Living on the Border

Mexicayotl Academy & Border Action Network, Nogales, Arizona
Fall 2003
Writer Kimi Eisele and I collaborated with the Tucson-based nonprofit, Border Action Network (www.borderaction.org) to teach photography to students at Mexicayotl Academy in Nogales, Arizona. These workshops were held in conjunction with Border Action Network’s research to understand the impact of U.S. Border Patrol activity in border communities.

Over two months the students documented through photos and words what it was like to live on the US/Mexico border. How did living by two countries make life unique? What did they like in their community and what did they want to change? Their photos were then exhibited so that others could understand the students’ perspectives on border life. The project culminated in an exhibit of the students’ photographs, which were displayed in Nogales, AZ and Oakland, CA.