Assistant Professor Paloma Barhaugh-Bordas is an artist, educator and activist whose art practice — which expands from print media into installation, as well as social and collaborative practices — works at the intersection of migration, queerness and ecology. Barhaugh-Bordas asks how art can contribute to ecological knowledge and build interspecies understanding, an inquiry the artist began investigating by comparing the stories of naturalization between Americans and nonnative plants. This work was shown alongside the works of Ellen Gallagher and Alison Saar, among others, through Project V’s 2021 online exhibition space. Barhaugh-Bordas has exhibited nationally and internationally including solo exhibitions at the Print Shop LA, Handwerker Gallery, Buffalo Arts Studios and Sediment Arts. Artist residencies include Casa Lu Mexico City, ACRE, Women’s Studio Workshop, the Institute for Electronic Arts at Alfred University, MI-Lab in Japan and Kala Art Institute. Barhaugh-Bordas holds an M.F.A. in Printmaking from Rhode Island School of Design and a B.A. from Carleton College.
Tell us about the classes you’ll be teaching this year.
I am teaching Advanced Print Workshop, a course that supports students in developing an independent and rigorous studio practice. In the spring I will be teaching Intro Printmaking and Relief. This is an exciting combination that will cover areas of my discipline in breadth and also in depth.
What attracted you to the Department of Art and Art History and The University of Texas at Austin?
I have admired the creative research coming from the faculty at UT Austin for a long time. It is an honor to join the ranks. Additionally, I’ve known many alumni of both the B.F.A. and M.F.A. program. Their work is lively and full of energy while also carrying an understanding of context and historical references. It is this combination of excellence in research and teaching that made this opportunity so exciting for me.
How did your professional pathway lead to your current artistic focus?
The urgency of our present epoch is more of a compass for my artistic focus than my professional pathway. However, I was drawn to printmaking as a college student because of the rich historical connections between the medium and social and political advocacy. I’m grateful to have had mentors who demonstrated the strong bonds between teaching and activism.
What’s something that students and colleagues should know about you?
I bring a lot of who I am to my community — in working with colleagues and students. My goal in the classroom is to create a space where ideas and independent thought are valued. As a colleague, in turn, I really appreciate how people with different amounts of institutional knowledge can work together to innovate and build upon the strong foundation of the past.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not teaching/researching/working?
Like my parents, I’m a kinetic person and I like to keep busy! I’m often tending to plants, spending time outdoors hiking or swimming or sewing. As a new Austin resident, I’m looking forward to getting involved in mutual aid groups and exploring beyond the city limits.
