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.

Ryan Perez

Imperial County

Ryan Joseph Perez is an independent filmmaker, videographer, and writer. He lives and works in the desert community of Niland in Imperial County. Perez won an award for his entry at the Salton Sea Film Festival (2021) and worked as an art director on a soundstage for Awesomeness TV. As a writer, director, and editor, he continues to develop his craft while meeting and collaborating with people in and out of the industry.

Angel Esparza

Imperial County

Angel Esparza is a community-driven multi-media artist from Calexico. As the founder of Mi Calexico, his mission is to inform, inspire, and connect the community. Since 2009, Angel has been fostering connections among the residents of Calexico through various mediums, including photography, videos, a printed magazine, and events such as the Art Walk on the Border, which has brought together hundreds of artists from the region. Mi Calexico has emerged as one of the most engaging platforms in the area, thanks to the heartfelt dedication that Angel and his team pour into his campaigns and events. He ran for city council in 2016, displaying his passion for civic engagement. Additionally, Angel has served on the Calexico Chamber of Commerce board and played an integral role in the Mariachi Festival Committee.

Oscar J. Romo

San Diego County

Oscar Romo graduated as an architect with master's degrees in urban planning, social housing, and computer science and doctoral studies in environmental sciences. His concentration is art, reflecting scientific discoveries and exemplifying his academic research. An advocate of sustainability, he has created hundreds of art pieces made entirely from repurposed materials. He has worked in several countries on sizeable public art structures down to miniatures, always inspired by natural systems and resource conservation. Committed to education since he was in college, he has led thousands of students to appreciate science.

Carlos Uribe

Imperial County

Carlos Antonio Uribe is a 4th generation mariachi musician and director of Mariachi Acero Del Valle. He was born in Portland, Oregon, with roots in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He lives and works in Niland, California. He has performed with Mariachi Los Toros, Mariachi Espectacular, the 2022 Summit of the Americas, and Mariachi Acero.

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.

Evan Apodaca

San Diego County

Evan Apodaca received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is best for his film "Que Lejos Estoy," which streamed nationally on PBS in 2016. His work has been screened and exhibited at museums and galleries nationally, including the San Diego International Airport, the New Americans Museum, The New Children's Museum, and the University of New Mexico. In 2018, he was the Associate Producer and Animator for "Singing My Way to Freedom," an award-winning feature film about musician and civil-rights activist Ramon "Chunky" Sanchez. His films have been screened at the Chicano International Film Festival (LA), the Tijuana Film Festival, and the San Diego Latino Film Festival. Apodaca was a 2019 San Diego Foundation Creative Catalyst fellow and recipient of the National Association of Latino Arts & Culture's Border Narrative Change Grant in 2021.

See More

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.

See More