An exhibition focusing on 21st-century shared and socially-engaged art practices opens Jan. 28 at the UT San Antonio Main Art Gallery.
Presented by UTSA Arts, the “Fronterizx” exhibition will run through Feb. 28.
“Fronterizx” features work created by the Fronterizx Collective, founded by M. Jenea Sanchez and Gabriela Muñoz during their first collaboration on the Arizona-Mexico borderlands in a 2009 project titled, ”La Tapiz Fronteriza de La Virgen de Guadalupe.”
Sanchez was born and raised in Douglas, Ariz., and Agua Prieta in Sonora, Mexico. She co-founded Border Arts Corridor, a nonprofit arts organization providing the borderlands community with an immersive arts district through bi-national artwalks, workshops and artist residencies.
Muñoz’s practice functions as a growing archive documenting the lives of borderlands and the spaces where they build a counternarrative centering power-sharing and horizontal leadership models.
The Fronterizx show includes contemporary artworks such as the video, ”Caldo de Pollo,” and the photographic series, ”Living Altar,” and features a new collaborative project between Esparza and Fronterizx.
This is the first exhibition in Texas of the Fronterizx Collective and the artists’ first collaboration with San Antonio-based artist Jenelle Esparza.
“Muñoz and Sanchez’s collaborations in the Fronterizx Collective reflect upon and learn from lived experiences of women of color of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands,” said exhibition curator John-Michael Warner.
“Their engagement with individuals and communities in the contexts of Sonoran and Chihuahuan ecologies emphasizes that the borderlands are historically textured across their great geographic expanse and the fact that art may both honor cultural values and inspire future energies,” Warner added.
“The work of the Fronterizx Collective and the collaboration with San Antonio’s Jenelle Esparza demonstrate how contemporary art can encourage individuals to consider broader ideas of community,” said Scott Sherer, director of exhibitions and professor of art. “We are reminded that personal viewpoints and family narratives are often wonderful foundations for making new connections.”
Fronterizx Collective is driven by the artists’ experiences as women of color living and working in the interstitial space of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.
Their projects, installations, and exhibitions have appeared in museums near the border, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Wheelwright Museum and Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. In 2023, Fronterizx Collective was awarded the Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award by the Phoenix Art Museum, and a 2024 USA Artist Fellowship.
UTSA Arts is UT San Antonio’s hub for connection, creativity, and imagination. The center supports public arts programs, community collaborations and research initiatives that create pathways for San Antonians to participate fully in the cultural and artistic life of our city.
Visit UTSA Arts for information on the School of Art, this exhibition and more.
“Fronterizx” Exhibition
Artist Preview Talk
Jan. 27
6:30 – 8 p.m.
UT San Antonio Main Art Gallery, Arts Building 2nd Floor
Opening Reception
Jan. 28
6 – 8 p.m.
UT San Antonio Main Art Gallery, Arts Building 2nd Floor
Exhibition Hours
Jan. 28 – Feb. 28, Thursdays through Saturdays, or by appointment at [email protected].
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
UT San Antonio Main Art Gallery
The exhibition and all events are free to attend.
