You can buy my art, but you can’t pay for it.
Juan Petry
Shopping trolleys wait in long lines in front of the supermarkets. It is part of our everyday life to take such a trolley, collect our groceries with it and push the heavy load to our car. Basically, the way is short. We pay little attention to the trolley and at most get annoyed when the wheels don’t move easily.
In times like these, there are others who roll shopping carts through the streets. Their ways are long, their burden is much heavier. Their hunger is much greater.
They look for metal and take it to the scrap dealer. They are homeless and stow all their belongings in a single truck. Politicians call them “white trash”. What had waited as a promise in front of the temples of consumption mutated into a symbol of decay. The noise of the machines in the factory is followed by the rattling of the rollers on the asphalt.
The CASAdelDRAGON is an open offer for the people. People come for very different reasons. Some come for community, some for (alternative) education, some for reorientation, and some for the arts. All people have one thing in common: they are human. They come with their wishes, ideas and dreams, and they find a hearing in the dragon’s house. In the last few months, more and more people have come who no longer know how to proceed. They are looking for peace, support, closeness, meaning: they are people like you.
The CASAdelDRAGON is financed by private donations, mainly by Familiafeliz. The community can realize part of it through art sales. This has become increasingly difficult in recent years. The proceeds from the sale of the artworks from this shopping cart are used to refinance and finance the CASAdelDRAGON.
There is a story for every work. It is connected to the place, the people, the culture. It tells of the adventure of the last 40 years of creating and maintaining a place for encounter, joy and peace.
With a view to the youth of this time, it will become important to give meaning and support without being demanding. The self-empowerment to remain in action is the art. In a world of struggle and resistance, let us choose love, love in times of civil war.
Read more about DeSouza Gallery, about CASAdelDRAGON . There is also a video available about Love in Civil Wars.
