In this text, the CADA art action group appeals to artists all over the world, urging them to take part in a “collective art project.” This appeal grew out of a determined response to the violence and destruction caused by the imperialist methods employed by the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973–90). CADA’s initiative encouraged artists everywhere to build on a basic slogan—“No +” [No More]—and adapt it to their circumstances in their own countries. The project would involve both the “action” itself and the “documentation” of the action, which had to be sent to the designated coordinators in each country. The project took place in 1979 (when the group was founded), but this document is dated April 1984.

This text—which appeared in the book CADA día: la creación de un arte social [Every Day: The Creation of a Social Art] by Robert Neustadt, a professor of Latin American studies—was originally produced as a flier by the Chilean CADA group and distributed to local and international artists. As mentioned in the document, this project began in 1979 and was carried out in several Chilean cities. The slogan “No +” [No More] was usually followed by words such as “violence,” “death,” “censorship,” “Pinochet,” and so on. This group project became one of the most important icons of Chilean art and culture and was later incorporated into the advertising campaign created on behalf of the 1989 plebiscite, or referendum, that sought to replace the Pinochet dictatorship with a democratically elected president. The winner of that election was Patricio Aylwin (1990–94).       

The members of CADA operated as a group, bringing together members from many disciplines, among them the writers Diamela Eltit and Raúl Zurita, the video producer Lotty Rosenfeld, the sociologist Fernando Balcells, and the artist Juan Castillo. From 1979 to 1985, the group produced a number of art actions aimed at specific communities and the broader population, condemning widespread social and political conditions in Chile that the government’s official propaganda failed to mention.