Artists living within a radius of 300 miles of the neighboring cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico are invited to apply for the 2026 Border Biennial / Bienal Fronteriza 2026.
The biennial exhibition is a joint project of the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) and the Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juárez (MACJ), and is organized by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (EPMCAD) and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL). Prior editions of the biennial had different geographic eligibility guidelines: For the 2024 Border Biennial, artists living within 200 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, between Corpus Christi and Tijuana, were invited to apply.
An installation view of the 2024 Border Biennial / Bienal Fronteriza 2024 at the
El Paso Museum of Art
The theme for the eighth edition of the biennial is “Imagining the Border.” In a press release, Christian Diego Diego, MACJ Director, said, “This binational collaboration strengthens cultural exchange between Mexico and the United States while reinforcing a shared cultural and border identity. Through this eighth edition, we continue to support artists whose practices contribute to a broader understanding of the border as a site of cultural construction, memory, encounter, and contemporary reflection.”
Thirty artists will be selected to participate, each asked to present one work at the EPMA and one at the MACJ, with the possibility of additional artists invited to participate through exhibition programming.
Edward Hayes, Jr., EPMA Director, said, “For this iteration, we are expanding the breadth of media to include multisensory art, poetry, spoken word, and other creative outlets. Works [in] the Border Biennial will give form to new voices and reflections that address our times.”
The application guidelines specify that “artists selected for the Biennial may be asked to exhibit submitted artworks, other existing artworks, or newly commissioned works.”
The deadline for entries is Friday, May 1, at 11:59 p.m. MDT. Application guidelines are available on the EPMA website and in downloadable PDF form in English and Spanish. The application is available through an EPMCAD Submittable page.
The 2026 Border Biennial / Bienal Fronteriza 2026 is scheduled to open at the EPMA on Friday, September 4, and at the MACJ on Saturday, September 5.