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.

Sandra Carmona

Sandra Carmona

Sandra Carmona

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Sandra Carmona

San Diego County

Sandra Carmona is of Wixárika descent, Chicana, daughter of farmworkers, and a muralist for over 20 years. She is a well-known leader in her community and a longtime activist for farmworkers and Indigenous rights. She founded Calpulli Omeyocan, a grassroots Indigenous dance collaborative, and her project, Maijawee Divine Serpent, is a transborder art piece that served as a political statement in solidarity with the Kumeyaay Nation and Indigenous people’s struggle over sovereignty on the U.S.-Mexico border. Sandra’s art intends to amplify the voices of her people and showcase their culture, contributions, struggles, and vibrancy. To her, art is medicine.

Angel Esparza

Angel Esparza

Angel Esparza

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Angel Esparza

Imperial County

Angel Esparza is a community-driven multi-media artist from Calexico. As the founder of Mi Calexico, his mission is to inform, inspire, and connect the community. Since 2009, Angel has been fostering connections among the residents of Calexico through various mediums, including photography, videos, a printed magazine, and events such as the Art Walk on the Border, which has brought together hundreds of artists from the region. Mi Calexico has emerged as one of the most engaging platforms in the area, thanks to the heartfelt dedication that Angel and his team pour into his campaigns and events. He ran for city council in 2016, displaying his passion for civic engagement. Additionally, Angel has served on the Calexico Chamber of Commerce board and played an integral role in the Mariachi Festival Committee.

Johnnierenee Nelson

Johnnierenee Nelson

Johnnierenee Nelson

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Johnnierenee Nelson

San Diego County

Award-winning poet and playwright Johnnierenee Nia Nelson, aka the Kwanzaa Poet, has written and published six books of poetry. Ms. Nelson is a poet/teacher with California Poets in the Schools and San Diego's Border Voices Project and a performance poet who has presented readings and workshops from Cairo, Egypt, to Vancouver, British Columbia. She also appeared in the Emmy-Award-winning documentary "Lighting the Way." In 2017, Nelson received a Fellowship from the Livingkindness Foundation to attend the International Women Writers Guild's 40th Annual Summer Conference in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She serves as the San Diego County Area Coordinator for California Poets in the Schools and as Poet Laureate of the World Beat Cultural Center in San Diego's Balboa Park.

Thao French

Thao French

Thao French

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Thao French

San Diego County

Thao Huynh French is an artist, muralist, and street photographer. Born in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, she lives and works in San Diego. She is best known for co-founding Mindful Murals™, a creative social enterprise with the mission of bringing communities together through the power of art. Since launching it in 2018, she and her husband (and business partner) have painted over 400 interactive murals for schools and public spaces, reaching places as far as Hawaii and Vietnam. French’s artwork explores different varieties of flowers and her Asian American heritage. Her art is an eclectic mixture of abstract and figurative concepts using acrylic and spray paint as primary mediums with no limitation of color. Her work continues to evolve, using years of practice to experiment with more modern ways to create art styles that are uniquely hers.

Enrique "Chikle" Lugo

Enrique "Chikle" Lugo

Enrique "Chikle" Lugo

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Enrique "Chikle" Lugo

San Diego County

Enrique Lugo, aka chikle!, is a visual artist and the proud son of Mexican Immigrants dedicated to human-centered education and CommUNITY activism. Via a multidisciplinary approach, his work has focused on identity, cultivating safe spaces, raising awareness, fostering change, and nurturing a sense of CommUNITY and belonging. He is a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate and has been involved in activism, promoting entrepreneurship, producing family-friendly events, and curating art shows since 2004. He continues to make art, including CommUNITY murals and participates in his CommUNITY, serving as Dean of Culture at High Tech High Chula Vista in Chula Vista, California.

Haydee "Betty Bangs" Juarez

Haydee "Betty Bangs" Juarez

Haydee "Betty Bangs" Juarez

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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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