SUSANNA PEREDO SWAP has over twenty-five years of experience as an arts administrator, actor, jazz vocalist, arts advocate, and public relations specialist. While working for the San Diego International Airport Art Program she curated over eighty exhibitions with some of San Diego’s best museums, artists, and galleries; as well as a fantastic roster of talent for its performing arts series. She currently serves as Co-Lead for Arts & Culture with World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana; is a member of the San Diego Museum Council; on the Board of Women in Tourism & Hospitality International; the Advisory Board for the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego; the Community Advisory Council for Diversionary Theatre, and Community Advisory Committee for the Burnham Center for Community Advancement.
She has previously served on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Art Institute; Board Vice President of the Alliance Française de San Diego; Board Vice President of the San Diego REPertory Theatre; President of the National City Public Art Committee and Vice Chair of the Port of San Diego’s Public Art Committee. Susanna is a magna cum laude graduate of San Diego State University where she majored in Humanities and minored in French. She holds a Professional Certificate in The Cycle: Management of Successful Arts and Cultural Organizations from the Devos Institute of Arts Management, University of Maryland; a Professional Certificate in Business for Arts and Nonprofit Arts Organizations from University of San Diego; a Certificate in Photography: Images and Techniques from University of California, San Diego; studied Art History at the Université Paris Sorbonne (Paris IV); and History of Video Art at the École du Louvre in Paris, France. Her passion for the visual, performing, and culinary arts has taken her to over twenty countries and inspired her to create Vanguard Culture, a nonprofit organization that aims to bring people together across different backgrounds, interests, and creative professions.
About Susanna Peredo Swap
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
My mother’s family is from Guadalajara, Mexico, and is comprised of musicians, actors, models, and TV personalities. My maternal grandfather was a concert pianist and composer whose music was often played on the radio. My grandmother Marianna, now 90 years old, can name almost any classical music piece on the radio and can often even identify the orchestra! My father’s family is from Mexico City and is comprised of architects, engineers, dancers, philosophers, and climate activists. Our grandfather Jose Luis Hernandez Mendoza was a very famous architect in Mexico City, where he designed several prominent universities, hospitals, and cathedrals. Among his many amazing creations is the iconic ramp in the beautiful Guggenheim Museum in New York City. The book written about his life has a photo of him with Frank Lloyd Wright on the cover. His designs were considered very futuristic for his day as he would incorporate his various degrees in architecture, engineering, psychology, and theatrical scene design into his creations. I often wonder what he would design with the amazing technology available today! My husband Cliff is an ER doctor from Boston who plays piano beautifully and we are raising two very creative young children.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I’ve lived many creative lives. I began my career as a theatre actor, studying at the Royal National Theatre in London and teaching acting and Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. I am also a jazz vocalist and gigged around San Diego with my trio Nostalgia for many years, in addition to performing in various musicals. After a series of “happy accidents” I ended up becoming a curator and worked for the San Diego Airport Authority’s Art Program. There I curated over eighty exhibitions, working with San Diego’s most notable museums and visual art creators. I also programmed their performing arts series. This gave me a wonderful connection to the region’s creative community across all industries. Thanks to all of the various creative paths I’ve taken, I was able to build a nonprofit called Vanguard Culture that works to help creatives make a living doing what they love. Through arts journalism, professional development for creatives, and unique, cross-industry events we help advance the region’s creative workforce in meaningful ways. Being surrounded by creative people and connecting communities that typically never intersect, is my absolute favorite thing. I feel very lucky that Vanguard Culture has grown so much through the years and continues to thrive.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
I would encourage creative professionals to take ownership of their craft and work to have more of a business mind about their practice. Everything you need to know is inexpensive and often free and available on YouTube, online webinars, etc. I would encourage them to make the effort to professionalize their practice or invest in someone who can help them do so. It is worth every penny and every effort to be able to make a living doing the thing that you love. Vanguard Culture offers free and low-cost professional development for creatives regularly and we have seen first-hand how powerful it can be when you allow yourself to OWN the word Artist.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
One of the most exciting things that I’ve been involved in lately is serving as the Arts & Culture Co-Lead for World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024. This new and prestigious designation of our region has opened up so many wonderful opportunities for creative collaboration across the border. I’m very excited about all of the cross-border creative partnerships that have started to develop and I can’t wait to see how they mature in the years to come. In partnership with WDC 2024, we are producing a huge visual and performing arts festival called ENVZN on Sept. 14th that will highlight creatives from San Diego and Tijuana. I am really looking forward to continuing our partnerships and taking them to their highest creative potential.
Susanna Peredo Swap & Our Community
Q: What are a few of your favorite restaurants in our community?
There are a few San Diego restaurants that we will treat ourselves to on special occasions, like Cowboy Star and Cesarina. In Tijuana, I was recently introduced to Telefónica Gastropark, which is comprised of various restaurants set up on small trailers, similar to food trucks. The restaurants are all from some of the city’s best restaurants. The food is delicious, the vibe is casual, and the environment is cool and interesting.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I have always been very brave about traveling and have lived in several cities, including Paris, London, New York, and Mexico City, but my home base is always San Diego. I’ve been working and programming in the arts for over 25 years in San Diego.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
In my line of work, I meet interesting, creative people all of the time, but one of my favorite people right now is a woman named Ligia Santillan. She and her business partner, Berenice Martinez, run a company called Art Scene Baja, which offers curated cultural tours of the Baja region. From culinary excursions to behind-the-scenes tours of creative venues and art spaces, what they do is truly special.
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
My husband and I used to go to Cafe Chloe in Little Italy on our anniversary each year. When it closed down, we felt like we had lost an important tradition. We are still on the search for the next great place to visit each year. People in the culinary arts can play such an important role in creating long-lasting memories for the community.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
Our border region is truly special around the world. The cultural influences here permeate everything that we do. From arts & culture to the culinary community. I love that people from Baja can shop, study, work, and thrive here. Their influence and cultural tourism benefit our entire region. Similarly, we can easily cross the border for great arts & culture, delicious lobster in Puerto Nuevo, or world-class wineries and culinary experiences in the Valle de Guadalupe. There is no place else in the world where this can happen so fluidly.
For Fun
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I generally watch singing competition shows and documentaries about art history. I’ve also recently started watching Black Mirror and have been enjoying it, but it’s starting to creep me out with how much of those things have started to come true in real life.
Q: (Even for friends or family) What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know?
This is a hard question for me because I’m pretty much an open book. I can’t think of anything that my friends and family don’t know about me. An interesting fact about me I guess is that I am fluent in English, Spanish, and French. This has opened so many doors for me, and I do my best to keep the languages alive through podcasts, especially now with my work along the border.
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
Our creative community. This region has so much talent, and I feel really lucky to be a part of it.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My children inspire me to be better every day. I think a lot about the future they will inherit and work in my community to make sure they see me taking action when we see injustices. We are also super conscious about climate change and giving back to underserved communities. It’s important to me that our children grow up to be kind, humble, and hard-working people who think of others.
Q: What community organizations and/or local nonprofits do you admire/support?
Our nonprofit works with and supports hundreds of artists and dozens of arts organizations from both sides of the US/Mexico border, so picking just a few is a pretty difficult task. If I had to choose the organizations that are inspiring me at the moment, I would say San Diego Filipino Cinema for its beautiful approach to storytelling, the Museum of Us for its bold new effort to recontextualize the story of human existence, and The Soap Factory for their community-centered efforts to tackle food insecurity while building a thriving arts hub for Logan Heights.
Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Your level of success in life is directly measured by the number of difficult conversations you are willing to have.
Q: Finally, what three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Dialogue, Food, Joy
