STUDIO SESSIONS: PLACEMAKING THROUGH SONIC GATHERINGS
Intro
Studio Sessions is a project that my partner and I introduced into the Future Is Color ecosystem at the top of 2023. The initial goal was to create an accessible safe space to gather around the artistic expression of music. Massing organic momentum since our first experience on February 23 2023, Studio Sessions has evolved into a fully functioning brand with the unique ability to answer critical community & culture-based challenges in the city of San Diego.
Impact
20,000+
Total number of attendees over the last year between March 2023 and March 2024
400+
Number of attendees at each of our weekly jazz nights.
700+
Number of attendees at each of our warehouse parties
700+
Number of attendees at each of our MCASD and Old Globe jazz shows
Background Story
San Diego is an amazing and culturally rich city. While it’s not my hometown, it’s a city where I’ve truly found my creative voice and have been able to apply it to building community. Since 2017, I have been active in creating community-centered works to help people see the same beauty that I see in our diverse and vibrant city.
We’re a border town. We have many universities and industries—like biotech, life sciences, arts and entertainment, and many more—which all draw people from different backgrounds and, more importantly, with different perspectives. Yet our dynamic culture is often overshadowed by a one-dimensional narrative of our city that usually leaves the arts community—in particular, the POC arts community—out of the conversation when it comes to what makes San Diego special.
It took time to find the local arts scene when I first moved to San Diego. I eventually found my creative home in the neighborhood of Barrio Logan. From the monthly art walks to vibrant daily activity on Logan Ave, it felt familiar— yet it also challenged me to meet new people and address new concepts. When I needed a home for FUTURE IS COLOR in 2020, it was only fitting that we moved into a studio space right in the heart of Logan Ave. Despite this move being made mid-pandemic, the neighborhood was still very much active.
During 2020 and 2021, we rallied together as community members and small businesses to maintain the momentum with a weekly event called “Walk the Block”. Over the next year and a half, many small vendors would launch pop-up shops on the streets and people would come from all over San Diego to explore Barrio Logan and support our small businesses. As this groundswell of energy and support naturally fed into the FUTURE IS COLOR space, I began to intentionally transform our warehouse into an open community space where people would be encouraged to come in, hang out, and have conversations. Unfortunately, even as our energy grew, the city began to shut down the vendor pop-ups. Foot traffic slowed on the street, sales declined for the small business, and doors closed as many of our local businesses were forced to shut down or were struggling to stay open as a result. What was was once an area full of energy became completely quiet.
A Photo of Logan Ave in barrio logan
While we still had people visiting our studio to hang out and shop, I realized that there was a massive gap between having a communal space and having a place that served the community. With this new insight, I refocused my conversation with people who would come into our studio so that I could better understand what they needed from a community space. Resoundingly, our conversations led back to the need for a place to gather throughout the day and—more importantly—a place to gather after hours that was not focused on drinking or eating.
“We need a place for young people to be able to hang out after hrs”ANONYMOUS COMMUNITY MEMBER
Challenges
Between Oct of 2022 and Jan of 2023 myself and some collaborators held informal conversations with community members to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing the nehigboorhood and city at large.
Lack of well designed accessible space for communities to gather: San Diego does not have many spaces that are initially designed to be accessible to all and to act as a third space.
Lack of spaces that focus on the art: San Diego has a lot of events but they tend to be focused on drinks and food first and use art as background entertainment. This is a challenge because when people have access to art centered spaces they tend to become more civically engaged. Those art spaces tend to be a bridge for deeper civic engagement.
Disconnected communities: San Diego is home to many diverse communities but most of those communities stay within their self designated silos either based on location or interest.
Lack of consistency: In talking with our communities we identified that while there are events that happen monthly that cater to these communities there is too much in between time to truly build momentum in community building. That time in between allows people to disconnect and disengage in the collaborative process of building community.
Lack of platforms and space for artists to grow: San Diego has a wealth of talented young artists but there are a lot that don't feel supported by the institutions or the city at large. Due to lack of perceived opportunity and institutional support young artists often hit a roadblock in San Diego leading to high attrition of young talent. There are not many spaces for those artists to develop an understanding of business while simultaneously honing their craft and building a fan base.
Concepting For a Community Experience
As we started to conceptualize solutions for how the Studio could further invest in the community, we explored ideas of doing pop-up art galleries and holding weekly panel discussions on community issues. However, these still created invisible barriers to entry in that others would need a pre-existing interest in the issues or art to attend. After a few more conversations, we recognized the accessibility and potential of music—and we got to work.
Why Music?
Historical Context: Since its inception, music has brought the power to gather, heal, and connect people. Historically, sonic gathering places have been at the heart of revolutionary movements. They have been places where individuals, particularly from marginalized communities, could fully express themselves and be seen. They have been places where the artificial barriers between people could be broken down through shared experience. Music helped bring new meaning to warehouses, buildings, and streets—turning them from mere structures into safe gathering places.
Personal Context: I’ve always loved music and been interested in the spaces we occupy while enjoying it. Growing up in a Black household and going to church every Sunday, I saw music and community as a symbiotic union throughout my entire life. While I couldn’t play music, it was always a vehicle for connecting with myself and others. Even as I grew and began traveling to unfamiliar places, I would always find comfort and familiarity within music venues.
Experience Principles
Informed by our challenges and fueled by our overarching goal to build community through music, we defined foundational principles for the Studio Sessions platform. But unlike traditional approaches, these principles are intended to flex and evolve alongside the needs of the community.
Principle 1: Collision Of Community
While San Diego is home to many diverse communities, there are not many spaces that allow for those different communities to gather together in a way that fosters cross community connections. Understanding this we built our marketing and partnerships to embrace each of those distinct communities and the design language used is agnostic of any specific subculture.
Principle 2: Consistency Of Gatherings
Community building is truly a communal effort that requires consistency. While San Diego does have cultural experiences they are usually monthly. I knew that in order to develop deeper bonds across community lines there would need to be a consistent place for the cross cultural collision to happen. That place would need to be worked into our habits so that it does not feel like work and instead becomes a place of rest. This understanding led to the programming of the space with weekly events starting with a Jazz Night that happens every Thursday from 7pm - 10pm.
Principle 3: Accessible Space For Art & Culture
Access goes beyond having a free event. In creating these experiences there was a need to consider how a space itself might subconsciously impose barriers for entry or make some feel unsafe. It was critical to think through each aspect that might create a barrier down to the smallest detail like seating or the number of breaks during the show. This principle also made sure we focused on keeping the art at the center of each experience. It would not be about how many drinks can be sold or how much food we could push.
Principle 4: Developing The Next Generation Of Talent
San Diego is home to many young creators but most end up leaving San Diego due to lack of opportunity. Through the Studio Sessions platform we Identify young and local talent, then work with them throughout the year to expand their knowledge of business, brand building while simultaneously providing them the space to develop their skillset and an audience. We do this while also paying them for their weekly gigs. We also platform our local talent next to internationally renowned talent which helps to position them in the same space.The goal at the end of their year long residency is for them to be able to sustain as artist in San Diego.
(Photo: a local band named Skate Jazz)
Principle 4: Local Economic Development
We’ve been able to partner with local small businesses in Barrio Logan to ensure they stayed open during our weekly Studio Sessions, which increased revenue by 400% each week. The majority of attendees have never been to Barrio Logan, which allows us to use Studio Sessions as a platform to educate our extended San Diego family and tell the story of our community. We’ve also partnered with legacy cultural institutions like the MCASD and the OLD GLOBE to design and activate pop-up experiences that consistently drew 650+ people each to experience these vibrant cultural organizations for the first time.
(Photo: A local small bookstore located next to our studio)
Principle 5: Community Storytelling
San Diego is a city with many incredible and diverse stories to tell—yet so many of those stories are overshadowed by a one-dimensional depiction of our city. As the Studio Sessions platform and community continue to expand, we scaled our content for the experience to include interviews with community members. Through this content, we’ll showcase the history of the neighborhoods we occupy and highlight the musicians who play.
It’s not only our responsibility to capture the moment and energy but also to use the platform to tell the diverse stories of the people and communities of San Diego.
Cross Platform Experience Ecosystem
What began as a weekly jazz night has organically grown into an ecosystem of experiences at different scales that help to serve different aspects of our community.
Experience Ecosystem: Live Sessions
Live sessions including our Jazz Nights are weekly live music experiences primarily held in our Barrio Logan studio. These all-age experiences are free to attend and have become the heartbeat of Studio Sessions.
Experience Ecosystem: Warehouse Sessions
We introduced warehouse sessions in Oct of 2023 with our Dance Music No.1 experience. These DJ-centered experiences focus more specifically on the power of dance to liberate our bodies and minds.
Experience Ecosystem: The Listening Room
Music has always been a conduit for self-reflection. THE LISTENING ROOM is a collective exploration of the human experience through deep immersion into the music we love. These intimate experiences welcome 20 - 30 guests who are encouraged to engage in dialogue with the evening's selector around themes like Love, Communication, Growth. The themes are general enough to be open to interpretation but they give the guests a framework to connect deeply with one another and the music.
Experience Ecosystem: Studio Tapes
What we listen to speaks volumes about who we are and gives others accessible insight into our personhood. Studio Tapes is a content series that highlights community members through the music they love.
Experience Ecosystem: Had To Be There
HAD TO BE THERE is an annual, physically produced publication that includes a collection of community stories and moments from Studio Sessions. HAD TO BE THERE v1 will be released mid-year 2024.
Experience Ecosystem: Design
The design system for Studio Sessions is one of the most important aspects of the experience ecosystem. From the red neon lighting within the space down to the layout of every promotional flier, the goal was to create a timeless yet flexible visual & physical experience.
Results
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
GENERATED WEEKLY TRAFFIC OF 400+ PEOPLE TO BARRIO LOGAN AND NEARBY SMALL BUSINESS. WHICH ALSO HELPED INCREASE THEIR SALES BY 300% ON THE DAYS WE HAVE STUDIO SESSIONS.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
GENERATED 1600 UNQUE VISITORS TO THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO WITH ONE EXPERIENCE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
GENERATED 750 UNQUE VISITORS TO THE HISTORIC OLD GLOBE WITH ONE EXPERIENCE
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
WORKED WITH YOUNG MUSICANS TO CREATE THEIR BRAND AND BUILD THEIR AUDIANCE. THEY NOW SUCCECFULLY SALE OUT THEIR OWN SHOWS AND HAVE CONSISTANT BOOKINGS.
From The Community
"FIC’s jazz nights feel one-of-a-kind, almost sacred. They describe it as “optimistic,” “fresh” and “accessible.”
SD MAGAZINE COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
"Jazz nights at FIC are exactly what we need for our city. It is casual as it is electric. It feels like you’re on the streets of Portugal, chain-smoking a cigarette on cobblestone streets."
SD MAGAZINE COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
"It’s a place to connect with likeminded creative people. It’s also where he can see friends from all across San Diego commingling in the same space"
SD MAGAZINE COMMUNITY INTERVIEW
Love & Credits
Janelle Chacon: Co-Founder of Studio Sessions
Ruban Hernandez AKA SKATE JAZZ: SKATE JAZZ was the first house band for Studio Sessions and worked weekly to define the sonic experience of Studio Sessions
Sanchez: The moments he captures help to define the feeling of Studio Sessions
Community Of Barrio Logan: The beautiful neighborhood we call home