THE DIMENSIONS OF THE EXTREME

According to the story, Quillagua was the main source of forage for animals in the area's offices. This oasis located approximately 70 km from the mouth of the Loa River, had a population of two thousand people. After the pollution of the Loa River in 1997, the inhabitants were reduced to 500, and most lost the crops having to migrate to the urban centers of the region. Those who stayed a few years later were victims of a scam, losing rights to most of the waters in favor of one of the mining companies. In addition, as a result of abusive exploitation of the upstream industries, currently at the time of harvest (December - March), the river disappears, dries up. Today drinking water for Quillagua is brought from two hours away María Elena in a truck.

Quillagua, located next to the mining giants and almost under the high voltage towers, is lit up by night with lanterns and the starry sky. At the moment the number of inhabitants is around 120 people.

In 2007 thirteen families formed the Aymara community, in order to achieve visibility and the right to speak on the local political scene. Today they try to recover their indigenous traditions and rebuild their beliefs and language, which is almost totally forgotten, trusting that the resurrected original identity will function as the shield of resistance in the struggle to survive.

RESIDENCES / ACTIONS

In front of the situation of Quillagua, extreme in all the senses, the first objective that has been proposed by the group, is to avoid the silent death of the oasis, in the case that this was their destiny. We work with the purpose of contributing to save this millenary town occupying all the strategies that an art collective can tackle, with the main emphasis of giving it international visibility through projects carried out by artists and researchers in situ. The projects carried out in Quillagua and its surroundings always involve the community in various ways, seeking to build a bridge of mutual contribution in knowledge through each program.