Millerntor Gallery goes Art Basel Miami – Day 3
As I already said, it’s full of galleries in Wynwood, Miami. We visited only three of them that night. One that is just in the making for Art Basel Miami… in an empty storehouse that is now worth 5-6 million dollars. The second one was more of a techno party. Actually, the best work was covered by the temporary bar. The third was called Art & Sol and when we came in, we’ve been asked to give a donation for Standing Rock.
The Standing Rock Native American Reservation is a Hunkpapa Lakota and Yanktonai Dakota Native American reservation in North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States. Why does it need donations? Because capitalism wants to kill it.
They want to build the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), an underground oil pipeline. The problems that come with it: occupation of sacred land and an environmental disaster. It endangers the water supply of 17 million people.
Water is the most important element in this struggle. Water is the most essential. For them, for us, for every living. Even a baby, that was born in the Standing Rock Reservation, is called after the slogan, that follows the story of Viva con Agua: Water is life. Besides the obvious facts, like the function of staple, it’s said that water listens to stories, remembers them and gives it back to people in time.
The people at Standing Rock call themselves ‚water protectors‘ not protesters. They’re fighting nonviolent and been tear-gased, tasered and beaten. So, yes! I want to give a donation to support them! Thank you to use art as a medium to sensitize people and thank you for transforming a piece of whatever into a social impact! And props to the lady, that presented her anger in the shape of poetry. By the way, here’s a short video worth seeing.
The story of Standing Rock is just one of the many, that happen every day. Even when our goal of Viva con Agua is, that one day an organization like us is needless, we see that right now it is more than necessary.
That’s how we come back to our mission in Miami. Water is like art. It is not for everyone. We challenge it.
