Chicha (art)

Chicha art refers to a Peruvian kitsch aesthetic that emerged in the 1980s. It has been described as a contemporary baroque art. The movement emerged alongside Chicha music and the mass migration from Peru's Andean highlands and central forest to coastal cities. Created as promotional posters for cumbia concerts using hand-drawn screen printing techniques, the style is characterized by phosphorescent and fluorescent colors, contrasting tones against black backgrounds. Chicha art gained recognition in the late 2010s as a new generation of artists embraced their cultural heritage, including the children of immigrants. The origins of chicha art begin in the 1960s and 1970s, with migration across Peru's regions: from the Andean highlands and central forest to the coastal capitals, particularly Lima. Initially dismissed as a minor artistic form, chicha art was viewed through a racist lens as huachafa and inferior. In the late 2010s, a new generation, many of them children of immigrants who now form part of the middle class, revalued Cholo and Chicha culture. This shift appeared in both music, with groups like Dengue Dengue Dengue! and Bareto, and in graphic art, with artists such as Monky, Elliot Túpac, and Yefferson Huamán gaining recognition, some internationally. Collectives including Familia Gutiérrez, Amapolay, Unidos por un Sueño, Nación Chicha, and Carga Máxima emerged, and the number of workshops in Lima and other Peruvian cities grew.