embodied perspectives, working with photography, movement, and self-inquiry. Together, they invited the women of Casa Cuna La Paz to reflect on and examine their sense of identity through photography and somatic movement exercises, using these practices as tools to connect with their environment.

    The camera became a lens to capture the details that shape us, and the body as a vessel to ground those observations—we created a space for questions, stories, and self-discovery. Through conversations and writing exercises, the caregivers began to collaboratively build a publication that brings together personal experiences in search of a shared voice—one that expresses their worldview on care and community.

    This space became a place of listening, reflection, and safety. The process will culminate in a collaborative fanzine, EN ESTA CASA, coming soon, featuring images, texts, and shared experiences that reflect the journey of these incredible women.

    Special thanks to our friends at Ruta del Castor for the opportunity, trust, and their warm company each Tuesday 🌹. Deep gratitude also to the caregivers at Casa Cuna for their openness and generosity throughout this process.

    Carolina Pimenta & Ornella Cremasco

    CASACUNA is an educational project carried out since 2017 by Ruta del Castor. 


           


    Intersected Realities: Identity and Memory through the Lens and the Body



    Identity is often seen as a fixed, personal label. But it is much more: layered, relational, and ever-changing. It is shaped by our environment, memories, relationships, and community. This residency at Casa Cuna de La Paz invited women caregivers to explore who they are beyond social roles, through creative practices. We approached identity from both artistic and bodily perspectives using photography, movement, and self-inquiry.

    This work is part of Ruta del Castor’s ongoing mission to support the community of Casa Cuna La Paz by focusing on socialisation, emotional expression, and self-esteem. By understanding the community’s specific needs and characteristics, the program develops a formative laboratory with invited artists to generate new, stimulating experiences that nurture creativity and imagination.

    Ruta del Castor uses contemporary art as a pedagogical tool through research, workshops, and activities designed to strengthen connections between cultural agents and the Casa Cuna La Paz orphanage community. Its mission is to promote emotional and creative skills while fostering healthy, nurturing bonds for both children and caregivers. Through this work, Ruta del Castor creates spaces of meaningful exchange, collaboration, and reflection where contemporary artistic practices contribute to the well-being and empowerment of those involved.

    The program fosters socialisation spaces focused on developing key capacities:

    • Setting boundaries and providing containment.

    • Encouraging free and non-violent emotional expression.

    • Building self-esteem that empowers individuals to care for themselves and others.

    CASACUNA does not aim to teach painting techniques or art history. Instead, it uses art and creativity as cognitive tools to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our surroundings, grounded in values of coexistence, integration, tolerance, and respect for others and oneself.





    What is identity? How do we understand it?

    A universal definition states:

    "Identity is the part of one’s self-concept that provides a unified aspect of personal and social self, an image in which that self is affirmed, enabling awareness of oneself, their place in the world, and relation to others."

    But in lived experience, how do we truly dive deep into knowing ourselves?

    • As individuals?
    • As social and collective beings?
    • How does the environment influence identity, and vice versa?

    Human beings continuously navigate between individuality and belonging. We grow up in spaces that shape and condition us, influencing how we live and perceive the world.

    Through this residency, Carolina and Ornella worked with the women of Casa Cuna to explore identity using photography as a connecting medium, enabling detailed observation of everything that builds, influences, and surrounds us, both consciously and unconsciously.

    Photographs served as gateways to exploring questions and inspired inquiry into identity. The body was the vehicle to create a safe, grounded space where women connected deeply to what the photographs revealed about themselves, fostering dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious.

    An essential part of the project was the connection built among participants, the vulnerability unfolding over weeks, and the shared curiosity to explore. Authenticity and learning from each session were key for Carolina and Ornella.
    About the Residency

    Over 10 weeks, women at Casa Cuna engaged in a collaborative journey using photography, movement, and writing. The project aimed to create a safe space for self-reflection, dialogue, and connection, bridging the personal and the collective.
    The Process & Methodology
    • Photography: Capturing meaningful objects, spaces, and self-portraits as gateways to memory and identity

    • Movement: Qi Gong-inspired exercises to awaken body awareness and emotional presence

    • Writing & Dialogue: Reflective prompts and group sharing to deepen understanding and build trust

    Each session built upon the last, moving from observation to embodiment and storytelling. This multifaceted approach allowed participants to see themselves and their community through fresh perspectives.


    Key Themes

    • Identity as both collective and individual

    • The interplay between self, environment, and community

    • The camera as a tool of self-inquiry

    • Movement as a bridge between conscious and unconscious experience

    The Shake Practice

    Our sessions began at 6 p.m., at the end of long days that for the women of Casa Cuna had started at 6 a.m. After hours dedicated to prayer and the full range of their responsibilities—including cooking, cleaning, teaching, and providing care for the children—they would often arrive fatigued, their energy depleted and their attention dispersed. To address this, Ornella integrated elements of somatic practice into the sessions, introducing shake practice at the outset. This embodied tool proved essential in supporting the participants to release accumulated tension, shift their internal state, and create the conditions necessary for engagement, presence, and openness within the collective process.

    Releasing tension and accumulated energy, relaxing the body and mind

    This practice helps release tension and accumulated energy, bringing relaxation to both body and mind. You can do it in the morning and again in the evening. If you wish, you may write in a journal afterwards about whatever arises—movements, feelings, emotions, sensations, thoughts, or reflections.

    Instructions:
    • Stand upright and close your eyes. Keep your back straight but not tense.

    • Imagine a thread that connects from the centre of the Earth, rising up through your spine and reaching all the way to the sky. As you visualise this thread linking the Earth, your body, and the sky, breathe deeply for about 1 minute.

    • Bring your awareness to your feet, making sure they feel firmly rooted. Relax your knees, arms, neck, and back.

    • Begin shaking your body gently and slowly, starting with small movements. Let the shaking begin in your feet, then move up through your hips, torso, arms, and finally include your neck and head.

    • Shake softly and slowly for about 2 minutes. Then, gradually increase the speed and intensity for another 2 minutes, finding a rhythm that feels pleasant and freeing.

    • Slowly bring the movement to a stop. Take 1 minute to connect with the sensations in your body that the shaking has generated. Stay silent, with your arms at your sides, palms open, facing forward—or even better, keep your eyes closed.


    Heart Shake

    Our sessions closed with the Heart Shake movement, a practice that helped the women gently release the tension and emotional weight they carried throughout their long days.  

    This practice helps release accumulated tension and energy, relaxing both the body and the mind, opening space for presence, emotional release, and renewed energy before they return to their routines.

    This closing practice was essential for grounding and self-care, fostering a sense of calm and empowerment. It can be done in the morning and again in the evening.

    Instructions:

    • Stand up, close your eyes, and keep your back straight but relaxed.

    • Imagine a thread rising from the centre of the Earth, running up your spine, and reaching all the way to the sky.

    • As you visualise this thread connecting the Earth, your body, and the sky, take deep breaths for 1 minute.

    • Bring awareness to your feet, making sure they feel firmly rooted.
    • Relax your knees, arms, neck, and back.

    • Start to gently shake your body, slowly and softly.

    • Begin with the feet, then move up through the hips, torso, arms, until you include your neck and head in the movement.

    • Shake slowly and gently for 2 minutes.

    • With your mouth wide open, make the heart sound: “ha-a-a-a-w”, letting go of any excess emotions.

    • Then, gradually increase the speed and intensity of the movement for another 2 minutes, finding a rhythm that feels good and freeing.

    • Slowly come to a stop. Stay in silence for 1 minute, tuning in to the sensations left in your body.

    • Let your arms rest down, palms open. You can look ahead or, even better, keep your eyes closed.

    EN ESTA CASA


    The residency culminated in a collaborative publication, EN ESTA CASA, which serves as a living archive of the project. It honours the women’s voices, their shared journey, and the unique spirit they brought to the process.

    EN ESTA CASA was made possible by the generous donation of the very talented design team at TE-MATA | @temataaa .