The MexiCali Biennial is currently planning our next program, PARA/normal Borders, scheduled for 2026 with special projects beginning in 2024. Open call will be released in 2025.
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The most recent iteration of the MexiCali Biennial, titled Land of Milk & Honey, was a traveling multidisciplinary arts and culture program that focused on concepts of agriculture in the regions of California and Mexico. Drawing inspiration from John Steinbeck’s portrayal of the region as a corrupted Eden, the exhibitions and programs questioned 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. In September 2022, Land of Milk & Honey began exhibitions at Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. Unique iterations of the “biennial” continued at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Arts and Culture of the Riverside Art Museum, the San Bernardino County Museum, Best Practice Gallery (San Diego), Steppling Art Gallery (SDSU IVC Calexico), casa la linea – arte contemporaneo (Calexico), Planta Libre Espacio Experimental (Mexicali), IIC Museo (Mexicali) and along the border wall.
Special projects included a street vendor appreciation event, a border art symposium, live performances, curator walk-throughs, an artist in residency and many more. Please visit the Land of Milk & Honey archive page for more information. For all past programs and exhibitions visit our archive page, including free downloadable catalogs.
