The El Paso Museum of History offers visitors a bilingual, multi-cultural experience through exhibitions that focus on the history of El Paso del Norte (The Pass of the North). The permanent and rotating exhibitions in the museum’s six galleries feature history beginning from pre-Spanish contact to present.
Mountain of Gold: A History of East and Southeast Asian Cultures in El Paso del Norte, 1880s – 1980s
Sep 27, 2025 - Jan 24, 2027
Gallery B, Second Floor
The title Mountain of Gold refers to how many families described the United States as the “mountain of gold” and Mexico as the “mountain of silver” as they journeyed to border in pursuit of prosperity.
Historically, many Asian individuals were often formally and informally labeled as Chinese, but this installation explores the unique stories and influences of East and Southeast Asian communities in the borderlands. Drawing on local memories and histories, this community-based exhibition honors and explores our region’s historic Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, and Vietnamese communities. Mountain of Gold challenges narratives of an Asian monolith and dives into each group’s distinct traditions, highlighting different family stories, neighborhoods, businesses, and community institutions as well as cultural exchanges along the border.
Pasos Urbanos III
Jul 17, 2025 - Jul 19, 2026
Gallery D, 2nd Floor
Pasos Urbanos: A Photographic Narrative of Downtown Borderland Culture is an exhibition composed of images submitted by artists living within a 150-mile radius of Downtown El Paso, including our sister city Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. This showcase of photographs documents urban life in both El Paso and Juárez. This includes the bustle of the everyday, the color and joy of local downtown events and festivals, and the celebrated architecture that make “los centros” unique and thriving hubs of cultural heritage.
This third edition of Pasos Urbanos, focuses on street art, graffiti, and visual interventions. We encouraged participants to capture moments of urban art practices and life, examining and celebrating the power of public art in its most counterculture state.
Escaramuza, The Poetics of Home
Jun 21, 2025 - Jun 21, 2026
1st Floor, Gallery A
“Escaramuza, The Poetics of Home” is a traveling collaborative project that uses photographic portraiture, poetry, and audio interviews to explore the Mexican tradition of escaramuza and the women who practice it in the United States. With the exhibition’s arrival in El Paso, we will feature new components to highlight the artform’s relationship to the border and local histories.
Escaramuza, the women’s event with charrería, involves a highly choreographed performance set to music as the horses and their riders weave in and around each other. In this exhibition, artist Constance Jaeggi collaborates with award-winning Los Angeles poet Angelina Saenz and Texas Poet Laureate ire’ne Lara Silva to offer a rare view into the world of escaramuza charra and the women behind the pageantry and costumes.
"Escaramuza, The Poetics of Home" will be on display on the 1st floor, Gallery A.
Photo by Constance Jaeggi
Neighborhoods and Shared Memories: Hacienda Heights to Ranchland
Apr 10, 2025 - Jan 11, 2026
"Neighborhoods and Shared Memories: Hacienda Heights to Ranchland," 1950 – 1990. Once dairy farms and desert, the Lower Valley area boomed post-World War II as families were able to build or purchase their first homes. The tightly-knit community of Black, Mexican, and white families represented a diverse working and middle class neighborhood in the wake of desegregation. The exhibit showcases how schools, businesses, and the changing socio-economic landscape influenced the area's identity and the people who made their homes there.
This exhibit is part of an ongoing series that features historic neighborhoods throughout El Paso. Previously exhibited neighborhoods included Chihuahuita, Segundo Barrio, Sunset Heights, Manhattan Heights, South Central, Rio Grande, and Franklin Heights.
