The political boundary between the United States and Mexico has an unstable history, with both the location and the importance of the border shifting across this remote region over time. If not for the geographers, surveyors, and scientists sent to map the border, the secretive animals of the mountains, deserts, and rivers might have evaded notice for a long time. Instead, over the course of the 1800s many expeditions passed through this region, collecting and illustrating the animals they discovered. Co-curated by biologists Tracy Diver and Alexis Harrison, this exhibition explores the stories of some of these animals, from the observations of early explorers to contemporary artistic representations of these same species, with notes on the current state of scientific knowledge about each, and thoughts on how the changing nature of the border may affect the wildlife living along it.

This event is part of the Species in Peril Along the Rio Grande regional collaboration. For more information visit 516ARTS