“Working Backward From Crazy: Implementing a Vision”
An Interview with Susanna Peredo Swap Founder and CEO of
Vanguard Culture
Article by Cathy Breslaw
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| Susanna Peredo Swap |
Last week I sat down to interview Susanna
Peredo Swap. My association with Peredo Swap began when she curated an exhibition I had
at the San Diego International Airport in 2011. Now, as a writer for Vanguard
Culture, I have seen first-hand, the organic and exciting growth of this socially conscious organization and media entity.
Blessed with a large extended
family filled with professional musicians, actors, dancers and architects, it
is no surprise that Susanna Peredo Swap followed tradition. Having been raised
between Tijuana and Mexico City, she also travelled to Europe, having received
a scholarship from the Royal National Theater in London and studied Art History
and Video Art History at the Sorbonne and Ecole du Louvre in Paris. A
professional actor in musicals and community theater, while in her
mid-twenties, she created and sang in a jazz band. While Peredo was living in
New York City, 9-11 happened – an event which she says “changed everything” for
her. Armed with her experience and
knowledge in the performing and visual arts, and her BA degree in Humanities
from San Diego State University, Peredo-Swap discovered her calling - which she
describes as ‘finding purpose in giving back and making an impact in the San
Diego community’.
For five years Peredo-Swap worked
for the Old Globe Theater doing marketing, community education and teaching
classes. She went on to work for the
city of National City where she worked for four years, creating arts inspired
programs and managing their public art program. In a city with financial and
social challenges, Peredo-Swap worked hard to convince the community of the
importance of the arts in the lives of people. She advocated for an arts center
as a way of inspiring young people, getting them off the streets and out of
drugs, crime and gangs. Though it took several years, National City has redesigned
and renovated the ‘old’ library and it is now an arts space for dance, music
and the arts. Peredo-Swap is very proud that
she helped create this active and vital community center. It is now thriving thanks to it being inhabited by A Reason to Survive, an organization using arts to underprivileged youths. Having been on several arts committees and
boards, Peredo-Swap moved on to work for the San Diego airport where, during over
five years, she curated and coordinated music programs and over eighty
exhibitions.
As a result of her over
fifteen years experience, Peredo-Swap realized she had amassed several hundred
contacts and relationships with the arts community in San Diego. She commented
that she would receive over 300 emails per day of happenings all over the
region, and realized that there was no one outlet or organization that filtered
or shared all of this information. Ready
to make the jump to beginning her own project, the seed was planted in Peredo’s
mind, and with that, Vanguard Culture was born.
What began as an idea, about
three years later, is now a newsletter of over 4000 subscribers and over 2000
social media contacts. In developing her vision and strategic planning, Peredo
says “Start with ‘crazy’ and work backward – she asks “How do we get there from
here?”. All big dreams start someplace
and Peredo-Swap began by building upon her relationships in the community. She contacted bloggers and media folks to
write about the events they attended which began the online newsletter. This
helped shape the mission of Vanguard Culture which is: “an online media entity
designed for culturally savvy, socially conscious individuals searching for
unique visual and performing arts experiences while making a difference in
their community”. Vanguard Culture now has six cultural correspondents/writers
who report on arts events, four advisory board members and two interns.
Peredo-Swap has developed several
‘real life’ off-shoots to the online newsletter. One of her goals has been to
bring the various facets of the arts and cultural community together for an
interchange of ideas and possible collaborations. This is how ‘Foodie Soirees’
began. For the past three years, evening food events have taken place
quarterly, mixing the arts with the local culinary world. These culinary events take place in private
homes of artists, art collectors and other arts lovers where food, drinks,
entertainment and fun prevail. Another fascinating smaller gathering inspired
by Peredo’s experience while living in Paris is
“An Artist @ the Table series” which is an intimate dinner, pairing a
noteable person from the arts community with nine ‘strangers’ , inviting them
to share a four course dinner prepared by a known chef at a lovely private home.
These smaller dinner events are geared to raise money to continue building
Vanguard Culture. In keeping with bringing awareness to the needs of the
community “Cause of the Quarter” began – every three months a different cause
is featured in the newsletter, which helps publicize and provides links for
donations to fund the organizations selected.
Another recent amazing event
which took place for the first time in June was the ‘Avant Garde Costume Gala’
held at the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park. Peredo commented that this was a huge
financial risk but she believed in her ‘over the top’ vision and it proved
successful. Over two hundred people attended an event designed for ‘creative
and sensory pleasure’ – ‘guests were asked to wear their wildest, most unique
or thought provoking costume or accessories”. The event featured food, custom
designed drinks, and entertainment from The California Ballet, The Patricia
Rincon Dance Collective, Priscilla the Empress of Pop, The Animal Cracker
Conspiracy” and an Avant Garde Fashion Show by Shawn Michael. Live body
painting, Henna Body Art, stilt walkers, and a photo station were also
included. Peredo plans this as an annual event and fundraiser for the
organization.
Peredo-Swap, CEO and Founder
of Vanguard Culture has built upon a
synergy taking place in the San Diego region.
The unexpected downturn in the economy beginning in 2008, has required the
many moving parts of the arts communities including boards, organizations,
businesses and individuals to work together to accomplish their aims. With all
that Peredo-Swap and her team have accomplished in only three years, it will be exciting
to see what crazy and wonderful projects will emerge and grow while giving back
to this diverse and growing region.
