Anne Giangiulio moved to the Borderland in 2004 to teach graphic arts at the University of Texas at El Paso. One of her strongest memories from that time was the abundance of hand-painted signs on businesses around the city, especially around Segundo Barrio.
Giangiulio, a native of Philadelphia, immediately fell in love with the signs, but questioned why they would still be used given available technology. She quickly learned that the signs that often combine words, numbers and images are a cultural connection to Mexico.
“The visual language struck me,” she said about her efforts to promote the work of these overlooked artists through interviews, an upcoming book and “El Otro Muralismo: Historical and Contemporary Sign Painting in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez,” an exhibit that opens July 11 at the El Paso Museum of History, 510 N. Santa Fe St…