SAN DIEGO, CA.- The Balboa Art Conservation Center, the western region’s nonprofit art conservation center, welcomed Cultural Strategist, Andrea “Angie” Chandler to support the organization's recent shift into Inclusion as its Audience and Engagement Specialist. Chandler joined the BACC team on May 25th, 2021.
“The addition of Angie Chandler to BACC is a timely and affirming move,” said BACC’s Executive Director, Leticia Gomez Franco. “BACC is embarking on a very intentional shift, taking our 45 years of experience in the field of art conservation, and expanding it to be inclusive of the world we live in today. The intentionality in the work that lies ahead lives in our commitment to build community and expand our understanding of cultural preservation to fit the needs of institutionally underserved collections and communities. Angie’s work in cultural mapping, community engagement, and radical inclusion will be an instrumental part of our efforts. I am thrilled to get to do this important work with her.”
A seasoned cultural strategist, Chandler has already made an impact in the Southern California region with her project, Culture Mapping: San Diego, a community informed initiative to identify the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color cultural sector and ultimately connect them with much needed resources such as funding and space. It was this work that caught BACC’s attention, as this is precisely the expertise and approach that will help BACC connect with the various communities it seeks to serve. Angie remarked, “San Diego along with the rest of the Western region has a rich diversity of artists and arts organizations. However, there is a severe lack of opportunities and access for these groups. BACC and I are very much on the same page when it comes to correcting these wrongs and creating brave spaces to chart new ways forward in conservation and cultural preservation. I’m looking forward to putting my experience and commitment to inclusive paradigms to work, in joining Leticia and BACC staff in this team effort."
Angie is a speaker, cultural arts curator and strategist from Brooklyn, New York. In Brooklyn she received both her love of the arts as well as her B.A. in Education and History from CUNY-Brooklyn College. A first generation American, Angie draws inspiration from her Jamaican and Panamanian heritage to inspire her work and center global perspectives. Her passion for storytelling and community arts education led to her work as a teaching artist and facilitator of arts and civic programming and continues to fuel her work around socially engaged art, advocacy, social justice, and women’s rights. As a museum administrator and curator, she has crafted innovative programming strategies connecting exhibitions to contemporary issues, infusing technology into audience experiences, and introducing new voices to art institutions.
Angie most recently served as the Education Manager at the San Diego Museum of Art where she oversaw a department that included a museum art school, adult and youth programming, the museum’s library and more. Her personal mission is to cultivate culture to effect change. Angie spends her time outside of BACC as an independent consultant and curator with a focus on innovative engagement, writing, and arts equity. Her work at BACC will allow her to continue creating opportunities for both artists and communities to engage with the arts in a meaningful way.
