Belonging / Pertenecer

LA Freewaves with City of Santa Monica’s Art of Recovery

LA Freewaves asked residents and workers to share their answers to our question, “Do you feel you belong here? How? When? and Where? or Sientes que perteneces aquí en Santa Mónica? ¿Cómo? ¿Cuándo? ¿Dónde?  We partnered with the City of Santa Monica Art of Recovery to produce this belonging-focused public art project over eight weeks in the spring of 2024. We collected personal responses at Virginia Ave Park’s farmers market, parks, art and cultural festivals, cultural meetings, parenting classes, on the streets of Santa Monica, Café Bolivar, Santa Monica College, and online.

Humans’ longing for belonging is a fundamental instinct that profoundly influences our lives. The responses on the postcards are below. They reveal intersections of place and identity or what it means to belong or not belong in this everchanging oceanside community. Our analysis of the results is also below.  

An infographic on a baby blue background features the "Belonging / Pertenecer" logo in the top left corner. The main graphic is a simple hot pink seesaw, slightly unbalanced, with the left side higher than the right. On the left, in blue, "58%" is paired with the text "feel they belong in Santa Monica," with three blue bubbles and an upward-pointing arrow pushing the seesaw higher. The bubbles read: "welcome people," "family oriented," and "Public space & recreational amenities (beach, parks, bike lanes)." On the right, in purple, "42%" is paired with the text "feel they do not belong in Santa Monica," with three purple bubbles and a downward-pointing arrow pushing the seesaw lower. The bubbles read: "financially exclusive," "culturally exclusive," and "racially & ethnically exclusive."

Data revealed that Santa Monica is currently a city of contrasts. Three recurring themes emerged:

  1. People either feel that Santa Monica is a very welcoming community or a very exclusive community. Exclusivity had several sub-themes including cultural exclusivity and financial exclusivity.
  2. Safety was a polarizing topic – respondents had a high sense of safety or remarked that they felt very unsafe.
  3. Some longtime residents said they felt like they belonged in Santa Monica because they had always been there, while other longtime residents felt that they did not belong because of displacement, gentrification, and cultural/economic change in Santa Monica.

We used postcards proposing this question and blank space for participants to write answers.  We also added a QR code to a digital survey, stickers, posters, and the Santa Monica City bi-weekly newsletter to gather and disseminate the project.

A mint green poster displayed on a stand leans against a tree in front of a shaded building. The poster features the words "Belonging" and "Pertenecer," with each letter in a different color. A QR code is centered on the poster, and a navy blue arrow points to the left. The "City of Santa Monica" logo is in the bottom right corner.

A SOUND INSTALLATION

The project culminated with a 4-channel sonic installation shared publicly at Virginia Ave Park on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, 10 am-2 pm. The 4-channel sound installation is a dynamic sonic tapestry that weaves together the voices of Santa Monica’s community and its soundscape, responding to the profound questions displayed above in English and Spanish. The rich set of answers blends rhythmic beats, the ambient sounds of Santa Monica’s parks, the hum of the freeway, the energy of the college campus, and the serene waves of the beach. Socially engaged artist Jeanette Degollado executed the project and added live engagement at the event with musician Yovan Rodriguez who designed the audio mix.     

City of Santa Monica logo

This project was made possible in part with support from Art of Recovery, an initiative of the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs, and in partnership with the Housing and Human Services Department and Equity and Inclusion Office.