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Dozens of disposable cameras–each with a flash and enough film for twenty-seven pictures–became the tools the Border Film Project used to explore life along the US-Mexico border and the debate over immigration.
The program distributed cameras to migrants in shelters in northern Mexico and to “Minutemen” groups along the US border, with instructions for how to use and return them to the project. The participants used the cameras to document their experiences and implicitly their perceptions of the US and the nature of civil society, exploring their beliefs about American life and how they saw themselves within the context of borderlands culture.
The site’s gallery allows visitors to explore the collaborative art project from the point of view of migrants and Minutemen and includes one exhibit pairing similar photos: images of shadows, participants contemplating the landscape from the front of a pickup truck, Minutemen and migrants surrounded (unfortunately) by litter. In addition to the site, the Border Film Project has created a traveling art exhibit, with future installations in Chicago, El Paso, and Buffalo.
. Historian Shae Davidson's research interests include public policy and the relationship between culture and civil society. His publications range from articles on industrial history to absurdist poetry.
