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An Update on #CapNYRedAlert

October 26, 2020 By wordpress

Dear Supporters,

Thank you for standing in solidarity with ACE and the other CapNY creative businesses and organizations that have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. Originally, the #CapNYRedAlert movement was centered around one day of action, November 1st, where we would all shine our red lights bright to show support of the creative industries who add so much vibrancy to our region.

Through numerous conversations over the past month, we have come to these realizations:

This is a movement that needs to be carried on far through November 1st, and therefore, ACE will be keeping a (red) light shining on this critical sector of the economy during our recovery efforts. We ask you to continue sharing #CapNYRedAlert information via your social media and digital platforms.
It will likely be easier for media outlets to carry these stories and statistics after the November 3rd election, which has been dominating social media and other coverage for months. It was very difficult — if not impossible — to shoehorn another issue into this overwhelming news cycle.

Here, you can find articles regarding the impact of the pandemic on the arts, including profiles of local leaders in the creative industries from organizations like SPAC, The Hyde Collection, and Troy Savings Bank Music Hall that show how the CapNY is dealing with, and overcoming, current challenges. We ask that you share these with your audience to raise awareness of this campaign.

Thank you for being a part of the #CapNYRedAlert movement. Together, we will rebuild, support one another, and overcome these overwhelming challenges.

Best,
The ACE Team

Thank you to our partners:

CapNY Video: Four Questions with Artist Takeyce Walter

July 28, 2020 By Maureen Sager

Landscape painter Takeyce Walter lives in Round Lake in Saratoga County, where she has an art studio in sight of the marsh and lake. But don’t let the timeless serenity of her landscapes fool you, because Takeyce knows how to hustle. First off, she is one of the region’s most successful painters and instructors. Second, she’s a mom to three children, with two young ones at home. Third, she works a full-time job as a video producer. Yes, you read that right.

ACE asked Takeyce about how she balances her work and art, whether she had black female artist role models, and more. Plus, watch her in action, as she creates a wonderful pastel landscape in the video, below.

Image courtesy North Country Public Radio.

Connect with Takeyce Walter:

Website: TakeyceArt.com

Instagram: @takeycewalter

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CapNY Essentials: Directory Suggestion Form

June 11, 2020 By upstatecreative

Have a business to suggest for one of our CapNY Essentials directories? Fill out this form and we will review for inclusion. Thank you for your suggestion.

Submissions by Steve Derrick

April 27, 2020 By wordpress

This is continuation of Steve Derrick’s (Director of Organizational Development for Vicarious Visions / Activision Blizzard Studios) work as seen in the Cap Region Creatives in Quarantine Gallery.

Steve created these drawings and gauche paintings of “COVID medical staff eyes.” Many local response workers have reached out to him to be their subjects, and now people all over the country and UK are contacting him regarding this powerful artwork.

Corey Aldrich : Top Picks in Downtown Troy

February 12, 2020 By upstatecreative

One of the things that attracts me to Troy the most is the diversity of culture, thought, gender and generally, the open-minded vibe I get hanging out downtown. The diversity spans socio-economic and age demographics. This is seen in many of the downtown residents and also the city government. Downtown Troy is a great combination of small and medium independent, entrepreneurial businesses and has strong arts and creative destinations. Troy arguably has the most robust farmers market in the region, having been in operation for over 20 years, it attracts tens of thousands of attendees per year to the downtown area. Many of the downtown businesses also have strong identities, not just programmatically and aesthetically but also in the groups of people that they attract, kind of like mini cultural micro-climates to borrow a landscape architecture term. Speaking of architecture, the architecture and rich industrial and cultural history of Troy are a significant player in the experience you have here.

As a creative freelance professional, this environment is supportive and stimulating. In a simple trip for morning coffee its possible to run into musicians, PHD students, architects, film people, gaming programmers, coders, makers, fashion designers, stylists, photographers, engineers, lawyers, poets, philosophers, producers, urban farmers, historic preservation professionals, professors and retirees…the list goes on. It’s not uncommon for us to have film crews from independent and major studios location scouting here from all over the country (HBO is currently working on a series here called ‘The Gilded Age‘). Troy is a current darling in that way and is increasingly providing quality freelance work for people in our region. Additionally, we have 2 important campuses in downtown including RPI and SAGE College which help contribute to an intellectually stimulating scene.

What also makes the downtown great is the scale. Like many well designed older cities, it’s walkable. It’s best to just park your car and enjoy strolling the various blocks to get to all the rich opportunities there are to experience. For the long term, my fear is that we will jump the shark and allow development that will gentrify our city overmuch. I am hoping however that we can hold the beautiful balance we currently have and spread new development interest out from the city center into contiguous neighborhoods, keeping the rich diversity that we hold so dear downtown while spreading investment dollars further out from the city center. This would create a positive impact on a greater number of citizens, thereby increasing the value of the city as a relocation destination. So much to say but suffice it to say, here are a few of my top pics for a day in the life of a downtown Trojan.

FAVORITE ENTERTAINMENT

EMPAC’s ongoing FREE lecture series.