ART
Albany gallery celebrating and expanding
Newly renovated space set to open on June 1; $50K in grants received
By Shaniece Holmes-Brown
A student paints on a mural for a youth workshop at the Frank Chapman Memorial Institute. The Albany Center Gallery is opening its newly renovated space on June 1 as part of its 45th anniversary.
Albany
Albany Center Gallery will open its newly renovated space across from its current gallery location on June 1. The expansion and renovations come while the gallery is celebrating its 45th anniversary.
“It’s unreal to be able to expand because it is something based on our current location, we kind of outgrew it,” said Tony Iadicicco, executive director of Albany Center Gallery. “So it’s nice to be able to envision what the next few years will be like, as far as the expansion in the projects and programs we’ll have.”
The gallery received a $25,000 grant from the Carl E. Touhey Foundation last month. The grant will support the gallery for three years, and provides funds to rent the space and develop programs there.
“That grant helped make this project possible. Without that, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Iadicicco said. “The purpose is about trying to create more accessibility and programs and community spaces for arts and activities.”
The gallery was given another $25,000 grant from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to help increase the amount of youth programming.
“The idea is to have it be a really creative space or a creative hub where people have ideas or initiatives and they’re looking for a place to try to do a pilot program,” Iadicicco said.
The gallery has held programs and workshops for students for many years — including the youth art series called “LOOK!” — and has recently held several collaborations that will continue once the expansion is complete.
Expressing the need in Albany for more collaborations and access to art for youth, Iadicicco added, “After all of those initiatives and kinds of projects, we keep seeing the need and demand for it. So we’re trying to help do all of those things and to have a consistent schedule, in addition to going outside of the galleries.”
After the expansion is complete, the gallery will partner with the RED Bookshelf, a nonprofit community literacy program, to host monthly youth art workshops every second Saturday.
“I’m super-excited because what Albany lacks is enough dedicated spaces for young people to do activities,” said Paul Collins-Hackett, executive director of the RED Bookshelf. “Now, community efforts to make dedicated spaces for kids to work are very much appreciated.”
Their goal of the collaboration is to combine the worlds of art and literacy to teach youth how they connect and can help them express themselves in their daily lives. They will also be given books and art supplies to take home with them after attending workshops so they can keep making art on their own.
“The RED Bookshelf has been a great partner with us for the past few years. We’ve worked with them on different parts and literacy initiatives,” Iadicicco said.
The gallery’s 45th year has already been a busy one for the organization. Recently, the gallery collaborated with the Empowering Arts service-learning program from Albany Medical College for a mural painting event free to the public. There are several more mural events planned for the good-weather months. Plus, it has been hosting its usual slate of exhibits, including the recent 23rd annual High School Regional Juried Exhibition and several pop-up exhibits. Currently, they are hosting the 2022 Mohawk-Hudson Regional Invitational exhibition.