What Makes Someone a Border Artist? // Sandoval // Pardo // Ceccopieri // Cortez // Davalos

In this episode of CAA Conversations, Kimberly Sandoval moderates a discussion on what it means to be a border artist and what separates Border Arte from other aspects of Chicana/o art, featuring Amanda Pardo and Samantha Ceccopieri, as well as Dr. Constance Cortez and Dr. Karen Mary Davalos, creators of Mexican American Art Since 1848.
Amanda Pardo was working toward a BA in history with a minor in art from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) at the time of recording. Her work and research focus on the history of women, gender, and sexuality. She has given a public talk about her work and research as part of a lecture series and participated in pop-up exhibitions dedicated to the discussion of modernity and the domestic space.
Samantha Ceccopieri has a BFA with a K–12 certification from UTRGV. Her work and research focus on the usage of art in mental wellness to reduce anxiety in scholars, both young and old, working with students and educators throughout the Rio Grande Valley. She has shared her research at TAEA and other art education conferences as part of UTRGV’s Engaged Scholar Program and School of Art and Design.
Constance Cortez is a professor at UTRGV for the School of Art and Design, currently teaching Chicano/a art history as well as special topics courses such as Women in Art History. Dr. Cortez is a prominent figure in Chicano/a scholarship, with works like The New Aztlan: Nepantla (and Other Sites of Transmogrification), published in 2001, and has an extensive background in early Mesoamerican art history.
Karen Mary Davalos is a professor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, currently teaching topics in Chicano studies and art history as affiliated faculty. Dr. Davalos is also a prominent figure in Chicano/a scholarship with works like Exhibiting Mestizaje: Mexican (American) Museums in the Diaspora, also published in 2001, and recently presented a paper on Nepantla aesthetics at the CAA Annual Conference in 2024.
Kimberly Sandoval is an independent scholar, artist, and MFA alumna of UTRGV. Her work speaks to the life and experiences occurring around and within the Brownsville, South Texas, borderlands. She has exhibited her video artwork across the United States and Indonesia. She has also spoken about culturally affirming art pedagogies at art education conferences and chaired a panel discussion on Border Arte at the CAA Annual Conference in 2024 .