As people, we have a natural tendency to personify inanimate objects that have become a part of our everyday lives. We name our cars, give a heartbeat to our cities and lend a spirit to our country. In similar vein, a two-person team consisting of one artist and one architect will breathe new life into select buildings abandoned throughout Albany, Schenectady and Troy in hope that art will soon imitate life.
Bloomberg Philanthropies invited mayors of U.S. cities with 30,000 residents or more to submit proposals for innovative temporary public art projects that address a civic issue, and demonstrate close collaboration between artists or arts organizations and city government. Proposals covered a range of issues, such as the revitalization of decayed downtown areas, underutilized waterfronts and vacant neighborhoods. They also addressed social themes including neighborhood safety, environmental sustainability and promoting city identity. More than 230 cities submitted proposals for consideration in the Public Art Challenge, representing 68 million residents across the United States.
Just a few weeks ago, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that Breathing Lights, a concept born between Adam Frelin and Barbara Nelson in a joint submission representing the three Capital District cities as one of four areas from across the United States to receive up to $1 million as part of its Public Art Challenge. Breathing Lights will illuminate approximately 300 vacant homes in Albany, Schenectady and Troy, each night for two months in the fall of 2016.
“There are many purposes,” behind the initiative, said Frelin, the lead artist. “Certainly there’s an artistic purpose, and also an intent to create a platform here for conversation about community redevelopment, about the symptoms of disinvestment in our communities, and to bring to light all the issues surrounding it. Using the artwork, it’s a beautiful springboard to move forward.”
The artwork entails the use of LED lighting, applied in strips upon the windows of a chosen vacant building. The lights will have a special effect applied to them, something developed through the help of the Lighting Research Center and engineers at General Electric.
“It puts off no heat,” said Frelin. “What’s most important is that the pacing of this effect creates the appearance of the building breathing in such a way that it almost appears that it is its own organism. That is something that has to be very carefully calibrated, so we’ll be working for many months on just getting that right with the Lighting Research Center and continuing to work with engineers at GE.”
Nelson, the lead architect for the project, explained the logistics behind the lighting.
“The LED lights require very little power and most of these building have no power,” she said. “Most of these buildings are completely vacant and abandoned with no utilities. So, on one sense, it’s out of utility. In another sense it is the leading technology that is being researched and explored right now by all the leading light manufacturers. … We think bringing the art and technology together is a beautiful opportunity.”
The Public Art Challenge grant will cover development, execution and project-related expenditures, but will not fund 100 percent of project costs. The grant will provide catalytic funds as part of a strong, committed consortium of supporters. Working together, the Breathing Lights team has already raised $500,000 in matching funds to support the project and related community engagement activities.
“We’re truly unleashing the potential of our cities, our region, said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “And, this project is incredible. When I received the phone call that we’ve won I thought there was going to be a big ‘but.’ I heard about what a great project it was, and how innovative it was that all three cities were all working together, and how there were many moving pieces there were.”
Frelin, Nelson, the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, and more than 25 community and private sector partners, have worked together, tasked to regenerate interest in once-vibrant neighborhoods that now have high vacancy rates. The project will culminate in a regional summit on vacant homes and neighborhood revitalization that will engage local residents, prospective buyers and investors and policy makers.
“The issue of neighborhood revitalization is at the forefront of our efforts in Troy,” said Troy Mayor Lou Rosamilia. “When we first heard about Breathing Lights, we immediately knew it was a way to literally shine a light on the issues of urban vacancy and community development. Breathing Lights is a creative way to engage residents and organizations across the region in a way that can produce meaningful transformation in our neighborhoods and cities.”
Frelin and Nelson had each submitted separate project ideas, initially. Karen Bilowith, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, explained how the two ultimately teamed together.
“When we first heard about the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, we worked quickly to issue a public call for submissions,” said Bilowith. “Two of these submissions, sent independently by Adam and Barbara, complemented each other perfectly. We brought Adam and Barbara together, and they developed Breathing Lights as a completely original public art project that would also serve as a strong call-to-action around the issues of neighborhood revitalization, abandoned buildings, and equity in community development. Breathing Lights represents our collective vision for drawing much-needed attention to the issue of neighborhood and community revitalization through public art.”
Once the two project leads were together in the same room, Frelin said they had sketched together the framework for Breathing Lights within an hour.
“As an architect, I am accustomed to working with a lot of creative energy around the table,” said Nelson.
The Capital District’s work on the Public Art Challenge is in alignment with the work of the Regional Alliance for a Creative Economy’s Capital Region Creative Economy Project. The joint application also reflects the growing trend toward collaboration between local cities, municipalities, businesses and nonprofit organizations to encourage projects and initiatives that benefit the entire region.
The Regional Alliance for a Creative Economy is a community-selected assembly of Capital District leaders working on behalf of the region’s creative economy. This project operates under the leadership of the Center for Economic Growth and the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region.
The Creative Economy of New York’s Capital Region encompasses the enterprises and people involved in the origination, production, and distribution of goods and services in which artistic and cultural content gives the product or service value in the marketplace.
The Capital Region Creative Economy project has been designed to assess the area’s creative assets and develop ways to leverage related economic development opportunities through travel and tourism, local economic and infrastructure development and workforce development. This community-based, collaborative initiative will examine the creative sector, including the arts (performing, literary, visual), design (graphics, fashion), textiles, crafts, architecture, communications and marketing, cinema and film, broadcasting, software development, publishing and printing, cultural and educational institutions, craft beer brewing and distilleries, culinary arts, and more. The project activities span Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties.
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ mission is to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Public Health, Environment, Education, Government Innovation and the Arts.
Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $462 million.
“It’s a unique privilege to have helped our region be selected as a winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge,” said Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy. “Not only is this a game-changer for our region, but it has a special relevance for Schenectady. Breathing Lights draws on our region’s rich engineering history, and pays homage to Thomas Edison, who headquartered his Edison Machine Works in Schenectady in 1887.”
