Arts & Culture ART
Modus Contemporáneous
One cross-border gallery captures the state of Tijuana’s art scene
BY DANIELLE ALLAIRE
I
t takes 18 minutes, a taxi ride, and ten bucks to find myself tucked away in a neighborhood off the bustling, pharmacy-laden corners of the city center of Tijuana. My destination: 206 Arte Contemporáneo, the unassuming hub of the city’s arts scene. I enter its disarming residential façade and traverse a humble stairway towards work that feels uniquely at home in a border town gallery. 206 is run by twin sisters Mónica and Melisa Arreola. This creative duo supports the greater Tijuana and Baja Norte art community through their mediums—architecture for both, as well as photography and music, respectively. Mónica showed her stoic and overcast photos of the buildings of Valle San Pedro, an abandoned town outside Tijuana, as part of the 2022 Whitney Biennial, while Melisa is the frontwoman for the band Cuarto Paisaje, a dreamy patchwork of indie rock and languid electronic effects. Their performances seem equal parts rock show and sonic installation. In 2012, the Arreolas nabbed a space on the main drag of Avenida de Revolucion, which was still rebuilding after the 2008 reign of terror from narcos left many buildings on the strip abandoned. Two years ago, as rents soared downtown, they moved the arts institution to this new, light-filled space with views of the city.
30 JULY 2023
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