A Nuestro Pueblo Migrante: A Sonic Limpia
In the wake of the arrival of an unprecedented number of Central American migrants fleeing violence and poverty, a vocal sector of residents from Tijuana took to the streets to protest their presence. This xenophobic impulse, echoed even by government officials, was jarring in a city defined by migration; a historical way-stop for transnational flows of goods and people.
The resulting mixtape was broadcast via pirate-radio on December 19, 2018, from inside of the cog•nate cruiser, as we traversed spaces in Tijuana where acts of physical and symbolic violence had been committed against recently arrived migrants. Undertaking this transmission as a ritual act of sonic cleansing, we spread a trail of salt water from the Pacific throughout the broadcast/journey.
Cog•nate Collective develops interdisciplinary research projects and public
interventions that seek to understand how culture mediates social, economic and
political relationships across borders, both physical and symbolic.
Rooted in methodologies of critical pedagogy, their projects use various
mediums – ranging from embroidery to pirate-radio broadcasts – to foster
reflection through dialogue, addressing issues relating to citizenship,
immigration, informal economies, and popular cultural; often times in
partnership with community leaders, students and/or activist organizations.
They have shown and presented their work at various venues nationally and
internationally, including the Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Ben Maltz Gallery
at Otis College, the Getty Center, CSUF Grand Central Art Center,
the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, School of the Art Institute Chicago,
Arte Actual FLACSO in Quito, Maison Folie Wazemmes in Lille and the Organ
Kritischer Kunst in Berlin.
Cog•nate Collective was founded in 2010 by Amy Sanchez Arteaga and Misael Diaz.
They currently work between Tijuana, B.C. and Los Angeles, CA.