El Paso Standard

EL PASO, Texas— The El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) invites the community to view the long-awaited

return of the Border Biennial/Bienal Fronteriza starting Friday, December 15, followed by a complementary

exhibition at the Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juarez (MACJ) on Friday, January 19.

The 2024 Border Biennial/ Bienal Fronteriza 2024 will open along with two collection-based installations

made possible by the Estate of Linneas Lorette, Bettina Langrebe: BEATEN WITH A HAMMER and Zoe

Leonard: Photographs from the Collection. The opening reception will take place at 5 p.m. Friday, December

15 at the EPMA, 1 Arts Festival Plaza.

Since 2008, the Biennial has celebrated contemporary art from U.S.-Mexican border communities. For the

2024 iteration of the Biennial, artists 200 miles north and south of the U.S./Mexico border were invited to

apply with works of art that speak to the unique identity of the borderland. In total, 50 artists were selected

from 270 applications. The selected artists represent three states in Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua and

Tamaulipas) and seven in the U.S. (Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, and

Texas).

“This remarkable survey features over 100 works of art from a variety of fronterizo and border-adjacent

communities,” said El Paso Museum of Art Director Edward Hayes. “After a period challenged by COVID,

closed borders, and heightened travel restrictions, the Border Biennial returns as a gathering of art and

ideas that speak to the realities, resilience, and beauty of the borderlands.”

The selected artworks speak to a variety of themes tied to the region, including but not limited to, family,

everyday life, home, gender issues, Queer identities, physical and imagined borders, migration patterns of

people and wildlife, desert flora and fauna, environmental justice, cuisine, food issues, and labor. The

contemporary artists presented in the exhibit explore the ever-changing definition of the border and how

various interpretations shape artistic practices.

“In addition to being a space for exposure and promotion of artists from both countries, the Biennial creates

a space for dialogue and critical reflection about the border reality,” said Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juárez

Director Christian Diego Diego.

The 2024 Biennial jurors include EPMA Assistant Curator Claudia S. Preza, and advisors Edgar Picazo

Merino, founding Director of the Azul Arena Gallery in Ciudad Juarez, and Jazmin Ontiveros Harvey, Queer

Latinx artist, director, and cinematographer.

The 2024 Border Biennial is part of EPMA’s inaugural program, EPMA: Frontera Forward, an initiative

established to advance the understanding and appreciation of the El Paso/Juarez border community through

the arts. Support for the 2024 Border Biennial is provided by the Mellon Foundation. Additional support is

provided by the El Paso Museum of Art Foundation and the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs

Department.

For more information about the EPMA, including the list of the selected artists, visit www.epma.art.

Original source can be found here.