From dance music stages to fashion boutiques: Cholita artist-entrepreneurs in Cochabamba, Bolivia

Application summary

This research addresses questions about Quechua and Aymara women's entrepreneurship in Bolivia, and the potential of popular music as a venue through which women can strengthen culture, alleviate poverty, and challenge alienating life situations through artistic self-representation and fulfilment. It aims to contribute to existing research on women’s entrepreneurship, especially on small family enterprises connected with music and fashion. An important strand of this research is the cooperation between me as an academic researcher, the cholita artist-entrepreneurs, and the visual artist Antti Nordin, resulting in a documentary film.