'We're the Tijuana of the tent': non-profit Ambos's stand at Frieze Los Angeles is relocated

"We were supposed to be Frieze's special guests. And we feel like we're being censored, racially profiled and discriminated against. Having worked with the fair for five years, she says she will not continue beyond this weekend."

"We're now outside the security checkpoint-we're the Tijuana of the tent. According to published maps of the fair, Ambos was supposed to be located in a small space in between the Sprüth Magers and Anthony Meier stands. On Wednesday (25 February), it was relocated to a spot away from the gallery stands, across from the coat check before the official entrance to the fair."

"While [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids continue to terrorise LA communities, while immigrants and Black and Brown folks walk around with new levels of fear and anxiety, [here is] another border drawn by the affluent and unaccountable."

Frieze Los Angeles displayed neon signs supporting immigrants outside its exhibition tent while simultaneously relocating its border-focused nonprofit partner Ambos to a segregated space away from gallery stands, near the coat check and security checkpoint. Ambos founder Tanya Aguinega, who had collaborated with Frieze for five years, characterized the relocation as censorship and racial discrimination, announcing she would not continue beyond the weekend. Artist Nancy Baker Cahill highlighted the contradiction by posting imagery of the Ambos display behind bars, connecting it to border-wall symbolism and criticizing the creation of another border by the affluent and unaccountable during a time of heightened immigration enforcement and community fear.

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