Ely Center Rocks The Block

Sunday afternoon found Trumbull Street between Whitney Avenue and Orange Street closed for the Ely Center of Contemporary Art​’s first block party — featuring the gallery’s latest shows inside the John Slade Ely House and a bazaar of art, zine, clothing, and food vendors lining the street, serving a steady stream of visitors. As DJ Dooley‑O headed into a festive set outside and the Ely Center filled with voices inside and out, the block party felt true to its name.

“I really feel like this block party is a culmination of everything we wanted the Ely Center to be, and now that we’re actually here to stay, and we’re having this opportunity, it’s like we’re the new old kids on the block,” said Maxim Schmidt, the center’s gallery coordinator. He was referring to the nonprofit buying the John Slade Ely House from ACES, a deal that closed in May. With ownership comes a new sense of stability and purpose. ​“We’ve been here since ​’64, but now you’re going to know us, and know us for what we want to be known as,” he said. 

Schmidt was elated by the turnout for the event, which filled the gallery space for its new show — ​“Full House,” featuring work from several area art collectives, including Connectic*nt Community Zine Library, FEED, Ice Cream Social, Norwalk Art Space, sk.ArtSpace, SomethingProjects, and Wábi — and had people milling in the street, visiting the booths set up along Trumbull Street, featuring several artists, artisans, and arts organizations. ​“It just feels really authentic and genuine, and fresh and good,” he said. It was ​“a meaningful mix of all different kinds of artists and all different kinds of people. And it’s people just having fun.” 

The idea of a block party represents a step forward for the Ely Center in throwing public events. ​“When we were telling people we were going to shut down Trumbull Street, everybody was gobsmacked,” Schmidt said, ​“because it’s one of the main arteries in New Haven.” But the city turned out to be amenable to the idea. From there, Schmidt said, the center’s staff and board were ​“the teeny tiny team that could.… It’s always a lot to make the gears all turn together, but we all have such different skill sets and so many different connections that we were able to delegate who was going to deal with what” — from getting city permits in order, to rolling out marketing, to solidifying the programming, to dealing with the day-of logistics of getting vendor booths set up. ​“It’s a lot, but we should be doing more of it.”

Inside the Ely Center, the walls reverberated with the sound of chatter and easy laughter as people came by the dozens to see the new pieces on display.

Outside, booths included art projects like the Folding Chair Collective, formed in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June. ​“This affront to women’s rights had me absolutely speechless,” said Bethel-based artist and organizer Elizabeth White, and she wanted to do something. Her husband and fellow artist Bob Becker had always taken inspiration from Shirley Chisholm, who, through her career as a politician — serving seven terms in the House of Representatives for the district centered on Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, from 1969 to 1983 — considered herself ​“unbought and unbossed,” and had an expression: ​“when you’re not invited to the table, bring a folding chair.” 

“The idea is, if you’re not feeling represented, represent yourself,” Becker said. ​“She was a hero of mine when I was 10 years old,” because ​“she was tough, she stood her ground, and she spoke plain — no clever, just from the heart, and with guts.”

Chisholm’s quote about the folding chair ​“just stuck with me,” White said, ​“and I couldn’t get rid of it. I haven’t been able to do anything but this — it’s just got a hold of me now. So I thought I’d just put out a call and see if it resonates with anyone else.”

About a dozen artists answered the call (“and it’s growing,” said Becker), and White decided to call it the Folding Chair Collective. She encouraged artists to work fast. ​“You could pick something off of your studio floor,” she said. ​“And I don’t want anything too precious because I’m going to need to be able to throw these in the back of a car.”

“I’m happy with other people feeling that way about it, too,” White said. ​“I’m just going to do it until I can’t do it any more.” (Anyone interested in hosting the Folding Chair Collective can contact White and Becker at [email protected].)

Right next door was a booth for ElleDotKay Styling and Design Company, a menswear stylist, personal shopper, tailor, and men’s accessories designer run by Elle Pearson. Pearson, who is now 34, got into the clothing business almost straight out of college, at University of Connecticut. ​“It was very difficult for me to find work. I was either overqualified for what I applied for or underqualified for what I wanted,” she said. She was living with friends in Meriden, visited the mall there, and ended up in a Men’s Wearhouse, ​“just to see what they had,” she said. ​“I was killing time.” The store manager struck up a conversation with her and inquired as to where she went to school. He asked if she wanted to work there. ​“So that was literally how I walked into it.”

Pearson learned how to match suits, shirts, and ties on the job. But she also had customers come up who wanted to ​“showcase their personality” beyond what the selections at Men’s Wearhouse could offer. ​“Loving the design aspect, the styling aspect, I figured, ​‘why don’t I learn how to make a tie?’ ” She made her first bow ties and pocket squares, using different materials and textures. Recently she expanded into making dress pants, dress shirts, vests, and jackets. She also works as a stylist for existing wardrobes. ​“All things fashion, I love,” she said.

She has found a niche in men’s fashion, where there are far fewer options than there are for women — but, Pearson has found, plenty of demand, ranging from making and tailoring clothes to shopping for accessories. A decade into it, she has not lost her excitement. ​“My favorite part is the transition, once the client sees everything all put together, their face changing — really, that confidence that’s been inside them the whole time” coming out.

As the afternoon continued, a few more vendors set up their booths, and even more people arrived. At the end of the block, Olmo — an official partner of the block party — had set up more chairs, which filled with customers.

“It really does feel like everything’s come to fruition,” Schmidt said. ​“Everything that went into this is because we love our artists and we love our community, and being able to all celebrate together feels really good.… It feels like we’re home.”