Flagstaff Arts Council was very pleased to have presented this stunning and powerful art exhibition, which was open September 22, 2012, through October 31, 2012, at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Beyond the Border: the Wall, the People and the Land addressed the human and environmental impact of issues that surround the US / Mexico border, the border wall and border policies. Works of art in the show explored this impact and how changing policy is affecting the environment and/or people. The intent of this exhibition was not to advocate for or against any position, policy or political figure; rather, Beyond the Border offered an opportunity for stories to be shared and questions to be raised that allowed viewers to explore the consequences of intensified focus on this region. Beyond the Border was accompanied by an exhibition in our Jewel Gallery: Ofrendas a la Frontera/Offerings to the Border, created by high school students at Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Academy, on their experiences spending time in the border region.

Beyond the Border included the traveling exhibition, Continental Divide, which featured photographs from the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP). In January 2009, the ILCP sent a team of world-renowned photographers, writers, filmmakers and scientists to the U.S./Mexico borderlands to document the ecological and human impacts of the border wall. This exhibition is a compelling illustration of what they discovered on our own southern frontier, in one of the most imperiled landscapes on the continent.