The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation launches the $25 million Frontera Cultural Fund, designed to support the work of artists and cultural leaders who live and create in the U.S.-Mexico border and tribal communities. announced.
The fund is designed in partnership with local artists and leaders and will provide flexible funding to grantees in the U.S. and Mexico, including artist-led projects, cultural organizations, and grassroots community groups. The fund will also support indigenous, binational and black networks that foster regional and cross-border knowledge exchange and advocate for cultural rights.
Initial funding recipients include the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center in San Diego to evaluate, preserve, catalog, and digitize two archives documenting the work of generations of Chicanx artists and activists. We support you. Fandango Fronterizo is an annual event in Tijuana, Mexico. Musicians, dancers, and community members come together to celebrate humanity through Song Harocho. Tucson’s Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras supports a network of indigenous organizations and works to strengthen cultural, linguistic, historical and ceremonial connections.
“The history of the border is one of generational trauma in which Indigenous stories and truths have been ignored, made invisible, and framed by Western imaginations and settler colonialism. Yet despite this reality, “The indigenous peoples remain strong and have a resilient continuity,” said Lourdes Escalante, executive director of Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras. “Since 1997, Alianza has united indigenous communities affected by the U.S.-Mexico border, documenting human rights violations, defending indigenous immigrants, and opposing the militarization of the border. We maintain traditional cultural connections and promote healing through programs centered on Indigenous knowledge, memory, and language.”
(Photo credit: Getty Images/grandriver)
