New exhibition at ASU Art Museum explores complexities of migration

ASU Art Museum’s newest exhibition, “Tierras Reimaginadas: Migration,” explores the complexities of human, flora and fauna migration. Spread across three galleries – and even into the stairwells – the show features dozens of rarely seen hybrid works, from paintings and sculptures to textiles and poetry.

Years in the making, this first-of-its-kind convergence brings together pieces by more than 80 artists from around the world. Works are drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, as well as loans from the Art Bridges Foundation and the Gochman Foundation. The show runs in two rotations: Aug. 23 to Jan. 25, 2026, and Feb. 28 to Aug. 2, 2026. The opening reception took place on Saturday, September 13.

The curatorial team includes senior curator Alana Hernandez, Brittany Corrales, Sade Moore and Natalie Solis, and the exhibition is supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

The galleries weave together narratives of the borderlands, highlighting cultural and ecological convergence and pushing migration beyond the idea of a border wall.

“We’ve been really fortunate that in our collection, we can weave together narratives that are perhaps left out of other institutions,” says Senior Curator Alana Hernandez. ASU Art Museum has more than 13,000 objects from all over the world.

Themes throughout the show include resilient paths, the formation of hybrid identities, migratory seeds and ecosystems in transit, and the power of roots, kinship and chosen families.

Featured artists include contemporary voices such as Gennaro Garcia, Carolina Aranibar-Fernández, Annie Lopez, Iván Argote, Felipe Baeza, Manuel Hernandez Sanchez, Julio César Morales and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, alongside historical figures including William Gropper and Grant Wood.

Hernandez hopes the exhibition helps audiences move beyond polarized conversations about migration: “We’re always taught that we belong, that we’re native to somewhere,” she says. “What does it look like when we’re actually taught these narratives aren’t true?”

She explains that we don’t have to come from a specific place or stay in one if we recognize that movement, change and migration are part of how the world works.

“Migration is not an interruption of life – it is life. These works remind us that movement is one of our oldest rituals, connecting all beings across time and terrain,” she adds.

“One of the most important ways to unlearn is through images and visual literacy,” Hernandez continues. “I hope visitors, through the artworks, poetry and audio guides, are willing to hear alternate perspectives – not just of people, but of flora and fauna as well.”

The show also launches the museum’s new artist residency program, featuring poet and activist Yosimar Reyes, interdisciplinary artist Victoria Martinez and poet-performer Jennifer Tamayo (JT). Their work appears throughout the galleries, and their presence strengthens the museum’s commitment to storytelling, making the show a living, evolving experience.

Here are photos from the Sept. 13 opening reception: