Boss Womxn Series: Emma Thorne-Christy

By Brittany Campbell

Exhibition Designer, Activist Artist, and Writer gets real about finding her own path and collaborators to altruistically co-create with.

I met Emma like most people in our field, at an exhibition opening. !Murales Rebeldes! L.A. Chicana/o Murals Under Siege, opened at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in September 2017. Standing in front of me in line for a drink, we struck up a conversation. She was bubbly, passionate, and extremely humble. Later that evening someone mentioned that Emma was Murales Rebeldes exhibition designer. From the moment I met Emma, I knew she was a Boss Womxn, because she was authentically herself in a field that skews male. Three years later, her sense of self, collaboration, and optimism for making her mark still leaves me inspired.

America's Shakespeare: The Bard Goes West

We had the chance to gab about her own creative strategies - she keeps an idea journal, the legal implications of street flyering, and how This American Life (podcast) is her secret to feeling connected during this time of social distancing.

So let’s be real, I have yet to meet another exhibition designer and activist artist, how do you succeed at both?

I am a weird breed of artist that is really good at executing things. It is hard for me to know when I am going into a space if I should lead with: I’m an activist artist or I’m an exhibition designer.
My art is about shining light on social issues and bringing people together across identities typically with a call to action. That's not always the priority of my clients' and the design work I am hired for. While the exhibitions I'm hired to work on may have political implications, some museums choose to avoid contentious topics or calls to action. As an activist, that can be disappointing, but I'm not the one funding the show.

Well that must be frustrating, how do you channel your creative energy while on projects that don’t align with your personal philosophy and hopes for the field?

Most recently I started a writing series, Museums + Politics + Activism. Writing is a great way to frame my head space as a designer. I am now getting hired for projects that fit my specific skill set versus trying to bring these values into a project cobblestoned together. I now find myself in conversations with people who are more like minded - really open with a democratic approach to art.

I’ve seen a new project, Community Lost and Found, populating my IG feed. Is this a product of these conversations, and can you tell us more?

Community Lost and Found is a collaborative art project that asks two simple questions - during the pandemic what have you lost, and what have you found? There are two ways to file a claim: the Pandemic Lost and Found Hotline, and a customizable Lost or Found flier available online. It’s a really interesting project for me because I have wanted to explore audio as a medium for a long time. During the pandemic I found so much healing listening to This American Life and other podcasts that share the human experience. For me, This American Life resonates in how it frames a cultural experience. Before the pandemic, I wanted to have a hotline with mini pep talks. I started to try and frame my own pep talk and found it really hard. So it entered my idea journal, a strategy I use for concepts I don’t really know where to go with right away. Community Lost and Found just came to me after wanting to do something with audio, not finding momentum in the pep talks, and This American Life framing my pandemic.

How do you know a good idea, or how do you decide which ideas to pursue?

One of my strategies when I have a new idea is to pitch it among friends, so I started pitching. People responded so well, especially around the idea of outdated ways of communication - street fliers and antiquated processes of technology - the hotline. My friend Gabe Sena is the voice you hear when you call in. He asked me what the tone/feel should be, and I said ‘I want you to sound like what happens when you call the Social Security Office, this doesn’t need to be super sexy.’ This was part strategy, as someone who is new to audio work, and part personal taste - I love that it’s gritty.

What’s the average intake?

Ten calls as of now, and we’ve been up 10 days. There are some definite challenges. It’s a 323 area code; I wish it was an 800 number. I can see how many people have called and not left messages. There are barriers to entry that I am figuring out, people feel like it has to be perfect, scripted. I still need to learn a lot about how to allow people to comfortably contribute.

Just curious, have you made a submission yourself?

I started using my phone to record voice memos, and I came up with so many. I submitted one, and it was scary to say some stuff, to be vulnerable. But it also felt kind of relieving to be seen. A few people have listened to it and relate.

Community Lost and Found is a collaborative art project, who are the additional contributors?

Everyone that submits is a project collaborator. This is very much the most participatory installation I have ever done. A ton of people have also offered to flier, so we’ve added: "Alert the Neighbors” where you can download the current Lost and Found fliers and alert your neighborhood! Named contributors include:
Gabe Sena - A very talented director and film editor. He is working with me to create Instagram videos with closed captioning. I am very much a - I am not going to ask anybody to help me type, but Gabe offered to help a little and offered me feedback. I didn’t have to explain the mood; he got the line between serious and humor that I was going for right away. Currently, Gabe’s busy making 10 videos of the current audio submissions.
Brian - Street flier volunteer + getaway car driver. It’s technically illegal to affix fliers to public property.. I have heard from friends who flier and people do get upset. In one case, someone from the city actually called and said don’t do that! I am mindful of that, I don’t tape anything up. I only staple because I want everything to be biodegradable. I don’t put more than two flyers up on the same street.

What do you see as the future for Community Pandemic Lost and Found, and what so far about the project has excited you most?

It is growing and there is no definitive end. I have started outlining dream scenarios: this could be a book, this could be a podcast, this could be an archive. Another layer to add could be a personality study on what the tone in someone’s voice is communicating when leaving a message on the hotline, for example, “I have lost my dignity.”
I am excited about this project because the barrier to entry is low, you only need to be conversational in english and I hope that barrier changes too! This is the first project of mine that does not have geographical barriers. I would love for it to be international, and I am super curious how far this can go, and that location does not matter. This project has also inspired me to ask for help from people in ways that I have never had before.

What advice would you give to other arts and culture professionals or anyone seeking to love what they do?

I am trying to think about what advice I give myself the most often, I have to pep talk myself a lot. Pay attention to what feels most relevant or what resonates with you most in terms of creative ideas and try not to judge them too hard. I do this with my idea journal. I write down my idea and I don’t judge it. I think that is why Community Lost and Found ultimately happened. I didn’t feel pressure to have to make the pep talk idea work. In truth, I don’t think the important part of that idea was the pep talk. It was about finding connection to humans through their voice which is exactly what Community Lost and Found seeks to achieve.