Argentinean Mosaic

Treasures among the trash

Craig Evans and his son Joshua left Adelaide, South Australia in April 2004 to spend 6 months at St Ethnea School in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Craig was a music teacher at St Aloysius College in Adelaide.

The Argentinean Mosaic was purchased by Craig Evans in 2004 when he was in Argentina working in the Barrios communities.

Barrio Mitre is built on the city rubbish dump. Some of the trash had been there for fifteen years. It was here that a Jesuit priest named Rodrigo has set up the Ava Tava Project.

Argentinean mosaic
Click image to enlarge
Reflection from Craig Evans

Visiting the Ava Tava art project in Barrio Mitre, I was impressed. Every Saturday an artist ran art classes for the children and introduced them to Benito Quinquela Martin, an Argentinean artist with a social conscience who believed in social equality.

I know the kids involved took pride in knowing that their work is displayed in our school. The money they received funded two years of materials for their project.


As Craig walked around the fenced compound, he was taken up to a room to see a painting that the poor children of the barrios had completed. From a cupboard was brought a large plastic roll – a mosaic created by the children of the barrios, made from discarded material. Real beauty amongst the trash.

Thanks to fundraising by St Aloysius College community, Craig was able to purchase this piece of art, which can now be found in the Redden Centre Undercroft.

For more information on Craig Evans’ time in Argentina, see Postcards from Argentina.

By Carol Grantham, 2020

Related:
Postcards from Argentina
Mercy in Action Project

Reference

Grantham, C 2004, Treasures amongst the trash, Postcards from Argentina, viewed 23 February 2020, <https://library.sac.sa.edu.au/treasures-amongst-the-trash>.