Faculty Member, Alum Offer Artist Talk at Laredo Center for the Arts

A Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) faculty member and a TAMIU alum have joined forces to mount a new art exhibit downtown at the Laredo Center for the Arts, 500 San Agustin Avenue.

“Dreaming at The Border: Digital, Imaginary and Real” will be presented with an opening on Friday, September 1 from 5 – 9 p.m.  The exhibit will be in place through October 20, 2023.  An Artist Talk is scheduled for Saturday, September 9 at 3 p.m.  Admission is free of charge and open to the public.

Hosted by the Laredo Center for the Arts, “Dreaming at the Border” combines artwork by TAMIU assistant professor of Art Josias Figueirido and Julio Obscura, a TAMIU alum and artist based in Washington, D.C.

Through a wide range of media from painting and installation to virtual and augmented reality, Dreaming at the Border tells real and imaginary stories of people impacted by moving, relocating, crossing borders, and finding themselves in new and unfamiliar environments.  

Figueirido and Obscura are storytellers influenced by their personal experiences living on the U.S.-Mexican border. Obscura documents the complexity of forming cultural identities, while Figueirido channels his experiences, memories, and reflections through imagination into highly inventive narratives. Both artists embrace technology to aid their creative processes and examine their ideas, all while engaging their audiences in a space that fluctuates between the digital and the physical. 

Figueirido was born in Santa Eugenia de Riveira, a small fishing town in the northwest of Spain. After completing his undergraduate studies at London Metropolitan University, he moved to Philadelphia, PA to pursue his graduate studies, earning an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Working primarily in painting, drawing, and printmaking, his work channels personal and social dilemmas into biographical and fictional narratives. Combining both humor and horror, his work addresses recurrent themes such as technology, loneliness, definitions, meaning, war, power, peace, and love. He joined the TAMIU faculty in 2020 and combines his studio work with teaching at TAMIU.

Obscura is a Royal Society of Arts Fellow and the first and former Fulbright Scholar at the Royal College of Art in London where he received an MA.  He earned his BA from TAMIU. His work explores and documents the complex weaving of climate change, cultural heritage, identity, immigration, and politics.

For additional information, contact the Laredo Center for the Arts at 956.725.1715, or visit their website at laredoartcenter.org