Manuel Chavajay (b. 1982 in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. Lives and works in San Pedro La Laguna) is a Mayan-Tz’utujil artist who has sought in his practice to construct images, actions and objects that provide poetic forms of denunciation and reclamation of his culture. His personal story, like that of most inhabitants of Guatemala, is marked by the violence of the armed conflict, of which he and his family were direct victims. Like other Indigenous artists of his generation, Chavajay thinks of contemporary art as a space for healing. His work refers to the wisdom of the practices and spirituality linked to the Mayan worldview: a deep connection with nature, life, and the energy present in things, reflecting a way of thinking and a way of living that survives despite the material and symbolic threats of the globalized world. Recent exhibitions include the 35th Bienal de São Paolo (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (CA, USA), Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, Canada), Kunsthalle Wien (Vienna, Austria), SIART Biennial (La Paz, Bolivia), Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporânea de Curitiba (Brazil) and La Bienal de Artes Visuales del Istmo Centroamericano (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador). His works are part of the collections of institutions such as the Museo Ortiz Gurdián (León, Nicaragua), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain), Inter-American Development Bank (USA), National Museum of Ottawa (Canada), as well as private collections.