Artists + Practitioners + Organizations

Meet the artists, practitioners, and organizations! Far South/Border North awarded funding to support artists and cultural practitioners working in disciplines from performing arts, visual arts, music, film and media, and literature to multidisciplinary and socially engaged forms.

Far South/Border North Round I Grant Recipients

Our Round I grant recipients include about 60 artists and cultural practitioners from San Diego and Imperial counties. Round I grant recipients began developing their campaigns in June 2023, and are now implemented those campaigns through May 2024.

Johnny Bear Contreras

San Diego County

"From the ocean to the desert and everything in between" is how Johnny Bear Contreras answers the question of what influences his work. He works in the medium of sculpture, specializing in bronze, aluminum, and stainless steel and combining all three with resin. A critical component in his work is the representation of indigenous peoples within the arts industry, sharing that "our work is our belief system on display for the whole world to see."

Berenice Badillo

San Diego County

Berenice is a Spanish-speaking Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, illustrator, muralist, and multimedia artist. She is an immigrant from Mexico and has straddled intertwined cultural and subcultural identities her entire life. She illustrated an award-winning book, "Am I Blue or am I Green?" that explores the identity and impact of a boy's life with undocumented parents in the United States. Berenice strives to document and encourage the creation of communal cultural wealth through murals, sculpture, pop-up art galleries, and the co-creation of counterstories. Berenice believes that representation is important and sees art expression as a means to amplify the voices of BIPOC and disseminate the stories of their community where it can be witnessed on a grand scale. Berenice is a Chicano Park muralist with a doctorate in art therapy and a social-emotional learning consultant.

Thao French

San Diego County

Thao Huynh French is an artist, muralist, and street photographer. Born in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, she lives and works in San Diego. She is best known for co-founding Mindful Murals™, a creative social enterprise with the mission of bringing communities together through the power of art. Since launching it in 2018, she and her husband (and business partner) have painted over 400 interactive murals for schools and public spaces, reaching places as far as Hawaii and Vietnam. French’s artwork explores different varieties of flowers and her Asian American heritage. Her art is an eclectic mixture of abstract and figurative concepts using acrylic and spray paint as primary mediums with no limitation of color. Her work continues to evolve, using years of practice to experiment with more modern ways to create art styles that are uniquely hers.

Amber Green

Imperial County

Amber Green was born and raised in the small town of Marshall, Texas, home of "The Great Debaters." She studied studio art at Arizona Western College and the Art Institute in Dallas. She now lives and works in El Centro. Green works primarily within the medium of animation.

Eric "EV93" Vargas

Imperial County

Eric Vargas, aka EV9thr33, lives and works in the Imperial Valley. He is passionate about creating and producing music and has produced, mixed, and mastered thousands of solo and collaborative projects for over ten years. He has recently expanded to work with more genres and networks with different outlets such as record labels and A&Rs. Since opening a studio in the area, Vargas has also pursued his artist development.

Olivia Quintanilla

San Diego County

Olivia Arlene Quintanilla is a Chamoru educator born and raised in San Diego. Her cultural practice focuses on intergenerational public ethnic studies programming that centers on civic and community engagement. She organizes workshops and events that use culture, such as food, music, dance, poetry, art, and storytelling, as a catalyst for connection, awareness, and social change. A first-generation college student alumni of San Diego community colleges, San Diego State University, and the University of California San Diego, she is now an Ethnic Studies professor at MiraCosta Community College in Oceanside.

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Far South/Border North Round II Grant Recipients

Our Round II grant recipients include 18 San Diego and Imperial County organizations. In fall 2023, they hired artists and cultural practitioners and began working alongside them to develop their campaigns, and implemented them through August 2024.

  • DISCO RIOT

    San Diego County

    DISCO RIOT exists to elevate a collaborative art culture in San Diego and beyond — because the world needs more movement-based art. The organization connects dancers and artists who want to move themselves and audiences in ways that push boundaries to make high-impact art that promotes community, justice, and movement as a form of radical expression. DISCO RIOT produces and supports innovative dance programming, connects artists across media and form to grow and intensify community, and provides an educational space that reflects contemporary and progressive professional realities.

    DISCO RIOT
  • Kumeyaay Community College Inc.

    San Diego County

    Kumeyaay Community College (KCC) aims to promote a quality education focusing on Kumeyaay studies for the community interested in a unique and supportive educational experience. KCC lives its mission by promoting Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination; preserving Indigenous values of family, respect, healing, and spiritual awareness; developing a supportive learning environment for the community; promoting cultural education by embracing cognitive development and traditional teaching methods; and designing and developing of curriculum that prepares students professionally and socially to succeed in a diverse global society.

    Kumeyaay Community College Inc.
  • Outside the Lens

    San Diego County

    Outside the Lens (OTL) amplifies youth voices through photography, filmmaking, and digital media, catalyzing change within themselves, their communities, and the world. OLT provides youth with the tools and skills necessary to succeed in a digital world. OLT's vision is that all youth, regardless of income, geography, national origin, or identity, have the artistic and technological skills and access to create and share their stories.

    Outside the Lens

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