Faces in the Square: Meet Teja Arboleda

Chances are you’ve seen Teja Arboleda walking up and down High Street in Dedham Square between his two studios.  His multimedia company, Entertaining Diversity, was  founded in 1992 and focuses on race and culture issues.  It is part of a creative collaboration under the name of “Discover Music and Art”, which also includes Creative Adventures and Voicewize, offering art and music classes to all ages and abilities.   DMA’s first studio, located next to Sergi’s Barber Shop in the Knights of Columbus Building, opened in 2006.  The second location, at 565 High Street in new studio space at the back of Paradise Café, opened in August 2009.  Before setting up shop in the Square, Teja and his wife, Barbara Wilson Arboleda, owner of Voicewize, worked out of their home in East Dedham.

An educator and entertainer specializing in race and culture issues, he travels around the country as a public speaker, lecturer and comedian.  Teja is also an award-winning producer of television documentaries and educational videos.  His documentary, “Crossing The Line: Multiracial Comedians”, won a Silver Telly Award for best documentary and aired on PBS stations throughout the country.    He's  currently producing a series of social messaging focusing on minority demographics for the Department of Public Health, and is also developing a series for PBS, a sci-fi web series, a children's book on multiethnic identity, and a national tour of multiethnic comedians.  Teja has added professional photographer to his long list of creative talents, specializing in portrait, commercial, fashion, fitness and fine art photography. 

When asked why he chose Dedham Square to locate his studio he responded, “I've lived in three countries, and traveled extensively throughout the United States.  Tokyo and New York City, the cities where I grew up, were always a little too much for me. When we imagined living close to where we work, and felt comfortably absorbed into Dedham, we couldn't think of any other logical place to settle our lives and business. As an immigrant, multicultural educator and producer, Dedham Square intrigues me for its energy, community support, optimism and potential. Being near Boston, but just far enough, is perfect, too.”

To learn more about Teja’s work visit www.entertainingdiversity.com and www.discovermusicandart.com.