Since publishing a book about the South Valley in 2023, Bosque School junior Cheyenne Anderson has continued to advocate for her community and the underserved.

The book of photos and poems, which Anderson put together with friend Isabel James in 2023, challenges negative stereotypes about the South Valley and empowers younger children to feel good about themselves and where they live. There are now copies in state libraries across New Mexico.

In addition, Anderson was a 2024 Girls Leading Change honoree by former First Lady Jill Biden in a White House ceremony last fall. She was celebrated for her “outstanding work uplifting underrepresented communities through art and photography, particularly focusing on her Chicana, Mexica and Apache heritage,” according to Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., who nominated her.

“It was an incredible experience,” Anderson said. “We were flow out there and we were given a tour of the White House.”

“Cheyenne’s passion for using art to lift up the voices of her community and her dedication to showcasing the beauty and resilience of the South Valley is truly inspiring,” Vasquez said in a news release. “Cheyenne embodies the spirit of leadership and creativity that will continue to make a difference in our community for years to come.”

For the book, Anderson collaborated with local painter Bill Mohr and Pulitzer Prize nominated New Mexico poet Jimmy Santiago Baca as well as other famous and amateur poets.

More recently, Anderson, 17, curated an art show in partnership with La Plazita Institute, a nonprofit that works with former gang members and formerly incarcerated youth, as well as with current Bernalillo County Detention Center inmates. She is a regular volunteer for La Plazita.

The free, one-day art exhibit called “Self Determination” aimed to make museum art accessible to at risk youth in underserved neighborhoods and featured pieces on loan from institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and San Francisco.  Alongside these famous pieces of art, Anderson displayed art by South Valley youth and youth in juvenile detention.

“It was a great community event,” she said. “I focused mainly on artists who have had to overcome something. The common theme between all these artists is that they have this determination to show their work.”

Artists included Shepard Fairey, who is known for the Barack Obama “Hope” poster; the late musician and cartoonist Daniel Johnston who Kurt Cobain made famous by wearing his “Hi How Are You“ T-shirt to the MTV Music Awards; Native photographer Cara Romero, who has a Santa Fe studio; artist and activist Wendy Red Star, who was recently named a MacArthur Fellow; and famous aerosol paint writers Coco 144 and the late Phase 2.

“I was happy to work with artist and activist Cheyenne Anderson to show my piece ‘Love is the Drug,’” said Fairey. “I love the concept around La Plazita Institute and I’m honored to have my art as part of the community engagement through their programming in New Mexico.”

The art was loaned free of charge, and La Plazita helped pay for shipping and insurance, Anderson said.

The January show attracted youth from the community, and youth were brought to the show from Acoma Pueblo and from the juvenile detention center. In the future, Anderson hopes to take art to remote reservation high schools and directly into the detention center. 

“I was able to talk to a lot of the kids from inside the detention center, and they confirmed that they had never been to an art museum,” she said. “It was great to see their eyes open up.

“I have read that when young people are exposed to new things, they start to imagine new possibilities. Art can develop higher critical thinking skills, boosts self-esteem and confidence, encourages independent thinking, and can prepare young people for the future after high school and get them thinking about college,” she said.

She also volunteers at Crossroads for Women, whose mission is to empower women emerging from incarceration. She enjoys photography and is a staff photographer for the Transgender Resource Center in Albuquerque and was youngest person ever to hold a media pass as a photographer at Gathering of Nations Pow Wow.

“I like going into the community and being able to document it,” she said.

Anderson is working with Grammy-nominated Radmilla Cody, a former Miss Navajo Nation, on a photo essay book featuring portraits of LGBTQ+ two-spirited Indigenous community members, giving them a space where they can share their stories and experiences.

She hopes to major in art history or urban design in college and is considering Stanford University where sister is a student.