What Are Those Searchlights Over El Paso & Juarez

A new public artwork display will shine a light between El Paso and Cd. Juárez uniting the people on both sides of the border.

The searchlights that have lit up the night sky over El Paso and Cd. Juárez over the last few nights are part of a large scale public artwork, Border Tuner. Border Tuner was conceived by internationally renowned visual artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. The acclaimed artist is known for creating interactive installations that bring together architecture and performance art to public spaces around the world.

Beginning tomorrow, November 13 through November 24, 2019, the interactive art installation, Border Tuner will be open free to the public every night at Bowie High School in El Paso and at Parque Chamizal in Cd. Juárez.

This interactive art piece consists of powerful searchlights, three located in El Paso and three others in Juárez with a 10-mile radius canopy of lights. Each searchlight is equipped with a mic, speaker and dial and when manually manipulated and the beams touch, they open a communication channel between viewers on the El Paso and Juárez sides.

Every night the Border Tuner will light up the night skies over El Paso and Ciudad Juárez beginning at 6 p.m. with performances by poets, musicians, historians, and even indigenous communities before handing over the searchlights for public participation.

Border Tuner has already received international coverage from The New York Times, BBC, NPR, WIRED and many more news outlets before it even opens up to both El Paso and Juárez residents. We can’t wait to see what representations emerge during this cross border collaboration between individuals, organizations, and artists from both cities.