There are plenty of ways to support the local arts community on a daily basis. Here are just a few that caught our eye. (Above: “Chameleon” at EMPAC on Thursday, Feb. 7.)
MONDAY
Schenectady breweries and restaurants have specials for you to take full advantage of through Feb. 10, so be sure to check the link above for scheduled events, special releases and collaborations and discounts taking place throughout the week.
Community organizations YouthFX, The Center for Law & Justice and EquiVisible have teamed up to provide monthly screenings at the library. This month, in honor of Black History Month, they will screen the 2016 “embedded mediamaker” project, in which three digital media filmmakers spent several months at The New York Times to make interactive video projects about race and ethnicity for the Times’ Race/Related newsletter.
@ Albany Library, 105 Schuyler St. | 6 PM | Free
Murderer’s Row, Girth Control, Arch Fiends
Get down and dirty with some Troy hardcore, Albany punk and thrashing “horror-punk” from the Adirondacks at the now-full time home to Super Dark shows.
@ Desperate Annie’s, Saratoga Springs | 9:30 PM | Free
TUESDAY
Film: “Young Picasso”
This documentary film explores the impact of three cities on Picasso’s life.
@ Proctors, Schenectady | 2 PM and 7 PM | $12.
Celebrate the Lunar New Year by wrapping your own dumplings and enjoying a glass of beer or wine. @Sunhee’s Kitchen, Troy | 11 AM-9 PM | $15
The actors of Illuminate Theatre will share monologues that embody the meaning of growth, based on the triumphs, trials and tribulations of 2018 followed by a “talkback” and improv game between the audience and performers.
@ YouthFX, Albany | 7 PM | $5 – $10 suggested donation
WEDNESDAY
Check out a selected piece of artwork from The Hyde vaults, as well as a 20-minute discussion, led by the staff about the piece and their favorite works.
@ The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls | 1 PM | Free
Hang out with your local slam poets, formerly known as Nitty Gritty Slam, for another round of open mic and slam poetry. There’s a slightly new routine and pricing structure, featuring the same artists you know and love. This is a sober event featuring an “introvert corner” with crafts and activities.
@ The Low Beat, Albany | Doors: 6:30 PM, Open mic: 7 PM | $3-$20 suggested donation.
Poetry Discussion of “If They Come For Us”
Prior to open mic night, poetry lovers are invited to meet and discuss Fatimah Asghar’s debut book of poetry, “If They Come For Us,” with Mary Ann Rockwell of Saratoga Springs Public Library. Asghar is the creator of the Emmy-nominated web series Brown Girls and a recipient of a 2017 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship.
@ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs | 6 PM | Free
THURSDAY
Formerly Upstate Rubdown, this Hudson Valley based acoustic septet has harmonies that will knock your socks right off.
@ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs | 7 PM | $18
“Chameleon” (The Troy Installments) by Jaamil Olawale Kosoko
Performance artist and poet Kosoko is in residence at EMPAC preparing “Chameleon” for New York Live Arts in 2020. The multimedia project-in-progress explores the role of archives—such as protest and collaborative action in documentary film, popular music, television and cell phone footage of an event captured by a witness—in black communities in America. The goal of “Chameleon” is to “reveal the subversive impact that these archives have on the systemic oppression and erasure of minoritarian communities.”
@ EMPAC, Troy | 7:30 PM | Free
FRIDAY
2019 Mohawk-Hudson Regional Invitational
Stop by the artist reception for the latest Albany Center Gallery exhibit featuring Amy Cheng, Susan Meyer, Karin Schaefer, and Amelia Toelke. The four artists were chosen from an original pool of 371 local artists.
@ Albany Center Gallery | 5 PM | Free
The avant garde jazz trio visits Troy.
@ The Egg, Albany | 8 PM | $34
Electro-Symphonic Piano with Sophia Subbayya Vastek & David Ibbett
If the description “cosmic jazz” grabs your attention, we wouldn’t blame you. It’s what the Boston Music Observer called this act, whose performance will be the premier presentation of live music in immersive 5.1 surround sound at The Linda. How appropriate.
@ WAMC The Linda Performing Arts Center, Albany | 8 PM | $18 – $22
Body Shine: Three Year Anniversary
Celebrate three years of the vinyl dance party at the Fuze Box, which started as an homage to the underground disco parties of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
@ Fuze Box, Albany | 9 PM | $5
TAKE NOTICE:
Auditions, which consist of script readings made available at sign-in, will be held Tuesday, Feb. 5 and Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 PM. Sign in starts at 6:30 PM. All roles are available. The poetic drama takes place May 3-19 with a May 2 preview show. Due to the nature of the show, which “explores intergenerational devastation, economically hopeless circumstances [and] emerging sexuality” the lead actors must be at least 18 years old.
The Hamilton Hill Arts Center is taking art submissions
There are only a few days left to submit your art–in the form of any medium–to be placed in the newly renovated gallery space of the Hamilton Hill Arts Center in Schenectady. The exhibit will celebrate poet and playwright Ntozake Shange and the beauty and power of black women. Therefore, submitted pieces must be inspired by Shange’s work or the appreciation of black women.
Send your art to ed@hamiltonhillartscenter.org by Friday, Feb. 8. The artwork will debut Friday, February 15 and will stay on display until March.
Are you holding an audition, in need of art or artists for an exhibition, looking to hire or planning an event we can promote? Send information to dking@proctors.org or kcusack@proctors.org.
