troy

Freelancers Need Flexible, Affordable Skill Development Options

October 12, 2020 By wordpress

By: Gabby Fisher, Senior Producer

Let’s jump straight to the numbers…

Yes, you read that right.

More than half of freelancers do not take skill training trainings or courses they want or need because they cannot afford it.

Also…though freelancers largely attribute positive value to their college education, freelancers find skill-related training more useful to the work they do now when asked to compare the two.

The HVCC Career Launchpad is right on the mark with what freelancers are looking for…flexible, affordable, non-degree education options. The goal: to enhance skills, learn new ones, and to increase earning power and marketability.

How the Program Started

Penny Hill, HVCC’s Dean of Economic Development and Workforce Initiatives and her team have been offering professional development and training for people, businesses and organizations throughout the Cap Region for a long time.

When the pandemic hit, they jumped into action to develop the HVCC Career Launchpad.

Flexibility

Penny said one of the main priorities of the program was flexibility. A lot is uncertain at the moment. People don’t necessarily want to commit to or pay for college degrees. The Launchpad offers credit and non-credit courses, a first for the college.

HVCC knew this program had to allow all required work to be done digitally and on the individual’s own time, within one year max.

They understood that many of the individual’s would have other responsibilities – jobs, kids, etc. so all of the flexible program attributes were important in its development.

Affordability

Affordability was also a main priority for Penny and her team. The program was intended to be an option for those unemployed due to COVID-19. The idea was to get them trained and/or industry-certified and back out into the job market quickly.

If you’re a freelancer like me, chances are you relate to some of these circumstances and like most freelancers, value professional development.

Get in Touch with HVCC today!

Opportunities for tuition funding may be available. Invest in yourself. Invest in marketplace stability. Let’s launch!

#CapNYRedAlert Profile: Jon Elbaum, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

September 17, 2020 By Maureen Sager

Like many venues in the Capital Region, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall cancelled or postponed their Spring and Fall 2020 concerts series. Further, Executive Director Jon Elbaum is feeling “pretty questionable” about Spring 2021. The impact of that loss is shared by many. “We won’t be hiring stagehands, caterers, and doing our usual marketing and media buys,” Elbaum said. “That’s 50,000 fewer patrons coming to Troy, where they’d be shopping and dining.” Their annual budget used to be $2 million, and it’s now shrunk to a small percentage of that.

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Executive Director Jon Elbaum

Despite these challenges, TSBMH was able to put on drive-in concerts this summer. Additionally, 20 outdoor shows brought entertainment to nearby al fresco restaurant patrons. “The artists were so thankful for the chance to perform,” Elbaum said. This winter, they’ll be streaming performances from the hall. “This won’t make up for lost income, but it will help our patrons and supporters to see these performances and stay connected with us”

Jon Elbaum’s Recommendations

ACE asked Elbaum what would help TSBMH, and he mentioned the following:

Federal relief legislation, including Senator Chuck Schumer’s Save Our Stages bill
Grants, rather than loans. (“The loans were helpful, but we need more.”)
Clear communications and guidelines regarding reopening. (“Rules, timeline, health criteria, and more,” Elbaum stressed.)

The biggest unknown is whether audiences will be comfortable coming back inside the nation’s venues, Elbaum said. “There is so much riding on that.”

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall is located at 30 2nd St, Troy, NY 12180-3292.

Support TSBMH and our other local creative businesses and organizations by participating in #CapNYRedAlertNov1. Click here to register today.

A Freelancer & An Activist: Jade Warrick, “TrashKid”

June 11, 2020 By wordpress

Jade Warrick is a powerhouse artist and freelancer. Known in the art world as “TrashKid,” you may remember her from our “Freelancer February” series. Jade is not only a Cap Region icon because of her creative graphic design & energetic spirit, but because of her active voice in the communities she’s a part of and her passion for making art accessible for everybody. We sat down with Jade to ask her what she’s been up to over the past few months – especially during the COVID-19 crisis and the Black Lives Matter movement.

So much has changed since we last spoke in February. How has your business/work changed?

Business has been decent for me. I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of marketing and graphic design work and I’m enjoying that. I think a lot of people are getting businesses off the ground and working on things they never had the time to. I’ve been working with a few podcasters, Didi Delgado being one. I’ve also done some commission work with Healing While Black, LLC, an amazing black voice. I’ve been wanting to do more TrashKid stuff – doing more comics and drawings – but it has taken a backseat due to the commission work.

I have some side projects going on. I’m working on building a website that helps promote the work of people of color. I’m also working on a COVID-19 graphic novel with Noelle Gentile, a local actor and children’s author. The book is geared toward youth — it talks about what the pandemic means, missing your friends, etc. It’s a living document and is being changed all the time due to new information, events taking place, etc. We’re hoping to release that in mid-June.

Can you tell us a bit more about the website you’re building to help promote the work of black artists and artists of color?

I’ve been wanting to build this website for a while, but never had the time until now. I want to give my friends and creatives – especially those who aren’t very good at marketing nor have a website — a place where people can see their art and contact them if they’re interested in commissioning them for work. This is a resource for all people, but the idea is to promote artists of color. It’s a place where people can find under-looked black artists and support their business. The logo will consist of a pigeon. Pigeons are looked down upon and seen as gross, but they’re very smart birds. I think it’s an interesting reflection of how people see urbanized black culture.

I regularly see you on social media using art to build community. What’s your latest community building project?

I’m working on mural at YouthFX in downtown Albany today (on Friday, 6/5) while youth in the community will hold a protest and have the floor to speak about how they feel about the current state of the world. I’m also going to be working with Albany Barn, Albany Center Gallery, D. Colin, and others to encourage our black youth to paint murals downtown. Youth are going through a lot right now, not only the protests, but there is still a pandemic going on. People are still struggling and unemployed, kids aren’t going back to school. Kids are angry about a lot. I would’ve loved this type of opportunity as a kid. I wasn’t around art as much as I would’ve liked to and I would’ve been a stronger artist if I had been. I never really got the opportunity, my parents were too busy raising their kids and trying to get by.

Any last words of advice you’d like to leave for our readers?

The world is really negative right now. I’ve been trying to help as much as I can and help people feel less alone. I’ve found positivity through connecting with my community – getting in touch with people who feel the same way as me. If you reach out, many organizations will welcome you in with open arms and provide you resources to join workgroups.

Connect with Jade!

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Cap Region Creatives: Andrea “Drea” LaRose

June 1, 2020 By wordpress

Andrea “Drea” LaRose is a Cap Region native, born in Troy, NY. She’s an artist that works primarily in photography and site-specific installations that deal with visual shifts in analog and digital worlds. In January 2020, Drea and her good friend, Carolyn Hopkins, opened Second Street Studios, in Troy as a space to create artwork and grow a sense of community amongst artists. In this interview, she talks about the struggles and rewards of being a young artist.

Drea, please introduce your creative endeavors and what you’re up to these days.

I like to play and interfere with photography in a way that the information, originality, and authorship mirror our own interactions with images on the internet, a constantly fluctuating digital world around me. I have taught painting at SUNY New Paltz, where I went to undergrad and sculpture at SUNY Albany, where I went to graduate school. I received my Masters in Fine Arts a year ago from UAlbany where they awarded me an amazing summer residency at Sculpture Space in Utica, NY.

After the experience of working with artists from around the world, I knew I wanted to continue the arts in a way that wasn’t just about my studio practice, but finding ways to involve other artists. Today, I’m a server, which was my main source of income before the crisis, while applying to adjunct teaching jobs waiting for the right fit – as many artists are doing; juggling multiple jobs to support their practice.

Let’s talk about your gallery space, Second Street Studios. What led you to open the space? What is its status now with the current crisis?

An artist and good friend of mine, Carolyn Hopkins, were both in a similar position of wanting a studio space outside of the home. It’s sometimes quite difficult to create in a space you live in, or I find it that way anyway. I got lucky and found this amazing space at 68 Second Street in Troy, a small but beautiful space that we could instantly see ourselves in. We both had the idea of making it into more than just a studio, we wanted to have classes, invite other artists into the studio for critique nights and exhibit work of other artists. You’re told so many times how difficult the “real world” is after graduate school, especially in the arts, but until we actually went through it, we didn’t have a clue.

Application fees for exhibitions added up…we received so many rejection letters from job or show opportunities, it began to drag a bit. But what remained was that we both wanted to provide a space for emerging artists, like ourselves, to show their work, without all these application steps AND keep 100% of their sales. “The Hallway” (literally the adjoining hallway from the front door to our studio) became this opportunity to exhibit artwork, and our inspiration for what this space could turn into started there. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, Carolyn had to move out of the space because she wasn’t able to use it anymore, but she’s still part of the energy. So now we’re at a bit of a standstill with the physical space and I’m coming up with ideas of how I can make Second Street Studios come back stronger than before.

Why do you love being a creative in the Cap Region?

The support we’ve gotten on our exhibitions has been absolutely eye-opening. We’ve had roughly 100 people through our space for each exhibition and it’s amazing to see the community come together, even if the space is small and a bit alternative (compared to your average white-cube art space). I am so happy that through this tough time, our community has donated to help us keep our doors open; and to give back, we’ve been hosting virtual exhibitions that can be viewed on our Facebook page. Our second show airs on Friday May 29th (which would have been Troy Night Out). I don’t want to lose momentum, and most understand the struggles of a starting space/business, especially in the arts; but I want to be able to provide an open, creative, and inclusive environment for people, in-person or virtual.

Seeing the work virtually is in no way a replacement of seeing it in person, but we want to be sure that during this time, they are being supported. I understand there is a huge surge of visual information out there, with businesses, schools, etc. moving to online platforms…we just ask that people simply look.

There’s nothing required of you, other than to look and appreciate what people are making and creating. Through all of this, I think it’s been particularly eye-opening how much the general public has gripped onto the arts as a means of entertainment. I hope everyone remembers that after this is over and helps support the emerging artists today in their community.

Will you leave us with a positive word?

Something I’ve been struggling with during this whole pandemic is the idea of what to do with all of this time. As an artist and creator, this time is ideal to create artwork, but it has proven to be difficult for me at times. I’ve reached out to other artists friends who are feeling the same way, and I’d just like to say to whoever needs to hear this that it’s okay if you aren’t as productive as you were pre-Covid-19. We’re all figuring things out and there’s enough pressure on us all to find solutions to our seemingly ever increasing problems. So, if you need to take a day to do nothing? Do nothing, take time for yourself, and we’ll all get through this together.

Connect with Drea

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Cap Region Cocktails at Home: Janesha “Jaja” Levons

May 19, 2020 By wordpress

Janesha “Jaja” Levons was born into a military family, and until her early 20’s, they moved every three years, across the U.S. and to Antigua, until finally settling down in Saratoga Springs, where her love for entertaining and creativity began.

After working as a mixologist, model, and other freelance jobs, she moved to Brooklyn, where she walked runways and worked in over 30 venues, rooftops, and restaurants as a bartender. Now, she’s back in the Cap Region, bartending at The Berlin in Troy (currently closed due to COVID-19) and reinventing her modeling career.

Jaja says…

Every bar was a new challenge, every venue had new cocktails and a new culture to explore. No two great bars are ever alike. Maybe that’s why I never stayed in any one bar for too long… Once I conquered the cocktail program and culture (which never took very long), the challenge was over, and so was the allure. I had a Forbes 100 client contract me to bartend at a private mansion, where I created a cocktail list especially geared for him and his guests for two days. I’ve worked in London at a private lounge in a luxury residential building where I not only created a cocktail program, but also arranged private parties and gatherings. I just love to create and bring people together to enjoy life. And yes I’m pretty fond of alcohol too…

Everybody loves a nice sangria and daiquiri, especially as we start heading into warmer weather. I’ve put together these special recipes that you can make from the comfort of your own home.

Sangria by Jaja

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of frozen fruits (I like to use mixed berries)
1 Cup Rum (I recommend Bacardi Silver)
Simple Syrup (recipe below)
1 Extra Large Orange squeezed ( 1/4 – 1/2 cup of its juice)
1 Bottle of White or Red Wine (your preference)

Simple syrup
1/2 Cup boiling water (you can microwave it if you’d like )
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar

Steps:
1. In a large pitcher or bowl place the frozen fruit (at least semi-thawed)
2. Pour the rum over the frozen fruit so the juices can start to marinate in the rum.
3. Pour the simple syrup in the mixture and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. With a metal hand whisk, mix all together with the goal of mashing the fruits as much as possible. You can also use a wooden spoon or muddler, I prefer the whisk. You can also use a blender. If you find it too difficult (or the fruit is too frozen), let the fruit sit in for a little longer and allow the rum to do its job!
5. Add the juice from the orange
6. Pour wine (750ml ) red or white (I use red) over mixture.
7. Place it in the fridge for four hours. Remember the longer it sits the stronger the berry flavor will be….it’s great to have it sit overnight too!
8. Once it’s ready, serve over ice in your favorite cocktail glass!

Daiquiri

Ingredients:
1 Cup Rum (Bacardi Silver)
Simple Syrup (same recipe as above)
1 1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries
2 1/2 Cups of ice
1 lime

Steps;
1. In a large pitcher or bowl place the frozen fruit (at least semi-thawed)
2. Pour the rum over the frozen fruit so the juices can start to marinate in the rum.
3. Pour the simple syrup in the mixture and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. With a metal hand whisk, mix all together with the goal of mashing the fruits as much as possible. You can also use a wooden spoon or muddler, I prefer the whisk. You can also use a blender. If you find it too difficult (or the fruit is too frozen), let the fruit sit in for a little longer and allow the rum to do its job!
5. Refrigerate the mixture for four hours.
6. Add a dash of club soda and squeeze a large lime wedge into the mixture.
7. Serve over ice in your favorite cocktail glass.

Enjoy!

Contact Jaja!
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