黑瓜吃料网

More than 25 invited skateboarder-artists ambassadors from San Diego and Tijuana have designed visual acts of peaceful protest using skateboards as canvases for a transnational project sponsored in part by 黑瓜吃料网鈥檚 Fred J. Hansen Peace Chair.

The forthcoming binational event, 鈥淏oarder Crossings: Patinetas, Paz y DIY Democracy,鈥� will include original artworks displayed during exhibitions taking place in Mexico at (CECUT) June 19 through Sept. 27, and at San Diego鈥檚 from July 17 through August 10.

Artists were asked to reflect on topics relevant to the border 鈥� including family, financial disparities, community, housing, state violence, and the environment 鈥� and the skateboarding scene as an example of a grassroots community built peacefully and binationally. 

鈥淎t a time when borders are often defined by division, this project highlights the everyday ways communities create connection,鈥� said David Cline, history professor and the founding director of the 黑瓜吃料网 Center for Public and Oral History and the Fred J. Hansen Peace Chair. 鈥淪kateboarding, art and storytelling reveal a form of grassroots diplomacy that is already happening across the San Diego鈥揟ijuana region and is well worth celebrating.鈥�

Curated by Andrea Buchetti, adjunct professor at the University of Padua and a visiting professor at 黑瓜吃料网 in the Department of History, the exhibition centers the concept of 鈥淒IY democracy,鈥� examining how cultural self-expression can create new forms of civic and social engagement.

The binational arts initiative and exhibition series explores the shared cultural landscape of the U.S.-Mexico border through skateboarding, art and community engagement. With exhibitions and public programming in both Tijuana and San Diego, the initiative will feature more than 40 artworks created by more than 25 artists from across the border region. 

Using skateboard decks as both artistic medium and cultural symbols, the project highlights stories of movement, identity, family, resilience and creative expression. More information about the initiative and the series of events is available online. 

鈥淲e introduce the concept of 鈥楧IY democracy鈥� to address these phenomena,鈥� Buchetti said. 鈥淚f cultural self-production practices embody serious models for political and social negotiation, then the concept of democracy can be rethought and reclaimed from below in a present marked by new separations.鈥�

At its core, Boarder Crossings positions skateboarding as a form of everyday cultural exchange that challenges narratives of separation. Through large-scale sculptural installations and participatory public events, the initiative invites audiences to reconsider the border as a space shaped by creativity, relatedness and community.

The participating artists represent an intergenerational and multidisciplinary cross-section of the border region鈥檚 skate and creative communities. Their works span painting, carving, kinetic sculpture, woodworking, tattoo techniques and mixed media design.

Many of the artists are skaters themselves or closely connected to skate culture through activism, community work and artistic practice. Together, the exhibition offers a collective portrait of communities building connection and meaning across physical and political boundaries.

Coinciding with the events, a zine will be produced and published by 鈥淏oarder Crossings鈥� logo designer John Mollet (鈥�20 B.A. history, 鈥�22 M.A. history), currently a doctoral student in the American Studies program and a 2023-24 fellow at the Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity and Transnational Migration. Mollet is a first-generation Urban Indigenous (Assiniboine-Nakota Sioux) and former student of Cline. 

鈥淢y biggest hope is how subculture and the tools of subculture and movement can go across borders to create community, collaboration, and solidarity with people from different countries of similar interests,鈥� Mollet said. 

Boarder Crossings is produced by Cline and curated by Buchetti in partnership with academic, cultural and grassroots organizations on both sides of the border.  In addition to the Hansen Fund, collaborators include Centro Cultural de la Raza, Centro Cultural Tijuana, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte and 黑瓜吃料网鈥檚 Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports, and Social Change, and several academic departments.

The exhibition opens in Tijuana in June before traveling to San Diego in July. All events are free and open to the public.

The initiative鈥檚 key events include (additional information and event details are on the 黑瓜吃料网 site)

• June 18: Symposium and soft opening at Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT)
• June 19: Opening night exhibition reception at CECUT
• June 21: Go Skate Day celebration featuring skate sessions, live music and community programming
• July 17: San Diego opening reception at Centro Cultural de la Raza
• Sept. 26: Final closing reception and skate session in Tijuana

Participating artists include Abel R. Macias, Alyasha Owerka-Moore, Andr茅s Howard Carrillo, Brisk, Spenser Little, Carlos Alberto Rodriguez Contreras, Denise Grimes, Erin Whitman, Gabriel Flores, Hector Villegas, Kevin Lara, Michelle Guerrero, Rodolfo Obreg贸n, Seth Sullivan, Vivi Lara and many others from across the San Diego-Tijuana border region.

For more information, including information about the artwork, visit sdsu.edu/boarder-crossings.