Meet a VC Intern: Esperanza Bey

Meet Esperanza Bey, our UCLA Mellon MLIS Graduate Intern!

(portrait by photographer Sabrina Sellers)

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi! My name is Esperanza Bey (she/her/hers) and I am the former Archives Intern for the 2023-2024 intern cohort. I’m an Archivist/ Librarian and recent graduate of University of California Los Angeles Library & Information Science program with a specialization in Archival Studies. Prior to attending UCLA, I studied Art History at UC Riverside and minored in Media & Cultural Studies. I’m originally from North Oakland, CA and have lived in Los Angeles for about two years. 

How did you hear about Visual Communications and what drew you to apply?

I found out about Visual Communications when I applied for UCLA’s Community Archives Lab Internship. The application required us to rank the community archives we would want to pair with and after doing my research, VC was at the top of my list. Prior to starting my program I worked at a community archive in East Oakland, CA called East SideArts Alliance (ESAA) which stewarded periodicals from resistance movements in the 1970s, such as Gidra and I Wor Kuen. We also housed original materials from activists such as Yuri Kochiyama and Emory Douglas. After speaking with VC staff, I saw a lot of parallels between VC and ESAA that made the opportunity very appealing. However, it was during my interview process when the VC staff introduced me to their 1978 documentary production called OMAI FA’ATASI: SAMOA MO SAMOA, that I became intrigued with their archive and ultimately the possibility of participating in the amplification of Pasifika narratives.

What do you hope to learn from this internship?

My major goal in working with VC is to create programming that activates VC’s archival repository, specifically their Pasifika collection which contains over 3,000 assets. I’m interested in narratives surrounding Samoan migration to California in the mid 1900’s and the involvement of the U.S. Navy in orchestrating that migration. So much of why I pursued archives and specifically community archives is because of my passion for community knowledge and the ethics of care demonstrated in community archives. Laying the foundation to ensure the archive continues to grow is pivotal to my role as an archivist. In addition to this, activating VC’s archive via public programming for Pasifika community members in a way that also honors Pasifika ontologies, is the ultimate goal I wish to achieve during my time at VC.

MBTI: INFJ

Artist on Repeat: Mac Mall, Budgie & Victoria Monet

3 Favorite Films: Drylongso by Cauleen Smith, Girlfight by Karyn Kusama, Mona Lisa Smile by Mike Newell

Favorite Place in the World: I don’t think I have one..but maybe somewhere quiet with water nearby. 

What do you like to do in your free time? Yap with my sister, watch the WIRED Tech Support series on Youtube, go to museums, swim, and eat good food with my loved ones.

Hidden Talent: I can french braid…but i can only do it correctly on my own hair 🙂

Hot Take:
1. The concept of a Muse is gendered and is basically an excuse for intellectual/creative theft of women. 
2. The Bay Area term “slaps” should not be applied to anything other than music. Fashion cannot “slap.”  Food can “smack” but food cannot “slap.”

Restaurant Recommendation: Mill’s Hoagie & Deli Shop  (Deep East Oakland, cash only, beware of the bip) 

(my sister and yap partner)

(UCLA MLIS Graduation)

(Museum visit at LACMA)