Artists + Practitioners + Organizations

Meet the artists, practitioners, and organizations! Far South/Border North awarded funding to support artists and cultural practitioners working in disciplines from performing arts, visual arts, music, film and media, and literature to multidisciplinary and socially engaged forms.

Far South/Border North Round I Grant Recipients

Our Round I grant recipients include about 60 artists and cultural practitioners from San Diego and Imperial counties. Round I grant recipients began developing their campaigns in June 2023, and are now implemented those campaigns through May 2024.

Alma Silva

Imperial County

Alma Silva is a Mexican-born, California-based artist who works with digital illustration and acrylic paint. Nostalgia, pop culture, and personal interests inspire her work. Her use of bold colors, fun subjects, and wild design produce pieces that she hopes elicit an uplifting experience. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine/Media Arts from the Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago, and worked with a Chicago-based comic book publisher. Silva creates custom artwork and murals for local businesses and clients nationwide.

Kendrick "Mr. Lyrical Groove" Dial

San Diego County

Kendrick Dial, also known as Mr. Lyrical Groove, is a renaissance man with a mission to blend mental health and social justice art. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Africana Studies/Psychology from San Diego State University and a Master's in Social Work from the University of South California. Dial is an accomplished spoken word artist who published his first poetry book, Da JOYNT, in 2005. He has worked with the poetry collective Collective Purpose for over ten years, hosting one of Southern California's highest-attended open mic events, ELEVATED. He has collaborated with several arts-based organizations to perform and produce shows that inspire, challenge, educate, and entertain, including BkSoul, Playwrights Project, and Ira Aldridge Theatre. He is also a teaching artist with the Old Globe and recently completed a veteran playwriting workshop with the La Jolla Playhouse, where he is working on his two-person production.

Debby Kline

San Diego County

Debby Kline, a mixed media artist, is the Joyce Cutler-Shaw Artist in Residence at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.  Her solo exhibitions notably include Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, California Center for the Arts, La Casa del Tunel, Southwestern and Mesa College Art Galleries, and La Jolla Athenaeum.  Group exhibitions include the Torrance Art Museum, San Diego Art Institute, and Museum on the Seam, Israel.  Her work is covered in periodicals such as Utne and Orion and books including “The Artists Guide,” and “Design and Ethics: Reflections on Practice.” She was featured in an Emmy Award-winning episode of ArtPulse TV and awarded the Calzona Prize. Grants include Gunk Foundation (NY,) Potrero Nuevo Fund (SF,) Center for Cultural Innovation (LA,) UCIRA (SD,) the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and the San Diego Art Prize. Past artists residencies include the San Diego Natural History Museum, Torrance Art Museum, and Center for Land Use Interpretation.

Zaquia Mahler Salinas

San Diego County

Zaquia Mahler Salinas is a dance artist invested in movement-art as an act of reclamation and world-building. She has worked with many organizations in San Diego in various artistic, administrative, and teaching capacities. Zaquia has had the opportunity to engage dance communities worldwide, including a 2019 residency in Bethlehem, Palestine, focusing on dance as a form of cultural, embodied resistance. In 2018, she founded DISCO RIOT, a nonprofit movement-arts organization that supports local dance and provides creative possibilities for advancing the scene in San Diego. Zaquia is a lifelong learner and holds a bachelor's in Dance with honors from the University of California Santa Barbara (2011), a Master's in Dance: Creative Practice with honors from Saint Mary's College of California (2017), a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of San Diego (2021), and a California Single Subject Teaching Credential for Dance (2022).

Darreon "D-Stats" Staton

Imperial County

Darreon Staton is an accomplished Christian hip-hop artist hailing from Imperial, California. With an unwavering faith and a profound love for music, He channels his passion into delivering impactful messages of hope and inspiration. Known for his captivating stage presence and dynamic performances, Station has had the privilege of sharing the spotlight with numerous renowned artists, solidifying his presence in the music industry. Through these community gatherings, his mission is to touch the hearts and souls of his audience, creating an uplifting atmosphere of spiritual connection.

Haydee "Betty Bangs" Juarez

San Diego County

"Betty Bangs is a queer Chicana artist, working with the medium of painting in acrylic and murals, but also sewing and DJ-ing. Bangs paints shapes representing women of all shapes & sizes. She has painted murals in San Diego and Mexico City and assisted in painting four murals in Chicano Park. Of utmost importance to her is representing her cultura & lifestyle through her work.

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Far South/Border North Round II Grant Recipients

Our Round II grant recipients include 18 San Diego and Imperial County organizations. In fall 2023, they hired artists and cultural practitioners and began working alongside them to develop their campaigns, and implemented them through August 2024.

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