Traveling Tables of Amistad Pop-up Exhibit

About the Pop-up Exhibit

• On View September 6–19, 2026

Included with General Admission to the Museum

This September, The Traveling Tables of Amistad, presented by the Friends of International Friendship Park, will come to the Museum of Us. The installation transforms segments of the former border wall into community tables designed for gathering and conversation.

The Traveling Tables of Amistad will be on view in a two-week pop-up exhibit at the Museum of Us from September 6–19, 2026.

A Sculptural Transformation

The pop-up exhibit features a sculptural conversion of a former United States-México border wall segment. Commissioned by Friends of International Friendship Park and created by local sculptor Michael Leaf, three tables can be rolled apart or joined together to form a single conference table. This flexible design was conceived as an architectural metaphor for connection, collaboration, and shared purpose. 

Rooted in the history and spirit of International Friendship Park, the project reflects the organization’s commitment to counter disinformation and polarization with truth, creativity, and human connection.

What to Expect

During the two‑week installation, visitors will experience:

• The Traveling Tables of Amistad sculptural tables made from former panels of the border wall. Friends of International Friendship Park developed the project around themes of hope and cross-border friendship.
• An introduction to the history, purpose, and future of International Friendship Park.

The Traveling Tables of Amistad will continue their journey after the pop-up at the Museum of Us – serving as a mobile platform for community meetings, arts programming, and collaborative projects across future host locations determined by Friends of International Friendship Park.

Workshops

Interactive, 90-minute workshops with Friends of International Friendship Park Program Director, Dan Watman, will be offered on select dates to learn more about International Friendship Park.

In this workshop, participants will address symbolic or literal walls causing division in their own communities, cities, and countries. They will learn about the divisions at the border in the San Diego/Tijuana region, and then come together around the first converted table to share common themes and explore solutions.

Workshops are included with Museum admission. No registration is required.

Workshops dates:

• September 6 at 2 p.m.
• September 11 at 2 p.m.
• September 12 at 2 p.m.
• September 13 at 2 p.m.
• September 19 at 2 p.m.

About Friends of International Friendship Park

International Friendship Park / El Parque de la Amistad is a public park and cross-border meeting place at the western end of the U.S.-México border, on Kumeyaay / Kumiai / Iipay / Tipai / Diegueño ancestral homeland. At International Friendship Park, people from both sides of the border have come together to nurture the land, visit with friends and family separated by immigration policies, and celebrate the culture and heritage of la frontera.

To learn more about The Traveling Tables of Amistad and The Friends of International Friendship Park programs and initiatives, visit internationalfriendshippark.org.

Following the federal government’s decision to replace the existing border wall at Friendship Park in 2023, the Museum collaborated with the Friends of International Friendship Park to preserve 21 sections of the former border wall as items of cultural, historic, and artistic significance to our multinational region. Learn more about the Border Wall Preservation Project.