ROUND 26 | Cruces/Crossings
May 2nd-3rd
Opening Reception – Saturday, May 2nd, 5-8 pm
Cage Match Project is proud to present Round 26 : Cruces/Crossings a special spring exhibition by Rachel Salcido, Fabiana Muñoz, and Julio Martinez that explores how protection and surveillance operate within border landscapes. Using the cage as both a site of shelter and visibility; this work questions the authority of the border, emphasizing its mutability and the lived realities existing within it.
Artists:
Rachel Salcido (b. El Paso, TX) is a crip Xicane painter and printmaker whose work documents colonial power structures manifesting through the natural and manufactured environments of the U.S.–Mexico border. Their work uses the visual borderland vernacular of fences, bridges, highways, and waterways to acknowledge the border as a transitional space defined by cultural liminality and contextualized by intersectionality, matriarchy, and physical labor. Salcido holds a BFA in Studio Art and a BA in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Information Studies with a focus on digital archives. They currently have a solo show, Cuerpos Fronterizos, on view at the Disability Cultural Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
Fabiana Muñoz (b. Guadalajara, Mexico) is a Xicana artist based in Austin, Tx. Having immigrated to the United States at age 11 from Guatemala, Muñoz’s practice celebrates Latinx and Chicano culture while exploring the tensions of paradox and dualities within identity. Working across painting, sculpture, and printmaking, she reflects on home, belonging, shelter, and borders, exploring the liminal space of “ni de aquí ni de allá” and inviting deeper consideration of multicultural existence in an increasingly fluid, internet-shaped world. Munoz earned a Bachelors in Fine Arts from the University of Texas in 2025.
Julio Martinez is a Xicano sculptor, photographer, and transmedia artist from the borderlands between Tamaulipas, Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley. His work rooted in rasquachismo highlights the underrepresented and marginalized by exploring his experiences with immigration, Xicano identity, and manual labor. He holds a BFA in Studio Art and a BS in Arts and Entertainment Technologies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Round 26 : Cruces/Crossings by Rachel Salcido, Fabiana Muñoz, and Julio Martinez is part of a special spring exhibition. This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment. Este proyecto cuenta con el apoyo parcial de un Subsidio Elevate de la Secretaría de Arte, Cultura, Música y Entretenimiento de Austin.
Curator|
Manik Raj Nakra is an Austin-based artist and curator whose exhibitions blend 2D media with immersive installation, sculpture, sound, and performance. His curatorial projects often center on cross-disciplinary collaboration and cultural storytelling, transforming traditional gallery spaces into dynamic, multisensory environments.
Nakra has curated exhibitions across Austin and Houston, working with a wide range of artists including performance collective House of Kenzo, creative studio Essentials Creative, ceramicist Gabo Martinez, and musicians from the experimental label Insect Records. His shows highlight emerging and underground voices, bridging visual art with music, design, and performance to create accessible, layered experiences.
In 2025, Nakra was named Head Curator of the Cage Match Project Gallery at the Museum of Human Achievement, where he continues to foster innovative, community-driven exhibitions.
Assistant Curator|Diar Enayatpour is an emerging curator, pursuing an undergraduate degree in Art History from the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin. Enayatpour currently does news editing for the Biennial Foundation.