Mexicali Biennial

EXHIBITION: 'UN/belonging in the Land of Milk & Honey' at Best Practice Gallery
2023-03-11 19:00 - 2023-04-15 19:00 UTC | Best Practice Gallery, 1955 Julian Ave, San Diego, CA, 92113, United States
The MexiCali Biennial presents UN/belonging in the Land of Milk & Honey, a two-person exhibition by biennial co-founders Ed Gomez and Luis G. Hernandez and guest curated by art historian and curator Emmanuel Ortega. This project is hosted by Best Practice Gallery in San Diego.
Under the rhetoric of empire, and to use the words of scholar Hazel Carby, belonging functions as a way to settle with colonization—giving us the impression that its violence has somehow been resolved. Throughout history, the role of landscape representation has functioned similarly; it has sought to enclose nature as a place where bodies are meant to belong “naturally.” But the dimensions of how, why, when and who belongs in these spaces has shifted through time. The distortion consists precisely in naturalizing which identities belong (and do not belong) to certain landscapes. Both, the art of Ed Gomez and Luis G. Hernandez place the meaning of Landscape to an active verb, that is, they highlight the natural environment as process, raising the questions, why, what, when, and who landscapes. In this exhibition, UN/belonging in the Land of Milk & Honey Gomez and Hernandez’s active artistic inquiries disrupt the fixity of belonging by manipulating the conventions of landscape representation.

Riverside Arts Walk / Rancho Shampoo / Paper Workshop
2023-03-02 18:00 - 21:00 | The Cheech Center for Chicano Arts and Culture of the Riverside Arts Museum, 3581 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, 92501, United States
The MexiCali Biennial and the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture of the Riverside Art Museum present Riverside Arts Walk activities including a performance by Rancho Shampoo and Indian Dub Orchestra. There will also be a paper making demonstration and activity led by artist Fred Brashear, Jr. Artswalk is March 2, 2023 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Rancho Shampoo will perform at 7:00 pm. Events and activities are FREE.
Rancho Shampoo and the Indian Dub Orchestra (Guillermo Estrada, Rubén Alonso Tamayo, Rodo Ibarra, Julián González, David Bautista Toledo) is a group of “Aliendígenas” from the border regions of California and Mexico. This experimental musical performance explores identities through the concept of aliendigenismo, or the shifting/transcendance of a person or group through real and spiritual borders, territories, physical bodies and realities.
Fred Brashear, Jr. will lead a paper making demonstration. Participants can decorate squares of handmade paper with wildlife stamps which echo themes in the artist’s solo exhibition currently on view at the San Bernardino County Museum, a special project of the MexiCali Biennial’s program Land of Milk & Honey titled Handle with Care.
The Riverside Artswalk is a monthly community event that celebrates the diversity of arts and culture in Riverside and the Inland Empire. Visit over 22 downtown locations, including museums, galleries and studios, presenting an eclectic mix of visual and performing arts.

EXHIBITIONS: 'Land of Milk & Honey' and 'Art, Action, Exchanges' at the Cheech Center
2023-02-25 10:00 - 2023-05-28 17:00 | The Cheech Center for Chicano Arts and Culture of the Riverside Arts Museum, 3581 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, 92501, United States
The MexiCali Biennial presents Land of Milk & Honey, a traveling multidisciplinary arts and culture program that focuses on concepts of agriculture in the regions of California and Mexico at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Arts and Culture of the Riverside Art Museum. Drawing inspiration from John Steinbeck’s portrayal of the region as a corrupted Eden, the exhibitions and programs question ethical, cultural, and regional practices related to foodways and the venture from seed to table. The biblical reference of a “land of milk and honey” first became associated with California as a tool for promoting the state as a land of opportunity; a destination for those in search of a better way of life – a terra firma that would provide sustenance and abundance. This boosterism also served as an ethos that fueled “Manifest Destiny” and resulted in land grabs, ecological destruction, and social injustices.
This exhibition features artists’ views of multi-layered topics associated with agriculture including cultural relationships to food, associations with identity and place, and historical and political concerns.
In conjunction with Land of Milk & Honey, an adjacent gallery presents “MexiCali Biennial: Art, Action, Exchanges,” an exhibition of artworks and ephemera that chronicle the history of the MexiCali Biennial from 2006 to the present.

EXHIBITION: Fred Brashear, Jr: Handle With Care, a special project of the MexiCali Biennial's program 'Land of Milk & Honey' at the San Bernardino County Museum
2023-02-04 08:00 - 2023-05-07 17:00 | San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Ln, Redlands, CA 92374, Redlands, CA, 92374, United States
Artist Fred Brashear, Jr.’s solo exhibition Handle with Care: A special project of the MexiCali Biennial program, Land of Milk and Honey, presented by the San Bernardino County Museum. This exhibition researches and explores the use of the Opuntia, a genus in the family of Cactaceae that includes the prickly pear (nopal), as an alternative resource in the struggle against climate change. By looking at the historical, cultural, and biological uses of the cactus, alternative ideas on its use present themselves to help mitigate the effects of weather-related phenomena due to climate change.
As a multicultural artist, Fred Brashear Jr explores the parallel between the climate crisis and social injustice. Focusing on the issues of climate change as his muse, Fred examines the treatment of the natural environment and explores ways to find an equitable solution for sustainability. Artist website: https://www.fredbrashear.com/
Through the lens of the region’s dynamic cultural and natural history, the San Bernardino County Museum develops visitors’ appreciation of our diverse regional identity to spark their curiosity, to stimulate inquiry, to challenge their assumptions, and to invite them to contribute to our common future.

Virtual Panel Discussion: Borderlands Research Initiative Launch
2022-12-15 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
This virtual event will launch the Borderlands Research Initiative (BRI), a partnership between the MexiCali Biennial and the Hispanic Reading Room (HRR) at the Library of Congress. The BRI aims to generate new research projects on the art, culture, history, and environment of the U.S.-Mexico border. Speakers will include authors of the Borderlands Research Guide, William Cowan and Alejandro Espinoza, Suzanne Schadl (Director, LOC-HRR), and Catalina Gomez (Curator, LOC-HRR). The event will be moderated by MexiCali Biennial curators Ed Gomez and Rosalía Romero, with concluding remarks by Sam White (Pomona ‘23).
Click HERE to register.

The Tamaleros: Tamale Fest & Cheech Pre-Launch
2022-12-10 16:00 - 20:00 | brewjeria, 4937 Durfee Ave, Pico Rivera, CA, 90660, United States
The MexiCali Biennial presents The Tamaleros, a celebration of tamaleros and street vendors. Join us with collaborators Revolution Carts and Brewjeria Company along with food vendors who will be serving regionally diverse styles of tamales. Enjoy music, activities and performances free to the public including a performance by VisRats Mobile (aka La Carcachita), a low-rider inspired golf cart by artist Ruben Ortiz Torres as a pre-launch to exhibiton at “the Cheech.”
This event is part of the MexiCali Biennial’s program, The Land of Milk and Honey, which aims to explore concepts related to agriculture and foodways within California and Mexico. The organization will be unveiling a cart by Revolution Carts and customized by renowned artist Ruben Ochoa for vendors Tamales el Primo in February 2023 at The Cheech Center for Chicano Art and Culture of the Riverside Art Museum before becoming a working food vending cart. Visit the exhibition which will include dozens of artists living and working in the bi-national region from February 25 – May 28, 2023.
Visit HERE for more info.

AGRI+CULTURE SERIES | PART 1: HISTORIES
2022-11-17 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
This virtual panel will host MexiCali Biennial artists that have developed new approaches to artistic research and historical analysis. In their works, they utilize a range of visual strategies for encountering difficult pasts, violent events, and erased histories in California and Mexico. Through an examination of agricultural practices, these artists have created new visual forms to examine their relationship to the land and forge new communities. Featured artists include Jessica Wimbley, Chris Christion, Narsiso Martinez, and Emily C-D. This discussion will be moderated by MexiCali Biennial curator, Rosalía Romero.
IMAGE: Still from Jessica Wimbley and Chris Christion, The Unauthorized Histography of California Vol. 2: Fieldnotes, 2022

The Land of Milk and Honey Opening Reception at Santa Cruz MAH/Tarot Readings
2022-09-02 18:00 - 21:00
Join us for an Opening Celebration for The Land of Milk and Honey at the Santa Cruz MAH during their First Friday events night!
Schedule of Events:
6:00-6:30pm: Curator + Artist Tour of The Land of Milk & Honey with speakers Ed Gomez, Luis G. Hernandez, and Rosalia Romero of the MexiCali Biennial.
6:30-7:00pm & 7:30-8:30pm: El Otro Lado: Land of Milk and Honey Tarot Readings w/ Enid Baxter Ryce and Florence
The tarot cards, El Otro Lado, were created by Enid Baxter Ryce and Luis Cámara with lettering by Gabrielle Galanter.
Enid Baxter Ryce is a writer, artist, and filmmaker. She specializes in interpreting science and history. Her works have exhibited internationally and have been written about in The New York Times, Artforum, Artreviews and others. Enid is Professor of Cinematic Arts and Environmental Studies at CSUMB and is Director of Community Engagement for the Philip Glass Center for Art, Science and the Environment. She is co-P.I. on a National Institutes of Health grant, a researcher on the Armory Center’s Getty Foundation PST Project and co-curator of the MexiCali Biennial. Luis Cámara is a film director and screenwriter from Mexico City, and a graduate of the American Film Institute. He wrote the screenplay for the film You’re Killing Me Susana, for which he received an Ariel nomination for best adapted script. He has directed the feature films Steel Trap, Silencio, and the short films Ex Voto, Endgame, and Rage in Me. He is a professor at California State University, Monterey Bay. Gabrielle Galanter is an actress and screenwriter from New York City. She wrote the screenplays for the films Steel Trap, and Silencio, in which she also starred. She has acted in the films Ex Voto, Endgame, and Rage in Me. She is currently a lecturer at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Santa Cruz MAH Member's Preview: The Land of Milk and Honey
2022-09-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St,, Santa Cruz, california, 95060, United States
We warmly invite you to a special exhibition preview of The Land of Milk and Honey, a traveling multidisciplinary arts and culture program focused on the ideological concept of agriculture in the regions of California and Mexico.
Schedule of Events:
6pm – Doors open
6:30pm – Welcome & Opening Remarks
6:45pm – Exhibition Walk through with Curators and Artists
8pm – Event ends
RSVP HERE

The Land of Milk and Honey Exhibition
2022-09-01 00:00 - 2022-12-31 00:00 | Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St,, Santa Cruz, california, 95060, United States
The Land of Milk and Honey is a traveling multidisciplinary arts and culture program focused on the ideological concept of agriculture in the regions of California and Mexico.
Drawing inspiration from John Steinbeck’s portrayal of the region as a corrupted Eden, the biennial presents works that question ethical, cultural and regional practices related to foodways, and the venture from seed to table. The biblical reference of a “land of milk and honey” first became associated with California as a tool for promoting the state as a land of opportunity; a destination for those in search of a better way of life – a terra firma that would provide sustenance and abundance. This boosterism also served as an ethos that fueled “Manifest Destiny” and resulted in land grabs, labor exploitation, ecological destruction, and social injustices.
This inaugural exhibition explores artists’ views around multi-layered topics associated with agriculture including environmental impacts, cultural culinary traditions, identity and migration, regional histographies, and familial and mythical connections to food.
Header Image: Fernando Armenghol, Sol2Soul Art Collective (2016), La Cosecha Sagrada, digital photograph.
