Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Malone
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve had the pleasure of working at Monarch School in Barrio Logan, a K-12 school serving unhoused youth and their families since 2017. In 2021, our nonprofit organization had the opportunity to lease a building down the street that would serve as an arts center for our students and families. We called it The Chrysalis: Monarch Center for the Arts and it has since become a hub of creative youth development and artistic enrichment not only for Monarch students and families, but the entire community! The Chrysalis offers free community programming for 0-5, K-12 youth, and adults of all ages.
Our goal is to create art-based spaces that allow community members of all ages to access, amplify, and elevate their voice, self-expression, identity, agency, and sense of belonging. We envision a world where youth and adults use the tools and resources of the arts to help imagine, create, and build the vibrant and successful life they desire and deserve. The Chrysalis is a 6,000 square foot arts space in Barrio Logan with a dedicated 100-seat theatre, dance studio, visual art classroom, and storefront gallery. We also provide affordable arts and event spaces for local artists, businesses, community members, non-profit organizations, school districts, and community & faith-based organizations who use the space for a variety of personal, professional, and/or artistic classes and activities. We aim to build an expansive creative network that utilizes The Chrysalis in ways that benefit the greater San Diego community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think we had a fantasy that as soon as we opened our doors to the community with free programming, youth and families would pour into the building and fill up our classes! We didn’t anticipate marketing to be a challenge since our programs were free, but quickly pivoted to start building relationships with our neighboring schools and fellow non-profit organizations and businesses. We started dropping off flyers at schools, attending coffee with the principal, and asking administrators if we could do outreach classes to introduce ourselves to local youth. We host a quarterly free Family Arts Day so folks can get to know us through demo classes, community building games, and of course ice cream at the end! We started using social media to build awareness of our programs, finding mom groups on Facebook and creating artistic reels for Instagram to give people a sense of the creative and supportive place that we provide. And now it’s working! We have a steady group of youth and families who attend our classes, and they also help us spread the word. Our dream is to keep reaching out to people who need us but still haven’t heard about us.
Another struggle is spreading the word that our amazing facility is available to rent! We are very committed to providing an affordable place for artists to hold classes, workshops, and events. Inclusion and access is a guiding lens for us.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an expressive arts therapist and long-time teaching artist of dance/theatre. My teaching artist work has taken root in San Diego since 2001, including residency programs and artistic projects with The Old Globe, Eveoke Dance Theatre, A Reason to Survive, Malashock Dance, San Diego Junior Theatre, transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project, and Imagine. I’m a proud member of San Diego Creative Youth Development network, and deeply committed to elevating the voice of diverse youth in my community. I weave the strands of embodiment, social emotional learning, and community building into my work no matter what I am doing.
One of the artistic endeavors that I’m most passionate about right now is Playback Theatre. I partner with Catherine Hanna Schrock from Imagine to co-lead Refugia Playback Theatre. If you haven’t heard of it, Playback is an improvised theatre form that allows communities to share real-life stories in a save and brave space and then watch them enacted on the spot by an acting and music ensemble. The process uses deep listening, conversation, improvisation, movement, and music to honor the stories and experiences in the room. The result is often surprising and yields opportunities for new perspectives, discovery, catharsis, healing, and connection. I feel like it’s exactly what our world needs right now.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now I continue to envision The Chrysalis as an expansive and ever-growing community space. I look forward to seeing which artists and community members walk through the door to help us shape and deepen our work in the world.
On a personal note, my wife and I are considering a big change for our lives in the form of adoption. We are hoping to create a family and help a young child find belonging with us.
Pricing:
- All community programming is free. Everyone is welcome!
- Space rentals at The Chrysalis are affordable and negotiable. $25-$125 per hour depending on your needs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://monarchschools.org/the-chrysalis/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechrysalis_monarch/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SDMonarchSchool
