Don Mateo & No Children Without a Roof

A graduate of the Fine Arts in 2008, the artist Don Mateo moved to Lyon in 2011. Nimble with portraits, collages, paintings and papercuts, his artworks gradually anoint the street walls and galleries of Lyon, further expanding to the rest of the world.

In 2017, he teams up with the collective No Children Without a Roof, the result of which is his creation of an emblematic piece. This spontaneous gathering students' parents unites and stands for the relocation of children who live on the street, has been active for 10 years. Their actions have been intensified by the urgency of the migratory crisis, to which the artist is particularly sensitive.

For Don Mateo, the portrait is a constant exploration of evolutions. Inspired by everyday life, it is through the lines of his portraits that Don Mateo reveals a certain gaze, an emotion. The street is a place of sharing and creation that is constantly being renewed, and he discovers rules that he subsequently breaks. His art, sometimes engaged but always carrying a subtle and poetic message, finds a perfect coherence with the actions of the collective No Children Without a Roof. The poster has been conveying for 2 years a message of continuing actions, as in each poster seen on a wall lies the reminder that a child lived outside yesterday, and perhaps is still on the street today.