Where We Stand brings together 51 photographers working in and around the San Diego-Tijuana region to explore the physical, cultural, and political landscapes we inhabit. Through diverse photographic approaches, documentary, conceptual, landscape, portraiture, and beyond, the exhibition examined questions of place, power, and perspective across this complex and dynamic border region.

Presented by Medium Photo as part of the 2026 Medium Festival of Photography, the exhibition featured over 100 installed works at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) in La Jolla, California, and remains on view through April 11th 2026.

The exhibition was juried by Patricio Chávez, photographer, educator, and former Curator at Centro Cultural de la Raza, and Alessandra Moctezuma, Gallery Director and Professor at San Diego Mesa College.

Two Juror's Choice Awards were presented at the opening reception, recognizing work that powerfully embodied the exhibition's exploration of place, resistance, and collective witness in the border region.

Nanzi Muro was honored for her composite work Abolish ICE, which presents black-and-white portraits of ten community activists, including herself, standing proudly holding signs on which they have written reflections and calls to action. Each participant is assigned a letter painted in red, collectively forming the title while emphasizing the urgency of speaking out and acting against inhumane immigration policies. The jurors noted how Muro's piece creates "an apt metaphor for collective struggle, clearly pointing to the fact that people united make change." These advocates have dedicated themselves to documenting and protecting the most vulnerable people in the San Diego-Tijuana region, including immigrants, refugees, and those held in detention centers.

Arianna Ytselle was recognized for work that embodies identity, resistance, reaffirmation, and the making visible of the invisible through photography. The jurors praised her ability to address the current moment by humanizing the migration experience amid widespread dehumanization and violence toward migrants, offering a powerful counter-narrative through the photographic image.

Both awards highlighted artists who used their cameras not merely to document but to advocate, resist, and affirm the dignity of those living in and moving through the border region.

Where We Stand

In a border city where policy becomes personal and headlines become lived experience; photographers turn their lenses toward the urgent question of our moment: where do we stand? This exhibition brings together artists working in the San Diego-Tijuana region to document, question, and reflect on the physical and political landscapes we inhabit. The border is not an abstraction here. It shapes daily life, divides communities, and defines how we move through the world. These photographs ask us to consider our literal ground, the place beneath our feet where two nations meet, and our figurative ground, the values, and beliefs we hold as neighbors, citizens, and witnesses to change. At a time when immigration policy dominates national discourse and enforcement reshapes border communities, "Where We Stand" offers a visual meditation on location, conviction, and the distance between rhetoric and reality. Through diverse photographic approaches, such as documentary, conceptual, landscape, and portraiture, we invite artists to chart the territory between policy and humanity, revealing what it means to live, work, and create in a region where the personal and political are inseparable.

Dónde nos encontramos

En una ciudad fronteriza, donde la política nacional se vuelve personal y los titulares se convierten en experiencias vividas, muchos fotógrafos dirigen sus cámaras hacia la cuestión más urgente de estos momentos: ¿dónde nos encontramos? Esta exposición reúne a artistas que trabajan en la región de San Diego-Tijuana, cuya obra documenta, cuestiona, y reflexiona sobre los entornos físicos y políticos que habitamos. Aquí, la frontera no es un concepto abstracto: moldea la vida cotidiana, divide a comunidades y define cómo nos movemos por el mundo. Estas fotografías nos invitan a considerar nuestra posición literal, el suelo sobre el que caminamos y en el que dos naciones se encuentran, y también nuestra posición figurativa: los valores y creencias que compartimos como vecinos, ciudadanos y testigos de cambio social. En un momento en que la política migratoria domina el discurso nacional y la aplicación de la ley federal afecta a las comunidades fronterizas, Dónde nos encontramos ofrece una meditación visual sobre el lugar, la convicción, y la distancia entre la retórica y la realidad. A través de diversos enfoques fotográficos, documental, conceptual, de paisaje y retrato, invitamos a artistas a explorar el territorio entre la política y la humanidad, revelando lo que significa vivir, trabajar y crear en una región donde lo personal y lo político son inseparables.

Adriana Delgado

Aleyda Acuña

Alvaro Diaz

Anna Lynch

Annie Lemoux

Arianna Ytselle

Bil Zelman

Caity Fares

Carlos Castillo

Carlos Guillen

Charles Ingham

Claudia Moreno

D.A. Gonzales

Danny Vint

David Brooks

David Fobes

Elliott Linwood

Francesca Hummler

GEORGINA RIOS

Glenda Richter

Isik Kaya

Jackie Han

Jacqueline Ramirez

Jill Marie Holslin

JoAnn Samuels

JOEL TREJO

jon lardizabal

Junelle Centeno

Katie DelaVaughn

Kirsten Aaboe

Lenny Gerard

Liliana Hueso

Lori Lipsman

Louie Navarro

Louise Russell

Marcus DeSieno

Mario Tapia Arróniz

Marshall Williams

Morgan DeLuna

Nanzi Muro

Noelle Ocen-Odoge

Oriana Poindexter

Paul Turounet

Pedro Rios

richard richard richards

Scott Bennett

Shelby María Courtney

Sofía Sánchez

Stephanie Pelayo

Suzanne Ofeldt

Victoria Delgadillo