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.

Fernando "Fro" Reza

Fernando "Fro" Reza

Fernando "Fro" Reza

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Fernando "Fro" Reza

Imperial County

Jose Reza Fernando was born in Mexico City and lives and works in the Imperial Valley. He began his career in the pop culture and gig poster art scene of Los Angeles, learning printmaking, painting, and sculpture. He creates key art and visual campaigns for various film and TV studios. His work has been showcased globally, most recently in the Crafting Pinocchio exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Since 2017, Fernando has championed arts programs and beautification projects in the Imperial Valley, a town desperately needing art's transformative power in its underserved community. Through his art, he hopes to communicate the unique cultural, economic, and ecological hardships that face the Imperial Valley region and spark a creative approach to addressing these issues in new, innovative, and effective ways.

Cat Chiu Phillips

Cat Chiu Phillips

Cat Chiu Phillips

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Cat Chiu Phillips

San Diego County

Cat Chiu Phillips creates installation work in public spaces, often using traditional handicraft methods, including crochet, weaving, and embroidery. She often uses discarded materials, including plastic and electronic waste, to create large-scale installations and public art projects.  Growing up in Manila, she was inspired by resilience through tragedy and a sense of resourcefulness. Phillips has received numerous national public art commissions and artwork in the Civic Art Collection of the City of San Diego and Redmond (WA) and has been awarded the California Arts Council's Established Artist Fellowship and National Endowment for the Arts.  She received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master of Science in Special Education.  She has been an educator in public schools for over 23 years, a Filipino-Chinese American, adjunct professor, public artist, USMC veteran wife, and mother.

Olivia Quintanilla

Olivia Quintanilla

Olivia Quintanilla

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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.

Paul Valdivia

Paul Valdivia

Paul Valdivia

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Paul Valdivia

Imperial County

Paul Valdivia is the Communications Coordinator for the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee. A graduate of the University of California Los Angeles, he specialized in History with a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media Studies. His role is multifaceted and includes videography and photography focused on social issues. Valdivia uses art to advocate for social reform. His primary goal is to continue driving impactful change in his community. Valdivia is firmly grounded in his beliefs and translates his convictions into tangible action, aiming to create a more equitable society through his work.

Carlos Uribe

Carlos Uribe

Carlos Uribe

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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.

Eric "EV93" Vargas

Eric "EV93" Vargas

Eric "EV93" Vargas

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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.

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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.

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