UCL MAL Virtual Showcase: Experimental Approaches to Collaborative Heritage | Joe Duplantier

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The Importance of International Solidarity and Mobilization—Joe Duplantier (Gojira)


UCL MAL is proud to have presented our end-of-year virtual showcase on December 9th, 2021, where we shared some of the fantastic work being made across MAL’s teams for our Experimental Approaches to Collaborative Heritage project, produced in collaboration with Guarani and Kaiowá indigenous communities in Brazil. The project is supported by the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme at the British Museum, UCL Grand Challenges, and the UCL Global Engagement Fund.

Since April 2021 we have been working with Guarani and Kaiowá community members to rethink and reshape the relations through which we conduct research, produce knowledge, and collect/preserve/display cultural heritage archives. The project is composed of three core strands: a Guarani and Kaiowá Virtual Museum curated and directed by community shamans, a Guarani and Kaiowá Multimedia Archive filmed and recorded by indigenous filmmakers, and an Interactive Map of Gender-Based Violence presenting data gathered by Guarani and Kaiowá women.


Joe Duplantier is the vocalist and guitarist of the prominent Metal band Gojira, whose recent track 'Amazonia' has been nominated for a Grammy in Best Metal Performance. Duplantier is a known supporter of environmental and Indigenous rights movements. This summer, he was present in the anti-PL490 protests in Brazil, where he led a fundraising campaign drawing together international artists in solidarity with Guarani and Kaiowá movements. The funds they have raised made it possible for Guarani and
Kaiowá communities to rebuild their Oga Pysy ceremonial houses this year, working alongside the UCL Multimedia Anthropology Lab and the Kuñangue Aty Guasu. Joe Duplantier is additionally a founding member of International Artists Solidarity, a collective of socially-engaged artists. Joe and the International Artists Solidarity group staged a performance during the Brasilia protests in September 2021, drawing visibility to the oppressive government legislation against Indigenous communities.