The Two Sides of Resilience: Responding to Tragedy on the Arts and Cultural Front

Ben Fyffe is the Director of Cultural Affairs & Recreation for the City of El Paso, Texas. He leads two of the region’s strongest drivers of quality of life: The Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (MCAD) and the Parks & Recreation Department which together serve over one million people annually along the biggest international metroplex in the Western Hemisphere. Fyffe’s portfolio includes the grantmaking program investing in local artists and non-profit cultural organizations, the 2% for Public Art Program that has completed $8.4 million in projects over the last decade, the region’s largest cultural festivals and oversees operations and programming at three municipal museums as well as operations and programming at 16 recreation centers, 11 senior center, 11 aquatic facilities and 2 sports centers. He is currently working on the realization of a 40,000 square-foot, voter-approved Mexican American Cultural Center as well as three new community centers, 15 new integrated public art projects and a 90+ acre site that when completed will be the largest municipal park in El Paso. Previously, Fyffe worked at The Contemporary Austin as well as adjunct curated at Austin’s Mexic-Arte Museum. The Texas Senate recognized him for his work piloting artist residencies in underserved ESL campuses and he has served a Wallace Foundation Fellowship at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as well as a Fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution’s Latino Center. Fyffe serves on the Board of Texans for the Arts and has previously served on the San Diego Airport Arts Commission and the Emerging Leaders Council of Americans for the Arts. He holds a BA in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin and MPA from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Erica Marin began her work and collaboration with the El Paso Museum of History as a contractor in the curatorial department which then lead to her obtainment of her previous position as museum registrar for the past year. Before Ms. Marin’s work at EPMH, she worked  as exhibits curator for Las Cruces Museums and previous to that she was an independent curator for Purple Gallery in El Paso, Texas. Ms. Marin has a B.F.A in Art/Museum Conservation and an M.A. History/Public History. Before her formal education, she was an art maker and her work primarily focused on identity and memory. Ms. Marin became interested in the curatorial process because she viewed it as an opportunity to express herself through a more multidisciplinary approach. Her current work at the El Paso Museum of History includes overseeing exhibition development and the stewardship of the permanent collection. Together, with the museum team, she aids in the development of ideas and themes for exhibitions and educational and cultural programming. Ms. Marin is the first Mexican-American woman to become curator for the El Paso Museum of History. Most recently, she worked closely with department leadership in developing memorialization initiatives for the August 3^rd tragedy. This year, She was selected as a 2020 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Leadership Institute Fellow. Ms. Marin’s long-term goals includes continuing to work with MCAD to expand access to museums to the larger borderlands community.