There’s a new exhibition starting at the Cornerhouse, running from the 21st of April to 11th June.
Tijuana Organic: Women’s Border Realities
Curated by Maria Montserrat Sánchez
Tijuana Organic: women’s border realities, presents the first UK show of ten female artists and projects from Tijuana, Mexico. The exhibition reveals the harsh realities of life in this busy and notorious border city, and more particularly explores women’s experiences within its culture.
Situated at the Northwest Mexican border, Tijuana is the main passage between the Mexican state of Baja California and the USA. The city acts as a dam for thousands of migrants, criminals and illegal workers who hope to cross the border, and in doing so magnifies existing political tensions and cultural contradictions in the region. It is also a city that has redefined itself through cultural activity.
The artists in the show use a diverse range of media, including photography, painting, installation and new media to explore questions of female identity and the evolving role of women in Mexican society. Issues that confront women in their daily lives are dealt with through metaphor, narrative and the humorous use of everyday materials.
The exhibition will also include a residency by two members of Tijuana based independent media collective Bulbo. Their name ‘Bulbo’ is Spanish for ‘bulb’ and signifies their desire to cast light upon people and ideas which are sidelined by mainstream media. Bulbo members Lorena Fuentes Aymes and Cristina Velasco Lozano will be working in the gallery connecting Cornerhouse audiences with Tijuana via live internet streaming events and regular Bulbo web radio broadcasts.
Featured Artists: Mely Barragán, Silvia Galindo Betancourt, Tania Candiani, Itzel Mtz. Del Cañizo, Carmela Castrejón Diego, Gabriela Escárcega Langarica, Lula Lewis, Irma Sofia Poeter, Yvonne Venegas, Bulbo.
“The city acts as a dam for thousands of migrants, criminals and illegal workers who hope to cross the border”
The city does not act as a dam. The city is quite industrious and acts rather more like a magnet for people throughout the country who are looking to find work.
There are about three million of us here in Tijuana. While most of us were not born here, neither do we fit into the “migrant” pigeonhole inasmuch as we are settled in this place. Very few of us are criminals and, if you do not wish for us to refer to England as a nation of shopkeepers, you will do well to avoid such unwarranted generalizations. As to the illegal workers, you will find those north of the border, not here in Tijuana, because only repressive governments such as the Bush Family Wehrmacht insist on defining people who want to work for a living as illegal.
Where did you go wrong, you ask? Why, in not according basic dignity to people you don’t understand.