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Introduction
Every culture has their own set of influences, cultural norms, expectations, and
expressions that all together make up that specific culture. All these things are very influential
despite age, gender, race. We are all influenced by culture. It is important to be able to connect
with the culture, specifically adapting to culture in order to connect with the youth. In this case
study, we will be diving into the culture of Santa Fe. The culture is Santa Fe is centered around
creativity, art, and self-expression as they are known as an “art capital.”1 This is expressed via
graffiti, but the youth of this culture still find themselves not feeling seen or heard. In order to
help with this, the city has designated specific legal walls for graffiti that can help with these
negative feelings.
Local Youth Culture in Santa Fe
There are a bunch of influences in the Santa Fe area regarding the youth, some good and
some bad. Some of the more positive influences are art, art galleries, and the influence of
creative expression of self. The graffiti culture is also very high in this area, which is where the
influence of creative expression really comes in. This is how a lot of the youth express their
feelings of neglection and isolation through their art abilities. Simpson said, “There are some of
those young people out there painting their names on huge trains, on walls, in places, and they
step back and say, ‘See how big I am and how colorful I am and how beautiful I am.’ I am
someone.”2 This shows the influence that art has on the mental health of the youth. It shows them
that they are someone in this world. Unfortunately, some of the more negative influences are
violence, drugs, and gangs. Their art offers alternatives and outs to this kind of lifestyle. One of
1 Elizabeth Miller, “Speak My Language,” Santa Fe Reporter. October 28, 2015: 3,
https://www.sfreporter.com/arts/2015/10/27/speak-my-language/
2 Miller, “Speak My Language,” 1.
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the cultural norms in Santa Fe is the graffiti itself which has produced prominent graffiti
“tribes.”3 These are very well known throughout the city and culture of the Santa Fe area. This
allows the youth to feel connected and loved through being a part of a community. This article
explains it as “very much a place where people could feel like they could speak.”4 The different
underground cultures were very much a cultural norm. Another cultural norm is admiration of
people’s work. A big part of the graffiti culture is that if your work is good, then it does not get
painted over. This shows how artists admire other artists’ work.
The expectation of the youth in Santa Fe is that they lack a sense of identity and feel so
unseen that they turn to drugs and violence. Simpson says, “Young people are so lost and so
unseen and so uncared for and so unnourished and so unnurtured that they turn to drugs and
alcohol, domestic violence.”5 This also creates the expectation of finding a group to affiliate
with. “A lot of young people are drawn to underground youth cultures, looking for an attachment
to culture, because that’s what’s been taken away from us, so we build new tribes,”6 explains
Simpson. This is the reason for the argument concerning a legal graffiti wall. The youth seem to
need less pressure on where they are going to fit in and just be able to enjoy the thing that they
love to do in a healthy and safe manner. Lastly, the main form of expression concerning the
youth in Santa Fe is through their art. Their deepest feelings, instead of being bottled up, are
expressed through their paint onto a canvas of some sort. Their expression is their creativity.
3 Miler, “Speak My Language,” 2.
4 Miller, “Speak My Language,” 2.
5 Miller, “Speak My Language,” 1.
6 Miller, “Speak My Language,” 2.
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Strategies for Relational Connections with Youth
One strategy that could be effective would be to dive into the culture of art and graffiti
and offer art classes taught by godly men and women who could share the gospel through art to
the teens of Santa Fe. This allows the youth to participate and get better at something that they
already love and are passionate about. It gives them something to be a part of as well as
something to do that isn’t hanging out on the dangerous streets. It could motivate them towards
something and push them to have the confidence to express themselves through their art. It gets
their minds thinking about something else than the trials going on around them and the isolation
that they feel. This also opens up the opportunity to share the Lord as well as how to create
graffiti that is safe and appropriate.
Another strategy would be to make one of the legal walls a wall that is affiliated with
either a Christian organization or a church. This allows community and the opportunity for
spiritual conversations to really grow as it bring the youth to where godly people are. It gives the
youth the possibility of godly friendships as well as possible invitations to attend church. Legal
walls would be a hot spot, so there would always be youth at that wall looking to make their
mark. This could help build important relationships and provide a safe space for their passion of
art to be explored. This allows you to get in touch with the youth of the area because it will help
get in tune with what is popular and what they like which could be beneficial for future church
events. Hosting an art show could also be a great way to get youth into the church. They are
already doing what they love, so why not allow them to have the opportunity to put it on display
other than the walls. It allows their work to be admired by more than just the people on the street.
This could produce validation that the youth in Santa Fe desperately crave.
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Conclusion
From looking at the condition of the youth in Santa Fe as well as the research from this
article, you could say that there is a great need for healthy relationships and a sense of identity.
They are trying to figure out who they are before knowing whose they are. By knowing the
aspects of their culture like the cultural norms and what they are influenced by, there is room to
connect with them through love and meeting them where they are. Their art and creative
expression are so important and deserves to be cultivated in a safe and positive environment.
Hopefully through cultural intelligence and effective strategies, the youth in Santa Fe would be
able to know that there is a God who loves them and cares for them more than they could ever
know.
