The Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA) at Cal State San Bernardino, in collaboration with the MexiCali Biennial, will present a new temporary exhibition, “Calafia: Manifesting the Terrestrial Paradise.” The exhibition will be on display Oct. 6-Dec. 15 with an opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 4, 6-8 p.m. A special curator-led walk-through will take place just before the opening at 5 p.m. “Calafia” is a group exhibition featuring 30 artists from California and Mexico that seeks to explore the spirit of California by using the mythological Black female warrior who is the namesake and ruler of the fictional island of California, as a source of inspiration and artistic departure. From Garci Rodrigues de Montalvo’s fifth book of his 16th century opus “Las Sergas de Esplandian” (The Adventures of Esplandian), the story of the great queen Calafia and her army of Amazon women is told with decided wonder that not only establishes her place as a powerful influence on California, a region that spans both sides of the U.S. and Mexico border, but also as a reflection of the ongoing history of the area. The story tells of the rich island of California and its powerful women, mythical beasts and the quest for greatness that sets the foundation for the continuing mythos of its people and its land. The parallels between the myth of Calafia and current-day inhabitants of California don’t stop at its etymology. From the cinematic glamour of Hollywood, to its identity as a fertile paradise, to its association with gold and riches, the story and character of Calafia can be a point of critical interrogation used to explore and critique California’s stories, contradictions and identities. The exhibition will feature artists Carlos Beltran, Antena, Abraham Avila, Victoria Delgadillo, Raul Baltazar, Juan Bastardo, Artemisa Clark, Cognate Collective, Jane C. Mi, Chris Christion, Yutsil Cruz, Ruben Garcia Marrufo, Max Martinez, Xandra Ibarra, Kristi Lippire, Diane Williams, Maya Mackrandilal, Chinwe Okona, Noe Olivas, Monica Rodriguez, Julio M. Romero, Andrea Santizo, Mariangeles Soto-Diaz, Sergio Teran, Jenny Yurshansky, Keaton Macon, Jorge Gutierrez, Sandy Rodriguez, Luis Alonso-Sanchez, Snatch Power and Nicole Antebi. In conjunction with the 2018-19 MexiCali Biennial programming, a special exhibition titled “Reclaiming Myth” will be on display at the Dutton Family Gallery, housed within RAFFMA. This multi-media group exhibition features works by CSUSB art students and international artist Mely Barragan. Barragan, who co-curated the exhibition, also served as the Cal State San Bernardino Department of Art’s inaugural Artist in Residence. This exhibition is part of a summer research grant sponsored by CSUSB’s Office of Student Research and is a collaboration between CSUSB’s Department of Art, RAFFMA and the MexiCali Biennial. The selected students collaborated with Barragan on projects and concepts revolving around myth and self-identity from a present day perspective and was influenced by the mythical origin of California. This collaboration was spearheaded by assistant professor of art Ed Gomez, who also serves as co-curator of this exhibition. Participating artists include Mely Barragan and CSUSB students Ryan Clark, Paul Garcia, Melora Garcia and Juan Nevares. “Reclaiming Myth” will open alongside “Calafia” on Thursday, Oct. 4, 6-8 p.m. and will be on display through Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018. “Calafia: Manifesting the Terrestrial Paradise” is curated by Ed Gomez, Luis G. Hernandez and Daniela Lieja Quintanar. Gomez is an artist, curator and educator who received his BFA in painting from Arizona State University in 1999 and his MFA in painting from the Otis College of Art and Design in 2003. Since then, he has been exhibiting his work nationally and internationally and curating various art exhibitions that deal with the region of California and Mexico as an area of aesthetic production. He is currently an assistant professor of sculpture at Cal State San Bernardino. Gomez’s interdisciplinary art practice revolves around the questioning of exhibition practices, institutional framework and historical models of artistic production. In 2006, he co-founded the MexiCali Biennial, a bi-national art and music program addressing the region of the U.S.-Mexico border, which he is currently a director and co-president. Gomez is also the director of the Gallery of Contemporary Art (G.O.C.A.), which is a traveling self-contained exhibition space humorously located in his suitcase. It has showcased emerging and established artists from Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York and Mexico. Hernandez is an artist and curator who lives and works between Southern California and Mexicali, Mexico. Hernandez is the current director of Steppling Gallery at San Diego State University-IV Campus. He earned his MFA from Otis College of Art in 2003. Hernandez’s aesthetic production consists of sculptures, paintings, drawing, collages and installations that respond in subtle ways to the space where they are exhibited. He makes provocative, humorous and many times, absurd associations between context, materials and language, working through these elements as if they were sculptural spaces, and incorporating subject matter that points to art history, politics and border issues. Lieja Quintanar is a Los Angeles-based curator whose research interests include contemporary art and curatorial practices that explore the politics and social issues of everyday life. Quintanar holds a B.A. in ciencias de la cultura (cultural studies) from the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, Mexico City, and an M.A. in art and curatorial practices in the public sphere from the University of Southern California. Presently, she serves as project coordinator and contributing curatorial adviser for the forthcoming exhibition and publication “Below the Underground: Renegade Art and Action in the 1990s Mexico” at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, as part of PST LA/LA. She recently worked with artist Teresa Margolles as project art coordinator for her contribution to the Public Art Biennial “CURRENT: LA Water.” In addition, she was research assistant at the Getty Research Institute’s project “Urban Transfer(s): Building the Latin American Metropolis from Independence to the Threshold of Modernism.” In 2014, she curated “Acciones Territoriales” (Territorial Acts) at the Museo Ex Teresa in Mexico City, with two weeks of daily public programming. Her master’s thesis “Territories of resistance: the impact of the Zapatista Rebellion on artistic practices in Mexico City,” 1994-1995, is the base of her ongoing research into territories of resistance in Latin America via arts and politics. She was the coordinator of the research center at LUGAR_CERO in the Historic Center of Mexico City from 2011-12, an itinerant project that explored the complexity of public space. Concurrently, she was editor of Bunker, arts section for Registro MX magazine. April Lillard-Gomez, project and research coordinator for the MexiCali Biennial, is an independent curator, arts administrator and arts advocate. She has sat on the board of directors and is currently an administrator of the MexiCali Biennial since its inception in 2006. She specializes in grant writing, media relations and fostering collaborative opportunities between artists and arts organizations. Research topics and curatorial interests include New Americana, the border as a means of aesthetic production and art as protest. Past curatorial projects include Mass Emergencies at Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro, which focused on crisis and disaster protocols in post-apocalyptic Long Beach and S.O.S. (Save Our States), a traveling exhibition dealing with inter-state relations following the passing of Arizona  Prop 1070. CALAFIA is proudly presented at RAFFMA as part of the MexiCali Biennial’s 2018-19 programming. The MexiCali Biennial is a bi-national arts organization that explores the area of the California/Mexico border as a site for aesthetic production. Founded in 2006 by Ed Gomez and Luis Hernandez, the biennial showcases nomadic exhibitions that partner with arts institutions to showcase both emerging and established artists working in all media. Originally started as a critique of the proliferation of international and regional biennials, the MexiCali Biennial may occur at any time and on any side of the U.S.-Mexican border. For more information on the MexiCali Biennial, visit mexicalibiennial.org. About RAFFMAThe Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art is a nationally recognized museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The only accredited art museum in San Bernardino, RAFFMA has accumulated a permanent collection of nearly 1,200 objects focusing on Egyptian antiquities, ceramics and contemporary art. Located at Cal State San Bernardino, RAFFMA houses the largest permanent and public display of Egyptian art in Southern California. General admission to the museum is free. Suggested donation is $3. Parking at Cal State San Bernardino is $6 per vehicle and $3 on weekends. The museum is open Monday – Wednesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday, noon– 8 p.m. and closed Friday and Sunday. For more information, call (909) 537-7373 or visit the RAFFMA website at raffma.csusb.edu.