CSU East Bay art and painting instructor Dickson Schneider is like an ice cream vendor for the art world: he pushes a cart full of paintings and drawings through the streets surrounding various art fairs in Oakland, giving away art for free to anyone who cares to have it.

Schneider, who’s been teaching art at CSUEB for 30 years, began the “Free Art Project” in 2009 with his students. Aimed at putting art in the hands of people who may not otherwise have access to it, the project has given away over 2,500 art works at street gallery districts in the Bay Area and also Miami. The project started as a model for bridging the gap between art makers and the audience, Schneider said.

“The main idea about it is that it forces people to reimagine the social network of the art world,” he said. “A lot of people like art but they can’t afford it; this makes owning art possible for those people.”

Last month he showcased his Free Art Project for the first time abroad, at the Kunstraum Taipir Gallery in Berlin. Schneider fundraised for his project through a Kickstarter campaign, as well as money out of his own pocket.

Schneider gave away 180 small art pieces, 50 of which were created by Oakland artists and 130 he created during his stay in Berlin.

The show took place from July 19-25 and was called “Von Oakland Nach Berlin” (From Berlin to Oakland). In addition to art he made and distributed in Berlin, he also enlisted Berlin artists to make works he could take back with him to give away at the Oakland Art Murmur.

Schneider’s show in Berlin was his first give away in a gallery space, allowing him to see an interesting dynamic between the reactions of the people he was giving away art to in the street and the people who attended the shows in the gallery. The show included six different exhibits which featured art works such as figurative art, collogues of the city’s music posters, two abstract shows and a group show of all the art he brought to the country with him.

When he gives away art from the cart, people are more likely to accept it because it’s more believable that it’s free, in contrast to gallery art. Schneider described people’s reaction in the Berlin gallery as shocked and reluctant to take the artwork.

“When you give something of value away you get predictable reactions,” he explains on his kickstarter blog “First is suspicion: people look at you sideways not sure what is wrong with the art, or you, looking for the catch. This quickly converts to incredulity; “Can I really have this?” followed by “Is it really free? And finally there’s delight.”

Schneider describes himself as an eclectic artist, meaning he works with a variety of art forms, such as paintings, drawings and sculptures.

“We make a lot of art in class that just sits in your room, it doesn’t go anywhere,” he said. “We found a way to get somebody to own our art without having to figure out how to sell it and we just give it away. I’ve been doing it ever since and it’s a big part of what I do.”

The Free Art Project has been criticized by some as de-valuing art, Schneider said. “But they think that somehow I must be some super rich guy who can afford to do this and that I devalue the art of other people, but I don’t think that’s true at all. I think one of the things I want people to think about is how we value anything and if it’s free you’re going to have to really value it to want it.”

With a future goal of one day giving away art his art for free in a museum that sponsors him, Schneider remains confident in the criticism of his current passion.

“It is pretty interesting,” he said. “I like giving away art and I like the way it makes people’s heads twist around because you aren’t supposed to get stuff for free. It’s actually a really good experience for people to have.”

He continues his Free Art Project at the Oakland Art Murmur, giving away his work every first Friday of each month. He currently is preparing for the next shows he will put on later this year in San Francisco and Santa Clara, although dates have not yet been confirmed.