Need a Creative Boost? Explore New and Unique Surroundings In Almost Every City

Does the character of Lydia Deets from Beetlejuice resonate with you? Do you also find yourself to be “strange and unusual”? Perhaps not, but if the idea of exploring new and unique places appeals to you, then we have a website for you. Atlas Obscura.

Possibilities of exploration are vast with Atlas Obscura. There are nearly 23,000 places where visitors can explore the world’s most extraordinary sights.

Atlas Obscura is a community driven platform whose mission is “to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share’, and features a “collection of more than 20,000 wondrous places around the world”. The idea is that there are hidden wonders in every neighborhood and community around the world, and this is a place where people in those communities can highlight them. The site features places, experiences and culinary highlights, that at times are rarely known outside of the community in which they exist. Taking a trip over spring break? You can look up the city you are visiting, and see if there is a little known gem waiting for you to visit. The best part is that there are sites listed all over Southern California that you can explore in your own backyard such as The mural 'El Proletariado de Aztlán', that can be seen on 442 N. Cypress St on two sides of a garage. This mural created by world renowned muralist Emigdio Vasquez, depicts Mexican-American history. Chapman sponsored the restoration of the work by artist, and son of Emigdio, Higgy Vasquez in 2013.

"The mural is a tribute to the working class, and includes portraits of farm workers, labor leaders, and members of the surrounding community; many of these figures were modeled after his family and friends."

Our Creative and Cultural Industries minor allows students to look at this list in a comprehensive manner. Questions like: Are these sites seen by their communities? How do they contribute to the local identity? How do they affect commerce, creativity, wonder, imagination? can help us learn about the ways in which communities deal creatively with the challenges they face and the resources they have.

We invite you to explore the site and extend this challenge to you. Ask yourself, What sites around Orange County, the city of Orange or even Chapman would you consider to be a good addition to this site? Send us your ideas, with a photo to cci@chapman.edu and we will post them on the CCI Student Collective!