LACE ANNOUNCES FIRST TRAVELING EXHIBITION IN ORGANIZATION’S 48-YEAR HISTORY
Los Angeles, February 12, 2026 — LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) is proud to announce the international presentation of the exhibition A Tender Excavation at the Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT). Opening on April 10, 2026, this presentation marks a significant milestone in LACE’s nearly 50-year history.
Currently on view (through March 13, 2026) at The Luckman Gallery at California State University, LA in Los Angeles and supported by the Teiger Foundation, A Tender Excavation approaches research-based artistic practices through propositions of alternative histories, bringing together a group of artists who work with historical and familial photographic archives as a point of departure to construct new narratives and elicit transformation. By bringing this exhibition to Tijuana, LACE reinforces its commitment to the border as a shared cultural ecosystem. This partnership highlights the importance of binational dialogue at a time when the border remains a site of intense political scrutiny.
The exhibition’s iteration at CECUT marks a memorable homecoming for LACE’s Curator and Director of Programs, Selene Preciado. Raised in Tijuana, Preciado’s binational perspective greatly informs her curatorial praxis, especially at the intersection of these two very distinct yet intertwined cultural landscapes. “It is truly an honor that this project is being featured at the institution that saw me grow up, and in my native city. The LACE team is excited to engage with the local community with the exhibition and related public programs, and hope visitors find common ground with the artists’ lived experiences,” says Preciado.
Artists featured in the exhibition include Zeynep Abes, Susu Attar, Jamil G Baldwin, Mely Barragán, Artemisa Clark, Arleene Correa Valencia, Mercedes Dorame, Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai, Leah King, Tarrah Krajnak, Heesoo Kwon, Ann Le, Arlene Mejorado, Star Montana, and Camille Wong. The works selected for the exhibition originate from personal archives, recontextualized through installation, collage, painting, film, video, sculpture, and mixed media. Artworks reimagine and reconnect lost fragments to speak about personal and collective resilience, constructing new possibilities for an interconnected futurity. Several pieces in the exhibition share aesthetics of abstraction, layered distortion, glitch, or incompleteness, signaling how loss, damage, or decay of the photographic object can be poetic metaphors for the transmission of history and memory as an act of self- and collective preservation.
The exhibition builds upon its initial presentation at The Luckman Gallery, with the international iteration thoughtfully expanded. Some artists will present additional works specifically for one of CECUT’s three 5,000 square foot galleries, offering a deepened dialogue for those who experienced the exhibition’s first installment in Los Angeles. A Tender Excavation will be on view at CECUT April 10 through July 12, 2026. During its run, LACE and CECUT will host a series of public programs. Details regarding these events will be announced in the coming months.
About CECUT
CECUT (Centro Cultural Tijuana) is a Mexican cultural center on the border, founded on October 20, 1982. It is the institution that offers the broadest and most diverse range of cultural activities in the Northwest region, and the only facility of the Ministry of Culture (formerly the National Council for Culture and the Arts) located outside the nation’s capital. It is committed to meeting the artistic and cultural needs of the local population through programs that encompass diverse artistic expressions and themes from both traditional and contemporary culture. https://www.cecut.gob.mx/
About LACE
LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) champions artists, curators, and cultural workers who explore and defy boundaries through socially-engaged projects. We provide platforms within and beyond our space for diverse communities to connect deeply with challenging contemporary art. Uniquely positioned in the heart of Hollywood, LACE amplifies the voices and visions of Los Angeles’ diverse makers. LACE presents free, significant, and timely exhibitions, performances, and public projects, complemented by education initiatives. www.welcometolace.org
