Events
Museum Exhibits
Low & Slow: Lowrider Culture on the Border
April 8, 2021 - July 8, 2021
El Paso Museum of History
In El Paso, Texas or Chuco, Tejas, the Lowrider is more than a weekend hobby. Lowriding is a way of life. It is not subculture to the Mexican American experience but part of a complex form of lived history and visual culture. It is a unique iteration of a deeply rooted tradition in auto-mobility. In El Paso, the lowrider could trace its earliest roots to the 1940s, most notably after the Second World War. Arguably, the trend originated in California and made its way to Texas. With the resurgence of full-scale car production after the war, affordable vehicles allowed the working class to access their own ranflas. By the 1970’s, lowriding was a well-known past time representative of a unique brand of “Americanness.” Lowriders were also part of a larger expression that included pachucos/pachucas with their zoot suit styling and cruising. This included an affinity for listening to “oldies.’’ The lowrider lifestyle with all its panache and florid expression is also a form of self-determination in the American visual landscape: a belief that Mexican-Americans resist mainstream aesthetics in favor of their own canon. In other words, to ride on one’s own terms, low & slow with ‘stilo.
More Information: http://history.elpasotexas.gov/
Resilience: Remembering August 3rd
April 8, 2021 - July 8, 2021
On August 3, 2019, a mass shooting at the Wal-Mart #2201 in East Central El Paso shook the city of El Paso, Texas. That day, El Paso and the region lost twenty-two people while many were physically injured and suffered medical trauma. The subsequent year, after a long battle in the hospital, the 23rd victim succumbed to his wounds. In the days and weeks to follow, the grief stricken city banded together to remember the people who lost their lives from this brutal attack. The residents of El Paso as well as people from around the world demonstrated their empathy through their skills by creating murals, memorials, songs and fundraisers to uplift the community, and help the victims’ families. The outpouring of support took shape through a massive block long memorial at the site of the tragedy. Here, El Pasoans and visitors gathered to pay their respects and share their prayers and condolences.
This exhibition aims to highlight the El Paso community’s strength, endurance and love in the face of adversity. Resilience is this community’s hallmark, as it collectively heals and stands strong in love in the face of racism and hate.
More Information: http://history.elpasotexas.gov/
Etchings by Steve Edwards
April 8, 2021 - July 8, 2021
El Paso Museum of History
The exhibition features works by local artist and printmaker Steve ‘Estéban’ Edwards. The collection is a generous donation to the El Paso Museum of History by Jim Singleton on behalf of the estate of his late wife, Mrs. Maureen Ponce Singleton, an enthusiastic collector of Edwards’ works and advocate for the arts, culture, and history.
More Information: https://history.elpasotexas.gov/
Into the Great Sands
May 16, 2021 - July 3, 2021
White Sands is breathtakingly vast, encompassing 275 miles with a landscape entirely made of crystals of gypsum. Pure white dunes roll in waves for miles to the mountainous horizon- forming a landscape filled with spectacular color and astonishing light. The park is brimming with a history both ancient and recently relevant, contained in an environment with flourishing vegetation and wildlife - whose days begin in vivid sunrise and end in dramatically vibrant sunsets. The Sands is an unforgettably unique place - a land that words fail to adequately describe, but whose visual beauty and wondrous imagery Craig Varjabedian has brilliantly captured in these eloquent and evocative pictures. The fifty images selected for this exhibition of Into the Great White Sands are from his collection found in his recently published book of the same name.
More Information: https://www.utep.edu/centennial-museum/museum/current-exhibits.html
Tiny Tunnels, Big Connections: Ant Relationships Shape the World
February 13, 2020 - July 23, 2021
The Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens in partnership with the University of Texas at El Paso’s Biodiversity Collections is proud to present “Tiny Tunnels, Big Connections”, an exhibition about ants and their unique interactions with plants and animals across various ecosystems of the world. Featuring specimens from the Biodiversity Collections’ massive 230,000 specimen collection of ants, this exhibit offers a rare peek into the hidden research collections of UTEP and the diversity of ants as farmers, warriors and relationship experts. Images, augmented reality and 3D prints throughout the exhibit allow visitors to get up close and personal with these tiny ecosystem engineers.
More Information: https://www.utep.edu/centennial-museum/museum/current-exhibits.html