Performing Arts

STEAM + A = Creative Activism : A Conversation with Kristen Holler

January 19, 2023 By Corey Aldrich

I first met Kristen Holler in her role at the Albany Barn. I have had the opportunity to work with her on projects there and in Schenectady at the Electric City Barn involving ACE! and my own production work with my company 2440 Design Studio. So when I was included on an email from Steve Pierce announcing her new position as Executive Director at the Sanctuary for Independent Media, I immediately knew that this could be a tremendous match for her and the organization. Focused and tireless, Kristen has a deep arts and community background. Though fresh on the job, I wanted to be a part of launching an awareness about her transition and have her share a quick update with us all about the amazing STEAM based approach that the Sanctuary is bringing to a neighborhood community and beyond.

Kristen Holler : Executive Director at The Sanctuary for Independent Media | Photo: Provided

Can you tell us a bit of your background and what you did before this?

Prior to coming to the Sanctuary for Independent Media I was the Executive Director of Albany Barn – a nonprofit org that supports artist development through a wide variety of technical assistance and subsidized/shared resource programs – from 2013 until 2022. In that time I helped to drive the opening of Electric City Barn in Schenectady, and served as a project manager for the Capital Walls public art initiative in collaboration with Albany Center Gallery. My professional background has been almost exclusively in the nonprofit space, but has been a combination of direct service and administrative roles across housing, employment, health, and arts organizations.

Live Performance at Freedom Square | Photo: Provided

The Sanctuary is so many things – from performance art, to science to activism…can you give us an idea of what the main areas of focus will be for you and why this position was attractive to you?

I think the thing that resonates most for me is that although the Sanctuary ‘is so many things,’ each of those things is linked back to the pursuit of social justice, and the use of creativity and independent expression as tools in that pursuit. I had the pleasure of working with and learning from Steve Pierce and Branda Miller – two of the organization’s founders – in my time at The Barn.

Branda Miller and Steve Pierce sitting with daughter Masha, and dog, Rose Fang. | Photo: Provided

It is an honor to step into this beautiful space that they’ve created, to build upon their legacy. My focus will be strengthening continuity and sustainability across the varied initiatives and programs and to provide strategic leadership in a time of transition.

Event Audience at Sanctuary for Independent Media. | Photo: Provided

Collard City Growers participants work the permaculture garden. | Photo: Provided

Can you share with us some meaningful ways in which the Sanctuary is making a difference in the lives of those who are in the neighborhood and beyond?

The Sanctuary’s varied programming really provides something for everyone, and the community of individuals who have created and driven this organization forward for the past 20+ years have shown a true dedication to remaining independent from corporate control and responsive to community input.

One of the major ways that The Sanctuary has impacted the immediate neighborhood is through investment in vacant lots and buildings, reactivating them for community use including Freedom Square – a public performance and gathering space; Collard City Growers – a food justice, arts, and permaculture project; NATURE Lab – a community science lab; and People’s Health Sanctuary – a community-led mutual aid health initiative. Another space where I think The Sanctuary has had real impact is in creating STEAM programming where the arts, sciences, and media are not silos, but an intersection of related disciplines where the arts are tools for scientific discovery, the sciences are a tools for creative expression, and media is the vehicle for sharing the process and the outcomes in ways that are accessible to a wider audience. (Editors Note: This!!)

The Sanctuary for Independent Media Main Entrance. | Photo: Provided

There has also been a consistent effort to develop and maintain strong community relationships with individuals and other organizations through these connections. The Sanctuary has helped to get important community-led initiatives into the media – including stories that depict a more positive image of the N. Central Troy community. Outside of the immediate neighborhood The Sanctuary’s media content and performance series have drawn visitors virtually and in person from other states and countries.

Nature Lab (*Water Justice Project*) participants testing Hudson River water samples. | Photo: Provided

What are the primary funding sources for the organization?

The organization is funded largely by individual donors and sustaining contributors – particularly Sanctuary Radio and Sanctuary TV. Additional funding is provided by NYSCA, DEC, NEA, McCarthy Charities, Howard & Bush Foundation, and The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region.

Developing story based narratives at Sanctuary Radio. | Photo: Provided

Anything coming up on the horizon we should be aware of or keep on the lookout for?

People can tune into Hudson Mohawk Magazine daily at 7am, 9am, and 6pm for independent coverage of local news and topics impacting our Region. The People’s Health Sanctuary will have a series of open houses in the winter and early spring that are in the final stage of scheduling. The Sanctuary will continue with its signature annual events including Freedom Fest in the summer and Story Harvest in the fall. Information on upcoming events can always be found on our website.

Freedom Square entrance at the Sanctuary for Independent Media. | Photo: Provided

WEB: mediasanctuary.org

FREE TICKETS to the Grammy Nominated Danish String Quartet!*

January 19, 2023 By upstatecreative

The Danish String Quartet | Photo: Provided

This month we are partnering with the Friends of Chamber Music of Troy to make available a block of tickets to a rare Capital Region performance by the Grammy nominated Danish String Quartet. Availability is first come first serve and limited so jump on this ASAP if your interested. There is a two tickets per person limit.

* Ok, its not totally FREE, the ticket processor has a mandatory fee of $ .70, so you will be set back $1.40 for two tickets. Original ticket cost is $35 per ($70 for two) so, its as close to FREE as we could get! To get the discount, click the link below and when procuring the tickets Enter Discount Code: ACE – That will recalculate the cost. Reserved tickets will be a the Will Call window.

TO SECURE YOUR TICKET NOW CLICK HERE

With arrangements of Nordic folk music and a sound described as “capable of intense blend” and “extreme dynamic variation” (Gramophone), the Danish String Quartet (Frederik Øland – violin, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen – violin, Asbjørn Nørgaard – viola, and Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin – cello) comes to Albany with stylistic diversity and admiration for creative interpretations of classical music.

“This is one of the best quartets before the public today.”
Robert BatteyThe Washington Post

“They could be grounded in their tone or mystical. They allowed time to stand still, and they could assume the pose of excitingly aggressive rockers. They did it all.”
Mark Swed The Los Angeles Times

When: Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 3:00 PM

Location:
Page Hall | University at Albany | Campus 135 Western Avenue Albany, NY 12203

STUDENT ALERT: FREE Tickets to College Student’s with Valid ID

FREE TICKETS to the Albany Symphony’s ‘Classics for the Holidays’

November 14, 2022 By upstatecreative

We partnered up with the multiple Grammy winning Albany Symphony Orchestra and are making available a block of FREE TICKETS (a $65 value each!) to the annual holiday extravaganza ‘Classics for the Holidays’ performance! Availability is first come first serve so jump on this asap if your interested. There is a two tickets per person limit.

**Albany Symphony Orchestra** at the **Troy Music Hall**.

This December you are invited to enjoy a night or afternoon with the Albany Symphony as Music Director David Alan Miller conducts the ASO in a program of ‘Classics for the Holidays’. Come experience one of J.S. Bach’s beloved Christmas Cantatas featuring singers from the Bard Vocal Performance Program and his famous Double Violin Concerto featuring the ASO’s own Mitsuko Suzuki and Funda Cizmecioglu, plus a sinfonietta by influential 20th Century Black American composer and conductor Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson, and Mozart’s stunning Symphony No. 39.

Classics for the Holidays | Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30pm | Sunday, Dec. 11 at 3pm

Order free tickets to the Saturday Evening or Sunday Matinee performance by using offer code ACEGUEST at checkout, or by calling the ASO Box Office at 518.694.3300.

PRO TIP: If for some reason you get a ‘seats unavailable’ message try a different location.

Violinists **Mitsuko Suzuki** and **Funda Cizmecioglu** | Conductor David Allen Miller

Saratoga Sounds Under ‘Acoustic Clouds’ : Re-envisioning the Arthur Zankel Music Center

October 12, 2022 By Corey Aldrich

*The Arthur Zankel Music Center | Photo: Provided*

The Zankel Music Center on the Skidmore College Campus opened in 2010. The 54,000 sq-ft facility features the 600-seat, acoustically brilliant Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall. In addition, the building also houses a 100-seat lecture and recital hall, rehearsal and practice rooms, and the Skidmore Music Department. It’s not uncommon to walk into Zankel and hear the sublime sounds of piano, violin, or operatic singing floating through the corridors. A campus and community asset, it welcomes roughly 25,000 visitors each year.

*The Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall at The Zankel Music Center | Photo: Provided*

THE MISSION

The mission at Zankel is two-fold: 1) to strengthen it’s role as a cultural resource for upstate New York by refining and expanding it’s world-class programming, and 2) to diversify and transform Skidmore’s music program in collaboration with faculty. The concert hall features tunable acoustic “clouds” and a look resembling Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall (named for Arthur and his wife, Judy). A unique offering among regional venues, hits a sweet spot in capacity, aesthetics, and experience of sound. A regional best kept secret outside of the Saratoga Springs community, one which the facilities newest addition Zhenelle LeBel looks to change.

Zhenelle LeBel joined Skidmore College as the Managing Director of the Arthur Zankel Music Center on August 1 of this year. Previously, she was with an important Troy based performance space, the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where she was a senior arts administrator for the curatorial team.

*Zhenelle LaBel : Managing Director at The Arthur Zankel Music Center | Photo: Provided*

PROGRAMMING NOTES

Programming at the Zankel spans a range of musical genres, from Western classical to jazz to music from cultures around the globe. The audience reflects that in its multi-generational and multi-ethnic composition. In coming seasons, Zhenelle states that they will interrogate these genres with questions like: What happens if you center Black experiences and expressions of classical music? Where are the women in jazz? Is the term “world music” problematic, from the perspective of American colonialism? They plan on supporting these dialogues with lectures, screenings, and related convenings with the aim to include a diversity of voices.

*John Batista and Stay Human | Photo: Rudy Lu*

Zankel is bustling with the student body daily, between students enrolled in Music programs and a staff of around 30 student employees who help run events. They also facilitate collaborations across departments, working with faculty and their students to engage campus with programs that complement the events–master classes and workshops, screenings, talks, and exhibits, understanding that these interdisciplinary activities enrich the arts for all.

“These collaborations have a direct impact on student’s awareness of and interest in performances at Zankel, and are what I think contribute most to their attendance. Unlike our public audience, who attends primarily for entertainment, the Skidmore community shows up because in most cases, they’ve gained a new way of relating to the music and are curious. We love to inspire curiosity!” Zhenelle LeBel

A RICH PEDIGREE

The Zankel has had laudable roster of talent perform on stage including: Branford Marsalis, Jon Baptiste, Emanuel Ax, Ani DiFranco, the Indigo Girls, Paul Simon, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. In addition to presenting student recitals each semester, which is seen as an essential service to provide burgeoning artists the opportunity to perform for an audience, they also welcome performances by professionals who may be emerging in their field.

*Recent performer Taína Asili | Photo: Nathan Bogardus*

As for near future developments and focus, Zhenelle says, “Next year will bring exciting changes to our program, with new artistic residencies and a shift toward more multi-disciplinary performances. I am working on a thematic framework for our 2023/24 season that seeks to respond to some of my earlier questions, curating artists whose music both uplifts and informs. Can’t name names just yet!“

Follow them on social media to keep abreast of the new programming as it develops or reach out to Zhenelle directly.

WEB: www.skidmore.edu/zankel/index.php
IG: | FB: @zankelmusiccenter

5 Questions with Community Arts Leader Louise Kerr

October 12, 2022 By Corey Aldrich

*Louise Kerr : Executive Director at Saratoga Arts | Photo: Provided*

1) Please state your name, what organization you represent and your role in that organization.

My name is Louise Kerr and I am currently the Executive Director at Saratoga Arts in Saratoga Springs, NY.

2) What is the organization’s core mission and who are you primarily serving in the execution of that mission?

Saratoga Arts’ mission is to enrich the region by cultivating a vibrant arts community and by ensuring that the arts are accessible to all.

We serve the capital region and beyond both at 320 Broadway with our 14,000 square foot facility that houses gallery and exhibition spaces, a 110-seat black box theater, painting, drawing, weaving, printmaking studios, and now a music/studio rehearsal voice lab, all geared towards community access and use, collaborations through our many partner organizations like the libraries, visitor center, train stations and more for artists to show and sell their work. We hosted two ‘Art in The Park‘ events this year seeing well over 8,000 visitors and have rolling pop-up markets and events throughout the year. We have educational kids camps that run each quarter with our summer season being the longest at 10 months for kids and teens aged 5 to 18. Each quarter we offer teen and adult classes in life drawing, painting, improv, workshops in printing, weaving, jewelry making, and more – basically if a teaching artist can think it up we can help facilitate a place for them to make that class or workshop come to life.

We are also responsible as the regrant organization for NYSCA for Saratoga, Fulton, and Montgomery counties, to distribute direct grant funding support to individual artists, and community and city organizations. We help fund many annual projects like art and book festivals, musical and theatrical performances, spoken/written word projects, and art exhibitions, just to name a few! In 2022 we dispersed $149,000 in grants and to date, we have given more than $1.3 million dollars directly into the community. Our cycle for 2023 just opened so if you live in any of those three counties, please visit our website and let us help fund your artistic project.

*Saratoga Arts Programming and Opportunities*

3) You mentioned to me about annual themes that are being developed as a structure for arts organizations in Saratoga to collaborate on, can you tell me more about that and what the focus for 2023 will be? Why do you feel this approach is important?

I became the ED in August of 2020 and long before I arrived there were collaborations within the arts and culture organizations. The pandemic just expedited the need for everyone to work together and since then I would say those ties grew stronger and more rapidly.

It just naturally evolved as geographically Saratoga Arts is a central, easily accessible community hub that has sat on the corner of congress park for 25 years. All of our relationships with grantee organizations along with the larger institutions like SPAC, The Tang, Yaddo, Caffe Lena and so many more, have continued to flourish and work together.

Beekman Street Arts District continues to grow and our arts and culture opening weekend “All Together Now” in June was a resounding success. Especially with the additional support and collaboration of the Mayor and city, the Chamber of Commerce, Discover Saratoga, and the Downtown Business Association, all of the many world-class cultural events that happen throughout Saratoga Springs are finally beginning to be noticed and 2023 is shaping up nicely with collaborative themes of ‘The Earth, people and place, migration and change‘… like I said in the beginning, this strong network already existed but I was just lucky in my timing of arriving when I did and being immediately embraced and accepted as everyone worked together to overcome the pandemic. I think that being part of something like Saratoga Arts that not only is a resource for the community but also a creative connector in a chain of organizations all pulling in the same direction, is vital for the richness of where you call home and key in the expansion and success of the arts especially.

*Main Gallery | Mia Westerlund Roosen | Photo: Provided*

4) What does a typical day look like for you?

The art center is currently a work in progress and in a time of exponential growth. I am usually doing 15 things at once and going 100 mph… emails and text messages start dinging around 7 am. On any given day at SA there can be 200+ visitors coming through, artists of all ages making all kinds of creative work, lots of rambunctious 3-5-year-olds running around the gallery and in the park, a set being built in the theater, actors rehearsing, someone learning to playing a piano, some sort of cleaning and organizing happening by amazing volunteers, meetings in person with board members, contractors, partner organizations, supporting members and donors, zooms with government agencies, budgets, grant deadlines, running across town to attend an event, and never ending planning and paperwork. Then there is making time for my small but mighty staff, who also are wearing many hats and all working on multiple projects to keep us moving ever forwards. It’s usually 7 or 8 pm by the time I force myself to stop working.

5) I believe you have some exciting news about new facility-related upgrades that you and your team are working on, can you share a bit about what those will be and the timeline?

The crazy hours and frenzied work schedules are in large part due to the fact the art center is going through a complete transformation. It was a little bit tired and worn from so many years of use and not enough consistent maintenance or repairs when I arrived so we have partnered with the city to do extensive renovations and updates over the next three years. The city will focus on mainly structural and exterior renovations like gutters, drainage, roofing, HVAC upgrades and such and we have pledged to raise $700,000 to help update everything internally to reinvent the galleries and makers’ spaces, install new modern equipment and make this building multi-purpose and bursting with creativity 24-7. To date, we have already invested almost $200,000 into the building and with the support of key donations and sponsors, a new extended long-term lease and city partnership, 2023/24 is looking very exciting.

In the immediate near future we are focused on the completion of a few things including an environmentally safe printmaking studio and a rehearsal/music and voice lab. These are already beginning to be used while we expand equipment and build-outs, thanks in part to generous donations of presses and a rehearsal grant from NYSCA allowing us to extend over 1000 hours of studio time for free through December 2022. These spaces will be community accessible as well as places to teach, learn and do specialty workshops.

Also slated for completion by the end of 2022 is re-establishing Film and screenings on a regular basis in our theater thanks to a generous donation of equipment from the now-dissolved film forum. This is very exciting and much requested by our community not just because it opens the doors for so many collaborations with new partnerships, creative programming with filmmakers, small documentaries and other screenings, animation creation, immersive film/performances, and more, but is something that lends itself well to a community center like ours. It offers an intimate and connected regular community meeting place, not intimidating or generic like a big movie theater space, somewhere to nurture constructive dialog and debate, rooted and filled with creative and interesting work from all genres, accessibility for entry level students at the beginning of a careers through to seasoned professionals. I really am looking forward to seeing more people discovering the versatility of what they can do at our facility, and hopefully, be inspired to participate and create!

WEB: www.saratoga-arts.org
IG | FB: @saratogaarts

This article is presented through a content collaboration with ACE and CapNY.

Visit CapNY on Instagram at @gocapny.