Troy Glow!

The Arts Center of the Capital Region just announced the six artists/teams commissioned and sites for the inaugural Troy Glow festival, which the Hart Cluett Museum is proud to partner in presenting!

Read below to learn more about Troy Glow.

The Arts Center Announces “Troy Glow,” a Public Art Light Festival in
Downtown Troy Opening December 4, 2022

Commissioned Artists, Locations and Partners Announced

TROY, NY (November 2, 2022) —The Arts Center of the Capital Region today announced the artist commissions for the inaugural presentation of Troy Glow, a five-week public art light festival in downtown Troy during the time of year when there is the least amount of daylight.

Starting December 4, 2022 the Troy Glow festival will present six site-specific outdoor installations of light-based art created by regional artists. In addition, eight partner organizations will be participating in various capacities, for a total of 14 Troy Glow sites in a walkable route through historic downtown Troy. To see every installation, the entire Troy Glow walk will take approximately 25 minutes. Running concurrently with the festival, there will be a Troy Glow exhibition of light art in the Arts Center’s Main Gallery featuring work from the ten artist finalists who were selected through the regional public call for art that started the festival’s curatorial process this spring.

Troy Glow projects and exhibition will be on view for five weeks: from Sunday, December 4, 2022 the night of Troy’s 40th Annual Victorian Stroll, through Sunday, January 9, 2023. The installations will officially be lit on Sunday, December 4 at 5:00pm in coordination with the lighting of the City of Troy’s Christmas tree in Monument Square. Each art installation will be lit and on view every night upon sundown at 4:30pm through 10:00pm.

Troy Glow was created by partners at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy Cultural Alliance, and the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce to bring visitors, shoppers, and diners back to downtown Troy after two years of pandemic precautions, when many people moved to online commerce, frequent take out, and virtual events.

• DETAILS ABOUT PROJECT COMMISSIONS

  “Empty Signs” by artist Adam Frelin
  Location: Donna’s Italian Restaurant, Broadway & Franklin Alley

  Troy Glow’s signature project was created by artist, Troy resident, and Troy Glow Artistic and Technical Director, Adam Frelin. His installation, “Empty Signs” will consist of a cluster of glowing, whimsical signs, intriguingly with no text, in various shapes and colors whose lights will dance in a choreographed sequence. While most signage individuals encounter in cities are either trying to sell something or give directions, “Empty Signs” will do the opposite: it will invite viewers to enjoy the moment and be fully present.

  “Our Patterns, Our Architectures” by artist and designer Natan Diacon-Furtado
  Location: (back of) Key Bank Building, 33 3rd Street (viewable from Broadway & Franklin Alley)
  
  Troy resident Natan Diacon-Furtado will collaborate with community members and city archives to create a large projection of colorful patterns. The projected images will be composed of diverse patterns made from shapes and gestures gathered from his research into Troy’s diverse history and architecture and through community workshops before the installation.
  
  “Efflorescence (Icon for Blooming)” by artist Lydia Kern
  Location: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 58 3rd Street

  Lydia Kern will create a monumental, kaleidoscopic sculpture that uses the language of stained glass to illuminate natural materials she’s collected in the Capitol Region. “Efflorescence” will be in conversation with the historic Tiffany windows of St. Paul’s church. While stained glass traditionally casts light onto the interior of holy spaces through religious imagery,

  “Efflorescence” will cast colorful light onto 3rd Street, celebrating ecological life specific to Troy.

  “Reflecting on Troy” by light artist and architect Yael Erel and lighting designer Avner Ben-Natan
  Location: (back of) Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (viewable from Franklin Alley and State Street)

  In “Reflecting on Troy,” artist and architect Yael Erel and lighting designer Avner Ben-Natan, both Troy residents, will project a moving lightscape in the back alley of one of Troy’s most famous historic buildings, the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. By shining high-powered, directional lights onto rotating metal disks, the artists will create reflected swirls of light on the urban landscape. The disk’s surfaces will be etched with Troy-inspired geometries that create textured light drawings as they reflect light.

  “The Wind Wheels Project” by designer Julian Goldman and architectural designer Avi Nagel
  Location: River Street Stairwell

  Troy residents Julian Goldman and Avi Nagel will create a public workshop to test a series of kinetic lanterns that make visible the hidden power of the environment while connecting the city’s prosperous past to an optimistic future. Their installation draws inspiration from the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful known waterwheel in US history and a driving force behind Troy’s prosperous past. Reimagining this historic water power, “The Wind Wheels Project” instead harnesses the wind, making visible a natural force in a novel way.

  “Troy Farillon” by artist Adam Tinkle
  Location: Upper Windows of the Arts Center of the Capital Region, 265 River Street (viewable from Monument Square)

  “Troy Farillon” by Adam Tinkle is a video projection that will illuminate the upper windows of the Arts Center in Troy’s Monument Square. In digital test pattern colors and staticky-TV black and white fuzz, abstract shapes and animations will transform the windows into a clock face. On the hour, chimes will announce a kaleidoscopic display. “Troy Farillon” draws on the tradition of large clocks in city centers that for centuries have helped residents keep track of, and share, time and space.

• PARTNER SITES

  The following organizations and locations will be participating in Troy Glow:

  Vicina – Modern Urban Flats.
  100 Congress St. (viewable from 4th and Congress Streets)
  Will showcase light installations by artists Mollie McKinley and Erika deVries in their large street-level windows facing 4th Street.

  Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
  30 2nd St.

  Will light the sidewalk in front of their entrance with an art installation designed by their in-house creative team.

  TAP, INC.
  210 River St.

  Will light their storefront windows with an art installation designed by their in-house architectural and design team.

  Tech Valley Center of Gravity.
  30 3rd St.

  Will be showcasing the work of TVCOG member Jerry Huang, who just completed a term as their Maker-in-Residence. Huang will adapt the Arduino-controlled LED mirror panel design used for his residency into a window installation.

  Hart Cluett Museum.
  57 2nd St.

  Will work with local artist and filmmaker Nicole Van Slyke to light their façade or windows.

  St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
  58 3rd St.

  Will temporarily light two of their famed Tiffany stained glass windows which are usually only viewable from inside the church.

  lightexture
  2 3rd St.

  Shop owners Yael Erel and Avner Ben-Natan (Troy Glow commissioned artists), will also create a storefront installation feautring protoypes and technology related to their “Reflecting on Troy” installation.

  RPI. Arts Center Foyer and Faculty/Student Gallery
  265 River St.

  Architecture students in Troy Glow artist, and RPI professor, Yael Erel’s Projecting Light class will showcase their lighting design installations in the Art Center’s Foyer and Faculty/Student galleries.

• ABOUT ACCR

  The Arts Center of the Capital Region, on Monument Square in downtown Troy, is a 36,000 square foot fully-accessible studio, exhibition, and performing arts space. The Arts Center offers classes, exhibits, and programs serving 48,000 people a year drawn from an 11-county region surrounding Troy. The Arts Center is proud to serve as a regional arts center, known for its wide range of high-quality classes for adults and children, arts camps for children and teens, highly acclaimed exhibitions, public art, funding, and technical support for arts organizations and artists.

  Main Gallery Hours:

  Monday: 10 – 5 pm, Tuesday - Thursday: 10 am – 7 pm, Friday: 10 am - 5 pm, Saturday: 10 am – 2 pm

“Like all small cities, Troy really took a hit,” says Arts Center CEO Elizabeth Reiss. “We wanted to invite people, through art, to return to Troy and support the restaurants, businesses, and arts intuitions that make it such a rich cultural hub in the Capital Region. And bonus, we can do that by paying artists to make beautiful things.”

Troy Glow was curated by Judie Gilmore, the Director of Special Projects & Partnerships at the Arts Center who also created the Troy Master Plan for Public Art in 2016. Says Gilmore, “I can think of no better way to brighten Troy’s streets during the darkest time of year than through beautiful, thoughtful public art created by some of our region’s most talented artists. Each of the artists selected wanted their artwork to help heal the emotional trauma we have all suffered over the past several years. Ultimately this festival has become about the importance of collective gathering, supporting local businesses and communities, and beautifying the places we live and love.”

Troy Glow is presented by the Arts Center for the Capital Region in partnership with the Troy Cultural Alliance and the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce. This project is supported by a grant awarded to the Arts Center of the Capital Region by Empire State Development and I LOVE NY/New York State's Division of Tourism through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.

The festival is made possible through support from the Opalka Family, Troy Redevelopment

Foundation, City of Troy American Rescue Plan (proposed), Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, Rifenburg Construction, Inc., National Grid, Siemens, The Rosenblum Companies, CDTA, Westshore Design Engineers, Nicky Lightz, and many individual friends of the project.

A special “First Look” event for supporters and friends will be held on Saturday, December 3, 2022 with guided tours departing from the Arts Center at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm and a reception held from 6:00-8:00pm.

More information can be found at TroyGlow.com/news.