San Diego and Art

Art and Artists of San Diego-Tijuana Border and the Economic Impact

The Mexico/U.S. border has been an area of focus in both countries politics because of the increased concerns regarding the impact of immigration to the United States. Securing this border has been a major priority of both governments to help in curbing several crimes, especially drug trafficking. While this border continues to dominate immigration policy debates and agenda, its cultural production has been increasingly diverse and fruitful throughout the history of these two countries (Prieto par, 1). Art has emerged has an important activity in the cultural production of Mexico/US border, especially San Diego-Tijuana border. The emergence of art in this border can be traced back to the early 80's when it was explicitly used to address border politics. Since then, art in the San Diego-Tijuana border has continued to develop to an extent that it has considerable economic impact.

Art in San Diego-Tijuana Border

San Diego-Tijuana border is an international metropolitan area that is characterized by large towns and urban areas with a high population growth. This border is adjacent to the coastal cities of San Diego, California and Mexico's Tijuana, Baja California. Throughout the years, San Diego-Tijuana border has experienced tremendous population growth to an extent that it currently accounts for the largest bi-national area that is shared between the U.S. and Mexico. Given the bi-national nature of this international metropolitan area, it is characterized by a rich, vibrant, and diverse culture that has acted as a major attraction to artists. Cultural production in this border has been diverse and fruitful and contributed to the use of art as a political strategy. When art emerged in this border in the early 80s, it was primarily folk art that was largely influenced the diversity of cultures in the border and was also utilized to explicitly address border politics (Prieto par, 2).

Art in San Diego-Tijuana border in the 1980s was also influenced by the Chicano movement, which was usually dominated by immigration politics. During this period, Herman Baca, the Chicano leader, emphasized on the significance of addressing the immigration debate (Sheren, p.1). However, Baca highlighted the significance of this issue through examining it from an international system of inequity. Immigration issues soon took center-stage in art in San Diego-Tijuana border as artists of the Chicano movement were forced to act as mediators. Through their work, artists sought presented visions of a borderless world to the public while seemingly advocating for a Chicano area in southwest regions of the United States. One of the first artists to include border issues in their work was Rupert Garcia, a graphic artist. In his work, Garcia advocated for an end to the unfair treatment of migrant workers in the United States. Garcia's work is an example of the Chicano artworks that highlighted the predicaments of immigrants beyond the borderline. Over the next decade, many talented artists from the U.S. and Mexico started focusing on border issues in their work.

San Diego-Tijuana border art experienced significant development when artists started to focus on other issues beyond the ideas of the Chicano movement, which resulted in the emergence of border art (Sheren, p.10). This later contributed to the development of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Since 1980s, the Contemporary Art Museum in San Diego has been collecting and exhibiting artwork by artists based in Tijuana. As a result, the museum has either hosted or collaborated on a set of revolutionary border-centered exhibitions. These efforts were boosted by the establishment of inSITE, an arts project that was founded in 1991 and remains to be one of the most significant cultural events in border between these two countries. Conceptual art has also enabled art in the San Diego-Tijuana border to continue thriving and act as an important cultural aspect of life in this area.

Economic Impact

Art and artists in the San Diego-Tijuana border have significant economic impacts on the lives of people in this region and beyond. First, since art is an important cultural aspect in the San Diego-Tijuana border, it has created numerous jobs for people in both the United States and Mexico. As art continues to thrive, many young talented artists continue to emerge and use art as a tool for making money. For instance, since 2011 when Tijuana was characterized by horrific drug violence, grassroots artists and young talented artists have emerged and focused on reclaiming the city (Brown par, 14). The emergence of these artists implies that art is a source of employment of many people who would otherwise remained unemployed. Consequently, art continues to have a significant economic impact with regards to employment of people.