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The Border Project will be housed at the Arizona State Museum through Nov. 6.

By University Communications
September 15, 2009

The Border Project, a traveling exhibition, takes on the cultural history of the border an artistic medium to high school students who deal with the cultural dynamics of the U.S.-Mexico border every day.

The Border Project is a mixed-media art installation featuring the artistic work and the perspectives of high school students living along the Arizona-Mexico, the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation and in Ajo, Ariz.

This exhibition comes to Arizona State Museum courtesy of a collaborative of artists, teachers, students and community members who, under the artistic direction of Morgana Wallace, created The Border Project.

The exhibition was part of the Museum on Main Street, a cultural collaboration between the institution and the Federation of State Humanities Councils.

Wallace, an artist and teacher is a resident at the Curley School, an artist community in Ajo, moved to the area from the Northwest making the border and its issues new to her.

When Wallace became aware of the Border Project she applied for and was selected to create a local exhibition. She turned to the students she teaches at the Curley School's Las Artes GED program and the students at Tohono O'odham High School as well as students at Cobach High School in Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.

From her experience in working with youth in Wallace knew students in her community could uniquely visually express how borders had personally impacted their lives.

"Because of its isolation, Ajo was an ideal location for a new exhibition that involves discussion and support on border issues," says Wallace. "This exhibition may have been the first opportunity for young people to voice their opinions in a very deliberate and powerful way."

The project was funded through a partnership between the Tucson Pima Arts Council and the International Sonoran Desert Alliance.

Beginning in October 2007, Wallance worked with three school districts to collect the students' perspectives on borders and then worked with the students in the creation of a personal symbol representing their feelings and attitudes.

Photographer Jewel Fraser Clearwater documented the project, including the student portraits.

Students ages 16 to 18 participated by discussing borders as a word, an object and a personal symbol. The students then wrote, discussed and drew and sculpted on the issue while Wallace and Fraser observed, photographed and recorded the process.

The final piece provided their community with the youth's perspectives on a pressing issue which is very close to home.

On Saturday, Oct. 17 the Arizona State museum will host "Culture Craft Saturday: The Border Project" from 1 to 4 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public and offers interactive and hands-on activities related to The Border Project exhibit.

Tucson and surrounding area teachers are invited to the museum on Oct. 17 for a teacher workshop on The Border Project from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Teachers will explore the history, culture and issues surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border, listen to scholars, watch a film, participate in discussions and engage in hands-on approaches for integrating border exploration to implement to curriculums.

There is a $20 registration fee for those interested in the teacher workshop that includes lunch and a resource packet.

Interested teachers can call 520-626-2973 for more information.

The Culture Craft Saturday and the teacher workshop are offered in partnership with the University of Arizona's Center for Latin American Studies.