Community Matters September 2012

Albany Barn, Inc.

Jeff Mirel, President
PO Box 10261
Albany, NY 12201
(518) 935-4858
jmirel@albanybarn.org
Something exciting is happening in the arts scene in the Capital Region! The Albany Barn has partnered with the Albany Housing Authority to transform St. Joseph’s Academy, an abandoned school building in the City of Albany’s historic but impoverished Arbor Hill neighborhood, into a vibrant, sustainable creative arts incubator and community art center called “The Barn/Academy Lofts.”  Once completed, the facilities will include 22 low-cost live/work artist residences and 12,000+ square feet of multi-tenant creative enterprise and program space.  This past February, construction began!
During the construction phase, Albany Barn maintains a storefront community art space one block from St. Joseph’s called “Stage 1” that provides creative arts programming and facilitates neighborhood involvement with The Barn/Academy Lofts project.  Just this past year,  Albany Barn exhibited work by three to four regional artists monthly, as well as 100 City of Albany children in the annual “Summer In The City” Youth Talent Exhibition, 2012 “Building Communities” Art Contest, and the “I AM: Albany” photography project, programs that Albany Barn produced or co-produced.
Albany Barn has accomplished much of this to date through the efforts of its unpaid working board, a diverse group of professionals, and one paid staff person from the AmeriCorps VISTA program, along with a core group of volunteers.
Albany Barn will host its second annual fundraiser, FUSION on Friday, October 12 at the Lake House in Washington Park. Some of the area’s most talented chefs will be on hand preparing fusion inspired dishes utilizing seasonal ingredients, combined with stirring beer and wine parings. The event will feature pocket performances, live art installations, and more. Tickets are on sale now; for more information visit: albanybarn.org