Alejandro Salgado Cendales is a community-engaged artist and art administrator. He is the Executive Director of the Multicultural Artists’ Coalition (MAC) and the English Program Director/Equity and Inclusion Officer at Multicultural Arts for Schools and Communities.
In 2017, Alejandro moved to Ottawa after living in New York City for five years. At the time, he had been working mostly as a painter, but after completing a master’s degree in Socially Engaged Art, he wanted to expand his practice into a field where he could also be a mediator, community organizer, and activist.
“I was exploring different mediums so I could properly connect to the community, and I felt that maybe video and interviewing could be the best way to reach that new objective that I had in my practice.”
He had no video production experience and didn’t own any equipment, so he began seeking out a community that would support his learning curve and provide access to gear. “Rapidly, people were saying, well, you need to go to SAW Video, in those times, now DARC.”
Alejandro wanted to get a sense of what the grant landscape looked like in Canada, and how to apply for funding. He met with Jenna Spencer, DARC’s former Chief of Staff, to explore opportunities. He applied for the JumpstART program, a fund for digital artists transitioning into new disciplines. Jenna reviewed his application, and he successfully received his very first grant.
“I feel like sometimes as artists, we need that first opportunity, for us to feel that we can do it.”
Alejandro began developing a project called “The Chinese Experience in Canada”, a short documentary using archived and newly recorded footage to explore the history of Chinese Canadian immigration and life. It tells the story of Sam Gee, an 93-year-old Chinese immigrant who lived in Canada for most of his life.
“When I moved to Ottawa, I wanted to understand the history of Canadian immigration … I found very curious that Canadians didn’t know a lot of their history. I was finding that fascinating from an anthropological perspective, because it’s also related to the way Canadians perceive themselves and build an identity.”
With the grant funding, he was able to cover shooting and equipment rental costs. He also received support from the DARC technical staff to learn how to use equipment.
“I’m very grateful to DARC for giving me that opportunity, because it was the first step of my career in Ottawa.”
In Alejandro’s opinion, both emerging and established artists can benefit from DARC membership. For emerging artists, he sees “the knowledge that you can get through DARC with the workshops and with the expertise that they have” as the most valuable thing. For established artists, “accessing subsidized equipment” can help a ton with production budgets.
He also notes the value of connecting to others in the arts community: “I think the connections, the programs that they have, the exhibitions, all of that brings a network that is very valuable as professional artists, too.”
