Eli Farinango is a Kichwa photographer, born in Kichwa territory (Quito, Ecuador), and raised in Turtle Island (Canada). Through her practice, she explores the vastness and beauty of the healing journey while using the image to reclaim ancestral memory. Her body of work is deeply tied to documenting her experiences as a Kichwa warmi, her family, and the Kichwa diaspora.
She has exhibited at the Toronto Media Arts Centre, Santander Photography Festival, Artscape Youngplace, Casa Palma, Espace 8, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Colorado Photographic Arts Centre, and the International Center of Photography. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the International Center of Photography in New York City. She has received scholarship awards from Photographers Without Borders x Sony, the International Center of Photography (Jan Mulder Scholarship), the Banff Center, and is currently a 2021 Women Photograph Grantee.
Farinango is currently part of the Kichwa Hatari Collective, Indigenous Photograph, Women Photograph, and the 400 Years Project.
Runa Kawsay explores the nuances of Indigenous Kichwa identity from the personal experiences of the Kichwa community living in Turtle Island (North America).
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