Charlene Amini

Charlene Amini (formerly known as Charlene Eckels) is an American-Bolivian artist, writer, and cultural advocate. She is the founder of the American Bolivian Collective, a platform dedicated to celebrating Bolivian identity through art, storytelling, and community engagement. Amini's work explores diaspora, Amazonian heritage, and the role of women in cultural memory.

Career

In 2019, Amini founded the American Bolivian Collective (ABC), to amplify underrepresented Bolivian diasporic voices. In 2022, she launched the American Bolivian Collective Scholarship in Memory of Janett Adams, honoring her mother's legacy as a media pioneer and cultural advocate. In 2025, she published a Bolivian-themed coloring book, highlighting Indigenous and folkloric elements of Bolivian culture.

Amini collaborated on a Nike shoe inspired by the Bolivian Amazon.

Her work has been featured in several media outlets, including Remezcla, the U.S. Embassy, and the Bolivian news outlet Brújula Digital.

Personal life

Charlene Amini is married to comedian Martin Amini, founder of Room 808. Her mother was from the Bolivian Amazon, a heritage that informs much of Amini's art and advocacy work.