Exhibitions

Drawing from the lived experience of the US/Mexico border, Tanya Aguiñiga has developed an experimental approach to craft, using fiber, ceramics, hand-blown glass, and traditional techniques to generate conversations about and across political and cultural divides. Given the ongoing persecution of migrants along the border, and amid an increasingly polarized political climate, Aguiñiga’s upcoming exhibition at the Armory highlights her long-standing commitment to thoughtful and urgent dialogue on immigration politics, transnational identity, and community activism. Along with the Los Angeles debut of some of the artist’s most iconic works, including the binational border-epic AMBOS, this exhibition will also feature a site-specific commission that repurposes the walls of the Armory as an artist-activated loom.

Please Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an interactive element from this exhibition had to be removed from the installation. Through an online form, we invite you to participate in a new virtual iteration of this piece. Click here to learn how.

In Conversation December 10
In conjunction with this exhibition, join us via Zoom on Thursday, December 10 at 6:00 PM PST a conversation and Q&A with Tanya Aguiñiga and Jackie Amézquita. Click here for more information. 

Virtual Field Trips

Take your students on a virtual Armory exhibition tour and make art with lessons designed by Armory Teaching Artists that meet National Arts Common Core Standards featuring artwork from our exhibition Tanya Aguiñiga: Borderlands Within/La Frontera Adentro. 

Past Public Programs

Tanya Aguiñiga and Jackie Amézquita in Conversation
This conversation and Q&A with Tanya Aguiñiga and Jackie Amézquita was presented in conjunction with the exhibition "Tanya Aguiñiga: Borderlands Within/La Frontera Adentro" at Armory Center for the Arts. Armory Exhibition Program Production Manager hosted this virtual event. Recorded on December 10, 2020.

Tanya Aguiñiga: Armory Exhibition Walkthrough
A virtual walkthrough with the artist of the exhibition produced in partnership with Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) and The Hammer.

Pasajes/Passages: Lecturas sobre migración, trauma y sanación/ Readings on migration, trauma, and healing
This virtual afternoon of poetry and prose examined the topic of migration, its effect on an individual and community, and the healing process that often follows migratory journeys. This event was held on Saturday, September 12, 2020, and featured readings/performances by Rossana Pérez, Omar Pimienta, Danyeli Rodriguez Del Orbe, and Sehba Sarwar. In addition to these presenters, the event included an open-mic style community sharing session.

Tanya Aguiñiga: Ejercicios en Entendimiento (Exercises in Understanding)
A centerpiece of Aguiñiga's exhibition at the Armory, Ejercicios en Entendimiento (Exercises in Understanding) was activated through a weaving performance that the artist describes as “...an attempt to learn through my body. I am entering into spaces of strain and unnatural situations with craft-based materials to connect to and further process my border and the immigrant experience. Using cotton dyed with the pulverized U.S./Mexico border, I am weaving a horizontal wall within the Armory’s gallery. My body is the vessel (shuttle) for transporting border-stained fiber and weaving a solid surface between gallery hemispheres. My body carries, pushes, and pulls the weft (fiber) over and under the warp (rope dividing the gallery space)." This first activation of "Ejercicios en Entendimiento" took place at the Armory on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. 

Media

Tanya Aguiñiga: the Uplifter Creating Bridges Across the Border
(LA Weekly)

How an artist builds connectivity across border walls
(KCRW)

Black lives, immigration and politics are focal points of new LA art exhibits
(KCRW)

Tanya Aguiñiga in "Borderlands" - Extended Segment 
(Art21)

Selected Exhibition Videos

Tensíon (Tension)
2017 
Single-channel video, color, sound/video monoclonal, sonido, color; 4 min., 25 sec.

96 Deaths (96 Muertes)
2017
Single-channel video, color, sound/video monoclonal, sonido, color; 13 min., 52 sec.

Grapple (Forcejear)
2018 
Single-channel video, color, sound/video monoclonal, sonido, color; 15 min., 37 sec.

America’s Wall (El muro de America)
2018 
Single-channel video, color, sound/video monoclonal, sonido, color; 4 min., 31 sec.(Armory Center for the Arts)

 

Image: Tanya Aguiñiga, America’s Wall (performance photo), 2018. Performed by Tanya Aguiñiga, Jackie Amézquita, Cecilia Brawley, Natalie Godinez, Izabella Sanchez, and Shannen Wallace. Photo by Gina Clyne. Courtesy of the artist.

This exhibition has been produced with generous support from the Pasadena Art Alliance.