Stefan Falke's Eye: Tijuna Artists

I recently spent some time in Tijuana again to meet with and photograph more artists who in my opinion have a positive impact on the border region, some actively, some by simply living and working there. With the generous support of the widely respected artist Marta Palau (above, based in Mexico City and Tijuana), and one of the first to work with textile and sculpture in grand scale, I was able to connect with artists like Ramirez Marcos 'Erre' (below), Carmen Cuenca, the 2nd director of CECUT ( Centro Cultural Tijuana, middle image) and abstract painter Enrique Ciapara - besides many others ...

I call this personal project La Frontera and my goal is to come up with an 'image' of the Mexican/US border region that concentrates on the cultural activities and exchanges, which seem to get forgotten in the shadow of stories about drug related violence and illegal immigration. Over the next year(s) I will photograph more artists, architects, photographers, curators ... in short, people who have a positive cultural impact on the region. My ultimate goal is to cover the entire length of the border, Tijuana/San Diego is/has been my starting point and I may later include people involved in music, food, humanitarian work etc.

More portraits in this series click here
Below: photo artist Aldo Guerra, painter Alfredo Gutierrez and photo artist Julio Orozco.