Written by
Nicolle McMurray

Navigating Border Economies

The border cities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – both big industrial hubs – exist specifically because the border exists, characterized by a tension that fuels economic activity. Professor Anita Pena and PhD student Adam Walke explore the complexities of interconnected economies and the economics of immigration, which is inevitably about people. 

The Thing Itself: Navigating the borders of concept to performance

Choreography translates the border between the emotional concept and the physical moves themselves, and allows an audience to hold their own perceptions and their own story. Three CSU Dance majors produce their senior capstonetaking  their initial idea or concept and translating it into a performance, moving the idea from an internal realm to an external one.  

Finding Home Beyond the Binary

Both the terms non binary and transgender work for this Women and Gender Studies student who has confirmed their social and gender identity while studying at CSU. Gender theory provided the words and the support they needed for this transformation

Clay is a Border of Nature, Time, and Space

Sanam Emami and students have been digging in the dirt along the Poudre River, exploring the possibilities of local clay. Local clays differ from commercialized, highly processed clays that are sourced from manufacturers. Using local clay to make functional objects ties its utility to place and provides a richer understanding of the connection between humans, place, and Earth.  

Navigating borders: Could water be a bridge between U.S. and Mexico?

Because both the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers’ headwaters begin in the U.S. and flow across the border, both sides depend on the other for the water. Since the 1990s, getting enough of that water has been a problem compounded by a booming population and climate change. The common problem has forced the two countries to find common ground, says Stephen Mumme. 

Archeo-phonics: Music, Memory, & Preserving What We’ve Lost

Part poem, part sound-art, part architectural experiment, part foray into literary theory – The Aylesworth Suite, a collection of three pieces of music, each seeking to preserve not simply the memory but the sonic imprint of the now destroyed Aylesworth Hall, is a work that unexpectedly always adds up to more than the sum of its parts. 

Art museums make connections across borders

By prompting dialogue about what museums do, who they are for, and how they teach us, the Gregory Allicar’s exhibitions and programming illustrate how borders are never as clearly defined as they might seem. Art museums bridge divides – catalyzing visual literacy by sparking conversation between differing ideas.