U.S. - Mexico Borderlands Collection

Our collection of ethnographic artifacts concerning US-Mexico border migration is made possible through the generous donations of humanitarian aid workers, artists, and volunteers affiliated with organizations such as Humane Borders, The Tucson Samaritans, and Borderlinks.  These discarded objects come from the Sonoran Desert that forms the border between Nogales, Mexico and Tucson, Arizona (USA) and reveal much about the arduous journey migrants from Latin America face as they attempt to cross an increasingly militarized border. Our collection is further enhanced through a photographic collection by Michael Hyatt and mixed media art by artists Deborah McCullough and Alvaro Enciso. Hand-stitched bordados donated by the Mexico City-based organization, Fuentes Rojas, are embroidered stories of every Mexico City resident killed in drug-war related violence.

carpet shoe

Backpack from Borderlands Collection