At a time when the border seems to be a part of the news cycle almost every day, a local gallery is transforming that dialogue into an artistic statement. Now open at the SDSU Downtown Gallery, We Are Here/Estamos Aquí features photographs that depict how the border has affected American and Mexican cultures.
Tijuana–based Ingrid Hernández’s Nada Que Declarar (“Nothing to Declare”) combines images of people crossing the border with bold graphics and advertising designs, while Tom Kiefer, a former Customs and Border Protection janitor in southern Arizona, photographs possessions confiscated by Border Patrol agents—like water bottles, pictured here—in his El Sueño Americano (“The American Dream”).
To celebrate the exhibit, the gallery is hosting a series of events, including a community dialogue on art as activism on August 3; and Downtown at Sundown, a partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego on August 18, September 21, and October 19.
Through October 29, 725 West Broadway, Downtown sdsu_art
From El Sueño Americano by Tom Kiefer