Centre Cultural La Nau. Sala Acadèmia.

Brushstrokes of colour and hope.

For many years now, Saharawi people are fighting for their freedom taken away by force by Morocco, since, with the GREEN March that rather than green was BLACK of horror, thousands of Moroccan civilians and soldiers entered into their land, their homes and their lives, in RED of blood and fire, with the complicit silence of Spain that opened the gates to the invader and left thousands of Saharawis to their fate. Thus, a large proportion of the population was forced into exile, going through a hell of WHITE phosphorus and napalm, to be forty years later in a long exile, away from their family and away from the BLUE of their long-awaited sea.

There are too many generations of Saharawis condemned to live in refugee camps, in an arid OCHRE desert, tinged with thousands of brushstrokes of colour, smiles, dreams and lives full of hope for the return to their free country, Western Sahara, where their ancestors were born and lived.

The constant violation of human rights that Morocco exercises against the Saharawi people in the occupied Western Sahara and the harsh conditions in refugee camps, in which thousands of exiles are forced to live separated by a wall of shame and pain, is still not a priority in the GREY agendas of the institutions in our country or the International Community. Despite the numerous UN resolutions, they are unable to impose a solution to this problem which remains distant and of little interest, except of that regarding the constant plundering of natural resources which only belong to Saharawis.

However, far from the institutions and political power, the force of civil society, the force of people who believe that another world is possible, who believe in justice, in reason and in the freedom of this brotherly people remains.

The commitment of many artists who have put their fine art in the service of this cause is an example of that. Their works, given in solidarity, will be exhibited and auctioned in the Sala Acadèmia of La Nau Cultural Centre of the University of Valencia, intending the fundraisings to keep giving brushstrokes of colour and life in the hot and dry Sahara desert.

Every euro collected is intended to, as I said before, give colour to the Saharawi modest homes that thanks to the family orchards project, will fill small outdoor spaces with RED of tomatoes, ORANGE of carrots, GREEN and WHITE of melons.and with water of life. Fruits and vegetables could grow in their small but vital gardens which will provide them a substantial improvement in their nutrition. A real explosion of colour and vitamins for an especially vulnerable population given its living conditions as refugees.

For all that, we would like to express our recognition and thanks to all artists who have collaborated with us in the University of Valencia and also to the Universitat Politècnica which, once again, has given us its support. Thank you all for your confidence in our work and for believing in a FREE SAHARA. To all them and so many others whose efforts have made this project possible, THANKS.

LOLA CLARAMUNT. President of FASPSPV (Valencian Federation of Solidary Associations with Saharawi People)

Artists:

Adriá Pina, Amparo Carbonell, Amparo Tortonda, Antoni Miró, Arthur Heras, Aurora Valero, Carlos Pérez-Bermúdez, Carmen Grau, Carmen Ibarra, Carolina Maestro, Cristina Navarro, Daniel Ramos, Pepe Diaz Azorin, Encarna Arnal, Enric Alfons, Enric Mestre, Enriqueta Hueso, Francisca Mompó, Fuencisla Francés, Gregori Valero, Isabel Casas, Isabel Llorens, Jaime Gimenez de Haro, Javier Calvo, Javier Chapa, Javier Mariscal, Joan Castejón, Jose Albelda, José Manuel Guillén Ramón, José Saborit Viguer, Jose Vicente Guerrero Tonda, Joan Cardells, Juan Carlos Julián, Juan Olivares, Julio del Bosque, Karina Vagradova, Lucía Hervás Asins, Luís González, MªJosé Pérez Vicente, Manuel Boix, Manuel Silvestre, María Luisa Pérez Rodríguez, Mariano Maestro, Maribel Domenech, Marie-Pierre Guiennot, Miquel Navarro, Molina Ciges, Nasio Bayarri, Pablo Noguera, Paco Corell, Paco López Gómez, Paco Sancho, Pilar Belmonte, Pilar Palomares, Rafael Armengol, Rafael Calduch, Reme Tomás Marrahí, Ritta Bremer, Rosa Torres, Francisco Sebastián Nicolau, Ximo Amigó, Lluís Beltrán, Grupo Actnart, Carmen García Gordillo, Ana Ruiz Ruiz.