“There are those who follow maps, and those who create them.”
With this philosophy, Cuban medical anthropologist and author Alberto Villoldo implies that the journeys of map followers are predestined by the lines and the landmarks spread before them. So what happens when the lines drawn don’t extend widely enough to include the places (and faces) you want to see along your way? Well, you could ask Andrea “Angie” Chandler—educator, playwright, curator, cultural strategist and expert map maker. Recently, THE BLOCK was able to catch up with her to talk about her recent project serving artists of color in San Diego.
It all started last December—the end of a year wrought with disillusionment and despair, the holidays departed as quickly as they came, and the countless year-end wrap ups started to roll in. Then on Sunday, December 27, the San Diego Union Tribune released an article titled, “Looking back. What San Diego’s arts community had to say about 2020.” Within the story, eight of the city’s artists and creative entrepreneurs were highlighted and interviewed on the challenges they faced under the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these eight artists, not one of them were Black.
On this same day, after reading the article, Angie took to Instagram to vent her frustration. The shared post includes a screenshot of the article’s cover image featuring all eight artists, with Angie’s own text overlay that reads, “Stop Erasing Black Voices.”
“Erasure is exhausting. Erasure is political and violence. Erasure is a tool of white supremacy.”
Andrea ‘Angie’ Chandler
She went on to critique the editor’s decision not to include any members of San Diego’s Black arts community and to insist they be inserted into mainstream art conversations. The comment section of the post quickly became a safe space to echo Angie—and for Black and brown artists to make themselves and their practices known. The post was shared within and outside of her immediate network, sparking conversations and debates centered around who these artists are, where they’re located, and how the nuances of their identities weave the full fabric of their needs.
Being the quick quilter that she is, by January 11 of the New Year, Angie had drafted a spreadsheet to include the names of dozens of Black, indigenous and Southeast Asian artists and organizations. Two weeks later, the first accessible and editable document was live via Google Docs: Culture Mapping San Diego had begun.
Culture Mapping Explained
For those who may be unfamiliar with the term, culture mapping (as defined by The Center for Cultural Dialogue) is “A systematic tool to involve communities in the identification and recording of local cultural assets, with the implication that this knowledge will then be used to inform collective strategies, planning processes, or other initiatives.”
In this case, the assets would be the very people who contribute to the community’s artistic landscape. The collective strategies would then include those artists, and the planning would include their voices, reflective of their identity, neighborhood, and what they’re capable of offering versus what they need to feel supported.
But without the voices of all the contributing artists of the region, the map lacks the full and true scope of the artistic terrain. In turn, when awards are granted, funds are distributed and space is allocated, it’s as if Black and brown artists simply do not exist—a la Columbus, hoarding resources, re-writing history and celebrating the white majority. This further pushes minorities to the margins and beyond the reach of the very things they need to sustain. This is extremely important to note as we remain suspended in a moment where so many companies, organizations and institutions have publicly dedicated themselves to diversifying their staff, demolishing their racist systems and procedures, and amplifying the voices of people of color, but many continue to fall short.
‘Silenced, Sidelined and Marginalized’
Although Angie is a newcomer to the San Diego area, (she was most recently a Charlottean serving in several roles at various art institutions), she wasted no time folding herself into the cultural makeup of the San Diego community. Those familiar with Angie and her work, however, would not be surprised to learn that geography would not stand in the way of her commitment to equitable practices in the arts.
After accepting an offer from The San Diego Museum of Art as the education and program manager at the top of 2020, Angie continued to work as a freelance art consultant, writer, actor and curator, which connected her to the San Diego County arts community and its cast of characters. She quickly learned there are similarities within most large cities.
“Most of the Black people and people of color that were artists and performers in San Diego felt extremely silenced, sidelined [and] marginalized,” Angie said. “Even if it’s not in my job title, I’m always looking at issues of equity in whatever community I’m in.”
Her background as a history educator serves her in presenting the case for culture mapping as well.
“What you learn when you do that work is a history of exclusion, a history of discrimination, and to me, the answer to that is equity,” she explained.
This past June, Angie released the 40-page report from the gathered data. The first drop of the Culture Mapping San Diego project features surveys from a total of 32 arts and culture practitioners from dancers to actors, visual artists to creative writers. The information gathered from those surveyed (whose ethnic backgrounds vary widely) reflect diversity in practice, education and upbringing—yet, their needs are very similar.
The survey indicated the most overwhelming needs include: access to individual donors and investors (40.6%), information about grants and funding (18.8%) and advertising support (15.6%). Other needs vocalized by the artists include: space to work/ rehearse, connecting with other artists and connecting with larger arts organizations and institutions that may be able to provide additional resources or exposure.
The ultimate goal of Culture Mapping San Diego is to create greater visibility for the county’s artists of color and to help them meet their needs. The best part about the project—it’s extremely easy to duplicate.
“I’m very aware that I’ve left a blueprint for people to reimagine culture mapping in their own cities. It’s all very replicable.”
In fact, the cultural strategist has recently rolled out application information for the second cohort of artists, as she plans to make this project ongoing. In her essay written for the San Diego Union Tribune, (the same newspaper to commit the initial error), she writes:
“I believe the role of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and other communities of color, is to continue what we’ve been doing—creating.” And create we will, with the hopes that at some point, our creativity, our expressions, our needs and our voices will be placed—and remain—front and center.
For more information on Andrea Chandler’s Culture Mapping work, view the full report here. Also, be sure to follow her on Instagram at @theartlovingaries.
