Arpilleras: Art Production to Shape Consumption

The first arpilleras were made during the beginning of Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship, and they are brightly colored patchwork pictures. They were used as a way to communicate political violence and repression with whatever materials people could find on hand. Aymar Ccopacatty, anative of Peru, presented the history of arpilleras, who makes them, how they’re made, who sells them, who buys them, arpilleras today, and how they shaped consumption.