Albuquerque (2017)
Project Statement
I became interested in belonging in 2017, when racist, xenophobic rhetoric and policies made immigrants feel unsafe and as though they didn’t belong.
Over five weeks in 2017 at the Sanitary Tortilla Factory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I developed a project that invited the public to share their stories about places of belonging. I also conducted workshops with Working Classroom, a youth arts program in the historic Barelas neighborhood, and Saranam, a housing and education program for homeless families. Then, I selected 13 places to commemorate with hand-painted signs, which I installed on site whenever possible. I created a zine with maps and narratives in the contributors’ own words about their places of belonging. During workshops and an open studio event, I created an interactive map to invite more participants to map their or their families’ migrations, and connect those journeys to places of belonging in Albuquerque.
I wanted to amplify everyday people’s narratives at the intersection of place and identity. I was curious about the pivotal experiences that shape one’s sense of belonging and connectedness to a place and country, which ultimately define authentic selves. I was motivated to insert personal, humanizing stories and promote principles of inclusion into public spaces.
*Developed in Sanitary Tortilla Factory’s first artist-in-residence program.
![Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Zine (detail of project components overview page), 2017, laser output, 8.5 x 7 inches folded, 24 pages, first edition of 150.](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169200/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_01_Belonging_Zine.jpg)
Zine (project components overview)
![Process photos: Upper left: Workshop with Working Classroom interns (photo: Gabrielle Uballez). Upper right: Questionnaires designed by the artist, collecting stories of belonging. Lower left: Sketches for signs. Lower right: Studio view for hand-painting signs to commemorate places of belonging.](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169202/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_02_Belonging.jpg)
Process: workshop, questionnaires, sketches, sign-painting
![Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Zine (cover, citywide map, quadrant map, and stories of belonging), 2017, laser output, 8.5 x 7 inches folded, 24 pages, first edition of 150.](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169203/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_03_Belonging_Zine.jpg)
Zine (cover, citywide map, quadrant map, and stories of belonging)
![Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Sign #1: 2nd Street SW, Nominated by Jessamyn Lovell, 2017, hand-lettered paint on pine, 18 x 11 x 0.75 inches. (Photo: Michael Apolo Gomez)](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169204/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_04_Belonging_sign1.jpg)
Belonging Sign #1: 2nd Street SW, Nominated by Jessamyn Lovell
![Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Sign #10: Saranam, Nominated by Gabby, Yudima Valdes Mesa, 2017, hand-lettered paint on pine, 18 x 11 x 0.75 inches. (Studio photo of sign: Michael Apolo Gomez)](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611338674/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/05-belongingABQ-sign-10-Saranam-location-CWY-01a-2up-stacked.jpg)
Belonging Sign #10: Saranam, Nominated by Gabby, Yudima Valdes Mesa
![Christine Wong Yap, Belonging Sign #1: The Cooperage, Nominated by Yudima Valdes Mesa, 2017, hand-lettered paint on pine, 18 x 11 x 0.75 inches. (Photo: Michael Apolo Gomez)](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169209/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_06_Belonging_sign_cooperage.jpg)
Belonging Sign #1: The Cooperage, Nominated by Yudima Valdes Mesa
![Christine Wong Yap, untitled installation view (participatory mapping exercise: detail of world map for migration stories), 2017, participation, paper, markers, pins, yarn, dimensions variable (Photo: Michael Apolo Gomez)](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169210/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_07_Belonging_interactionA.jpg)
Installation view (migration mapping exercise)
![View of participants adding their places to a collective map. (Photo: Michael Apolo Gomez.](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169211/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_08_Belonging_interactionB.jpg)
Participants add places to a collective map
![Christine Wong Yap, untitled installation view (participatory mapping exercise: detail of Albuquerque map for places of belonging), 2017, participation, paper, markers, pins, yarn, dimensions variable (Photo: Michael Apolo Gomez)](https://image.scu.edu/image/upload/v1611169213/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/Belonging%20Christine%20Wong%20Yap/AB_09_Belonging_interactionD.jpg)
Installation view (places of belonging mapping exercise)
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