“It takes something big and eye catching to be able to give credence to an arts event,” said artist Peter Leue.
And that’s exactly what Leue created at the MoHu festival’s kickoff party on Thursday, Oct. 4. To celebrate the start of the Capital District 10-day arts festival, Leue constructed a massive Erector Set in the middle of the event at “MoHu Takes Flight” in the Eclipse Hanger at the Albany International Airport.
Standing 16 feet high and 42-by-42 feet wide, the sculpture embodied the theme of this year’s festival: bringing together the four points of the MoHu compass – Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady.
“The bridges that we build between each other makes a lot of difference in terms of how we increase the cultural heritage of the Hudson Valley and not have it stop south of us,” Leue said. “The centerpiece is what unifies people. That’s what I’m hoping to do here.”
Unification is key for the festival. Taking off for its second year, the main idea for the event is to push the art in the Capital District to the forefront.
“(We’re) celebrating the strength and diversity of art in the greater Capital Region,” said Jason Murphy, spokesperson for RPI’s EMPAC. “(We want) to get people to not just come back to the places you always go to but to go across the street to the venues you never find the time to. Or, preferably, even crossing the river or bridge going to a (different) area. This is the moment that will hopefully grab you and make you want to come back.”
Throughout the four counties, art galleries, music venues and more will be open specifically for the festival. Several collaborations between visual, performance and even culinary artists will also be showcased.
Each county has its own “Compass Night.” On Wednesday, Oct. 10, Albany County, or MoHu South, will be one big party.
“We wanted to capture the vibe like New Orleans,” Sal Prizio, Albany County coordinator for MoHu and director of programming at the College of St. Rose’s Massry Center, said. “We hired a trolley with a New Orleans-styled jazz band. One of the things we always realized is that there’s a bunch of stuff (in Albany) but we’re all spread out.”
The free trolley has New York City-styled subway maps and will go to MoHu’s different Albany venues.
“You always hear from people that there’s nothing going on in Albany. But there’s a ton going on in Albany,” Prizio said. “(The artistic community) is there. It’s underground. We’re just trying to pull the clouds back and show the sunshine.”
Other Albany County events include Nobel Prize-winning South African novelist J.M. Coetzee and American novelist Paul Auster speaking at University at Albany’s Visiting Writers Seminar on Friday, Oct.12 from 4:15 to 5: 30 p.m. and 8 to 9:30 p.m. The Albany Institute of History & Art will also showcase “American Impressions: Paintings from the Florence Griswold Museum” on Sunday, Oct. 14.
The festival will run through Sunday, Oct. 14. The celebration will conclude with “Drum Along the Mohu Festival” from 3 to 5 p.m. at The Egg with four percussionists: Brian Melick, Devesh Chandra, Robot Aston Ellis and Zorkie Nelson. For more information on the festival and a full schedule, visit www.mohufest.com.