10SELDEN – COMMUNITY ART SPACE
Last week I had the opportunity of meeting with Jennifer Diblanda (Executive Director) and Jef Wilson (Chief Sound Engineer) of 10SELDEN. The two gave me an extensive tour of their operation and explained what the non-profit had to offer to the community. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the facility was spacious and multi-faceted. 10SELDEN offers a wide range of artistic capabilities that caters to both the area youth and the up and coming artist.
The organization has partnered with Richard Demko of NeuroTronix Records to institute a safe and socially distant outdoor concert series at 10SELDEN. On Friday and Saturday evenings, amazing regional talent will perform, weather permitting. The line-up is eclectic and diverse consisting of singer/songwriters, rock bands and jazz ensembles. After checking the space out and seeing all the improvements made, I am sure these events will be quite successful.
Jennifer and Jef then lead me to the other sections of the art space. One houses their recording studio. Here Jef beamed. He was quite proud of the upgrades and the positive results he’s achieved producing imposing material with several local recording artists. You can feel his enthusiasm and love of music. Furthermore, he has a strong desire to assist young musicians to further their songwriting and recording skills. Besides boasting a recording studio, 10SELDEN has an indoor stage that artists can use as either a rehearsal space or for livestreaming.
Jennifer DiBlanda was kind enough to further expound on the art space by answering a few questions.
AMP: What is 10SELDEN all about?
JENNIFER: 10SELDEN, formerly known as The ATC, is a community art space located in the Amity area right on the New Haven line. We are preparing to open our 7,000 square foot facility with a recording studio, music/art lessons, full concert stage with professional sound and lights both for live performances (once we are able to do this again) and rehearsal space. This is in addition to our new outdoor performance court for live performances beginning April 9th, 2021, and a newly remodeled art gallery.
AMP: How does 10SELDEN contribute to the community in terms of the Arts?
JENNIFER: 10SELDEN is an all age art venue. We offer opportunities for both visual and performance art. We have both an indoor and outdoor stage fully equipped with state of the art sound and lighting equipment for live performances. In addition, we host live performances every Friday and Saturday for local bands in a covid safe environment. We will be holding these on our outdoor stage for the foreseeable future until said time that it is safe to be indoors again. We host art lessons, music lessons, rent rehearsal space, a recording studio and we have audio engineering classes as well. Our art gallery will be holding its first show in June. Additionally, we host the Woodbridge Art Guild that is open to anyone in the area to collaborate with other artists and exchange ideas about upcoming projects.
AMP: There are many facets to 10SELDEN. Give us a brief description of each?
JENNIFER: Live music – we host live events on our indoor and outdoor stages. Local bands are able to play an hour long set on our stage and tickets are presold and sold at the door on the day of the event. Limited seating is available as we continue to take all precautions to keep everyone safe.
Top Notch Recording Studio – Music, podcasts, audiobooks. Let us help you with your next project. Let us turn your next big idea into your next release.
Rehearsal Space – Rehearse on a real stage complete with lights, sound and an audio engineer.
Art Gallery – We are very excited to announce that The Painted Path Art Gallery is coming soon to 10SELDEN! This newly renovated gallery space is the newest addition to the 10SELDEN facility.
The Painted Path Art Gallery will provide local and visiting artists with a unique venue to showcase fine art of various media, both two and three-dimensional. The art forms will include, but not limited to; painting, photography, sculpture and pottery. We believe it’s important to give artists the opportunity to show their work and increase their exposure.
We intend to provide our community with occasions to view and experience a variety of art. It is our vision to be a source of interest and continuous inspiration while promoting the arts in our charming towns.
Medical Loan Closet – The Amity Medical Loan Closet collects durable medical equipment and loans it to those in need; giving teens the opportunity to learn the relevance of their academic subjects outside the classroom in an engaging and creative manner. Teens are involved in all aspects of the business. They devise marketing and advertising campaigns; track inventory; provide donation receipts; update the website; handle incoming emails and phone requests and create online advertising videos. Their work experience is supplemented by academic lessons in relevant topics, as well as presentations in communication, decision making and goal setting skills with discussion prompts and activities. In addition, speakers from the Greater New Haven business community inspire students and supplement curricula in financial literacy, marketing strategies, website and social media development, writing a business plan, managing risk and principles of human relation management. Students also gain valuable experience in community service and resume building. The MLC has experienced a large uptick in requests for assistance during the pandemic. The need has increased to borrow medical equipment, and thankfully donations have increased as well. We have over 500 pieces of equipment and over 300 pieces are out in the community. The young entrepreneurs have not only honed their business skills, they have learned to adapt to CDC guidelines. With exceptional teenagers like those on the Service Action Committee and the Medical Loan Closet, our future is in good hands.
AMP: What was the impetus for creating a live music space?
JENNIFER: There was a need in the community for musicians of all ages to have a space to perform and to entertain. Our venue is open to those of all ages so that not only the seasoned musicians have a place to play, but those that are just getting started as well.
AMP: How did 10SELDEN operate during the pandemic?
JENNIFER: We were forced to think outside the box. We held a music series called LIVE FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM. 10SELDEN broadcasted live performances from both the performers own house or when safe, from our stage. These performances were broadcasted on Facebook live in addition on being on Zoom which allowed the performer to have friends and fans in the Zoom call to speak to the performer which provided a slightly less feeling of playing to an empty room. We also held paint nights, trivia nights and flower arranging classes over Zoom.
AMP: What is the ultimate goal of the organization?
JENNIFER: We will continue, as we have in the past, to provide a creative outlet through music and art, offer after school and summer programs to stimulate creativity, enhance self esteem and develop social and educational skills. 10SELDEN will provide a safe venue for performances of all kinds and will present multicultural programs that foster appreciation of our increasingly diverse community and develop awareness of community through involvement in community service projects.
I want to thank Jennifer and Jef for their commitment to all forms of artistic expression. AMP will announce the upcoming 10SELDEN shows in our events calendar They have booked amazing talent. Go check out a show or two..
To learn more about 10SELDEN, check out their website
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