Art on the US–Mexico Border: Cultural and Political Expression

Introduction: The Border as a Political and Cultural Flashpoint

The border between the United States and Mexico has been a focal point of significant media attention in recent years. President Donald Trump consistently stated his intention to build a wall between the two countries as part of a broader effort to crack down on illegal immigration. Among his early acts in office, Trump ordered increased immigration enforcement, which manifested in mass deportations and cancelled visas from certain countries associated with terrorism in the Middle East. He had previously announced that he would build a wall between the US and Mexico and even claimed that he would make Mexico pay for its construction — a contemptuous assertion that worked to polarize many political groups, both foreign and domestic.

The border between the US and Mexico has not always been a static fixture in either country's landscape. In fact, the 1821 US–Mexico border was rather dynamic and vague in its establishment when Mexico declared its independence from Spain, as the border was never officially surveyed. At that time, it stretched all the way from Oregon to Louisiana, and even as far north as Wyoming (Schwartz, 2014). Some families have lived on the same land through this entire transition — a family estate in the US Southwest could have sheltered generations of Mexicans who later found themselves living in US territory without ever having moved.

Many people fail to realize that it was not so long ago that the area encompassing San Diego and Tijuana was entirely Mexican territory (Wilso, 2010). In at least one respect, then, the drawing of national borders seems like an arbitrary phenomenon not necessarily linked to the culture and heritage of the people who inhabit the land. Even though San Diego and Tijuana now carry different national allegiances, many commonalities remain readily apparent, rooted in a shared heritage. This heritage is perhaps most visible in artistic expression, which helps unite people on both sides of the border culturally, socially, politically, and even economically. This paper provides an introduction to the ways in which art produces this unifying effect.

The Fluid History of the US–Mexico Border

Understanding the role of art along the border requires some appreciation of the border's own contested and shifting history. The US–Mexico border as we know it today is the product of a series of territorial acquisitions and treaties, not a natural or culturally organic division. When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, the border was never formally surveyed and stretched across a vast and ambiguous swath of North America. Subsequent conflicts, treaties, and land purchases gradually fixed the border closer to its current position, cutting through communities, landscapes, and cultural traditions that had been continuous for centuries.

The colonial aspects of Mexico's heritage remain more prominent on the Mexican side of the border, given that the US went through its own distinct process of territorial acquisition (Lee, 2012). It is therefore reasonable to expect that the US side would be less inclined to foreground the imperialist dimensions of its own history. Yet this historical complexity is precisely what makes the border region such a rich site for artistic expression — artists on both sides engage with questions of identity, belonging, displacement, and shared memory that the border itself raises but does not resolve.

Building Bridges Through Art

Whenever people are separated into distinct groups, it can produce in-group versus out-group behaviors that reinforce division. Although much of the American Southwest was once part of Mexico, young people on both sides of the modern border may not have an inherent appreciation of the shared cultural nuances that persist. One way art is being used is to help "build bridges" between elementary school students in San Diego and Tijuana (Brouillette & Jennings, 2010). By allowing these students to interact and connect in positive ways, arts programming helps to temper the nationalistic sentiments that have historically characterized US–Mexico relations and to mitigate the xenophobic tendencies that might otherwise emerge in children who are not yet equipped to appreciate the political complexities that shaped the current border.

Even though school children may not fully understand the effects of a national border and all that it entails, the division of these regions is apparent to most individuals as they grow up. The colonial dimensions of Mexico's heritage are more visibly embedded in everyday life and public culture south of the border, while the US side has tended to obscure or minimize its own history of territorial expansion. Art offers a space in which these asymmetries can be acknowledged, examined, and, in some cases, overcome.

The impacts of the border are not represented solely by differences in artistic tradition, however — they also have tangible social and economic manifestations. Research has documented significant disparities between the two sides, noting that the Tijuana side in particular is vulnerable due to limited access to medical care, fewer material resources, and lower average incomes relative to the San Diego side, even accounting for the fact that San Diego itself is far from a panacea for social inequality. These material conditions both shape and are shaped by the cultures of the area, and in turn influence the art that emerges from the region.

Despite the social and cultural divergences produced by political separation, the art being created and exhibited in the border region also has a strong unifying effect. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, located approximately seventeen miles from the busiest border crossing in the world, has been at the forefront of exhibitions featuring Tijuana-based artists. It has hosted or collaborated on a number of groundbreaking, border-centric exhibitions since the 1980s (Brown, 2016). One of the most striking developments noted by scholars is the transformation of border art in the 1990s, when it became deeply infused with music, video, and graphic design — mediums that were then coming of age. One notable exhibit at this institution featured 41 artists and more than a hundred works of art, drawing local crowds eager to engage with these charged cultural expressions (Moctezuma, 2007).

The thesis that emerges from this history is clear: art has become an important activity in the cultural production of the Mexico–US border, and especially the San Diego–Tijuana corridor. The emergence of art in this region can be traced back to the early 1980s, when it was explicitly used to address border politics. Since then, art in the San Diego–Tijuana area has continued to develop to the point where it carries considerable economic impact as well as cultural significance.

Conclusion

Art has emerged as an important activity in the cultural production of the Mexico–US border, especially the San Diego–Tijuana corridor. The emergence of art in this border region can be traced back to the early 1980s, when it was explicitly used to address border politics. Since then, art in the San Diego–Tijuana area has continued to develop to an extent that it carries considerable economic impact for both sides of the national border. Furthermore, during times of intense polarization, xenophobia, and nationalist sentiment — tendencies that have recently intensified in both countries — these artistic developments can serve to build various types of bridges between cultures, whether or not physical walls are ever constructed.

Works Cited

Brouillette, L., & Jennings, L. (2010). Helping children cross cultural boundaries in the borderlands: Arts at Freese Elementary creates cultural bridges. Journal for Learning through the Arts.

Brown, P. (2016, October 26). No walls here: Between Tijuana and San Diego, an art ethos thrives. The New York Times.

Lee, R. (2012). Tijuana dreaming: Life and art at the global border. Canadian Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Studies, 269–271.

Moctezuma, A. (2007). Strange new world: Art and design from Tijuana. Artforum International, 257–258.

Schwartz, M. (2014, November 20). Delimitations: Rethinking the U.S.–Mexican border. Time.

Walshok, M. (2002). Building regional innovation capacity: The San Diego experience. Industry & Higher Education, 27–42.

Wilso, J. (2010). Missionary art of northern New Spain: Tijuana. Burlington Magazine, 702–703.

Ziter, A. (1994). Arts, culture support San Diego economy. San Diego Business Journal, 19.