ALBANY NY : Opalka's Annual POP UP Beer Garden and Neighborhood Block Party is back and as is customary, ACE! has signed up as a promotional partner for the series which consists of the first 3 Friday's in September. Our specific focus is in alignment with the 2nd event which corresponds with the exhibition opening for the COMPASS ROSES : Maps by Artists exhibition. Come join us for an evening of family friendly fun and camaraderie as we enjoy live music, regional craft beer, good food and lots of activities including lawn games and screen printing for the littles! As always, the events are FREE and Open to the Public.



DATE: Friday, September 12 from 6:00 to 9:00

WHERE: Opalka Gallery | 140 New Scotland Avenue, Albany NY



BANDS: Sirsy wsg/ Charming Disaster

BREWERS: Mean Max | Allied Brewing

FOOD: La Capital Tacos | Euro Delicacies | Kona Ice



For more info or to read more about the full series of events hit the Facebook event page at the link above. Hope to see you there for some great socialization, networking and overall fun :)

Decided it was time to cover a couple of hard working arts and culture ladies who have been having a positive impact in the region for many years. First up, Amy Griffin, Director at the Opalka Gallery. ACE! partners up with them every September on the POP UP Beer Garden and Neighborhood Block Party annual event, but there is so much more going on there as she moves the gallery into a more public 'third space' for students and the general public at large. Second, Belinda Colón works across a number of cities and counties in her varied projects as a freelance producer and project manager. We caught up with her to hear more about the interesting and varied projects she has been working on and tease a new one coming up in the near future.

Last month we published a 'Call for Proposals' for an upcoming tease the ARTSNYS sponsored 'New York State Arts Summit' that will be held in Albany from October 14 - 16. Make sure to save the date on your calendars for this exciting first year initiative. More to come on that in the September issue.

Congratulations are in order for the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy who recently signed on a new Executive Director after an exhaustive search. Ren Lee brings nearly a decade of nonprofit management experience, most recently as Programs Manager at the Museum Association of New York, where they managed strategic partnerships with major institutions including The Smithsonian and Humanities New York. Looking forward to working with you!

Speaking of the Smithsonian Museums, the arts continue to be under federal attack and it is affecting multiple institutions. Check out the detailed update in this coverage by artnet.

As always, if you have any cool creative job listings, open calls, industry news or grant funding opportunities, drop me a line and get them included in our next issue.

Corey Aldrich

ACE! : Executive Director

E: hello@upstateace.org | W: upstatecreative.org | SOCIALS: @upstatecreative

ALBANY New York: Tony Iadiccico and the Albany Center Gallery team roll out the plans for a new gallery location during a press event in downtown Albany earlier this month. The new space will see a larger gallery area, class room space and enhanced office area. Keep an eye out for an early 2026 opening. Congratulations are in order!

ALBANY New York: An exciting new mural by Artist Quill Harrison was added to downtown Albany's rich tapestry of art under one of the more memorable pieces there by Artist Michael Conlin. This newest mural was in partnership with the Albany Parking Authority and Paintcare NY - a recycled paint program. The project was a part of Albany Center Gallery's tireless work to spread art all over the city.

RESOURCE ALERT!

NYS Artist Opportunity Survey Regional Results in Graphs

Hyperallergic

Chance Encounters at Upstate Art Weekend 

Art OMI

ARCHITECTURE | OPEN CALL

Residency Program | Due: 10.15

Caffe Lena

FREE WEEKLY CONCERT

for Preschoolers and 
Their Families

artnet

White House Denounces Smithsonian Artworks Drastically Reshaping Arts Landscape

PS21

COMMON GROUND

FREE Festival of Street Theater and New Circus

Rolling Stone

Inside the Battle over 
'Napalm Girl' 
The Importance of Attribution

Saratoga Arts

2026 Creative Regrant Applications Open!

Deadline: November 2021

Times Union

Peek Inside

Troy Savings Bank

Music Hall's Renovation

• Made X Hudson (Catskill) : Various including intermediate - advanced stitcher, alterations staff, retail sales and an inventory manager
• Albany Symphony (Albany) : Sales and Marketing Manager
• Troy Music Hall (Troy) : Director of Development
• The Arkell Museum (Canajoharie) : Executive Director
• Historic Cherry Hill (Albany) : Education Assistant
• Mass MOCA (North Adams MA) : Various including Director of Curatorial Affairs, Visual Art Curator, Sr Manager Branded Content and Design, Preparator / Fabricator, Deputy Cheif Advancement Officer, Director of Institutional Giving
• Albany Institute of History and Art : Director of Development
• The Olana Partnership (Hudson) : Sales Associate
• The Palace (Albany) : Concession Staff Guest Services - Security
• The TANG (Saratoga) : Student Art Loan Program Coordinator, Exhibitions Registrar

• SWBR (Troy) : Project Architect
• Community Loan Fund (Albany) : Executive Director

• KIPP Capital Region Public Schools (Albany) : [2025-2026] AP Literature Lead Teacher - High School
• SUNY (Albany) : Art Model (Part Time)
• Russell Sage College (Albany) : Adjunct Instructor Graphic Design, Adjunct Instructor Interior Design
• Union College (Schenectady) : Assistant Professor History, Landscape Specialist
• RPI (Troy) : Assistant Director - Game Day Operations, Media Relations Manager, Content Marketing Manager, Social Media Marketing Manager
• Skidmore College (Saratoga) : Art Model (Part Time)

NYS Artists Opportunity Survey

After months of strategy, outreach and construction, the Phase I, NYS Artist Opportunity Survey is complete and ready to be shared! What started as a simple question – what do our artists need to thrive – turned into an incredible collaboration, pilot project and a valuable resource for the field.  

Spearheaded and conceived by the Arts Center of the Capital Region, the survey was designed to 'layer' on the important work Creatives Rebuild NY which contributed to a better understand practical needs and resource impacts for working artists. CRNY agreed to coordinate demographic information we collected which allows for integration with their data. ACE! Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy and CREATE Council on the Arts where asked to help build a survey that would investigate many concerns of capital region artists: workspace, housing, funding, and professional development. This survey is designed as a pilot for a Phase II implementation that will eventually be rolled out state-wide as a tool to create a broader understanding of what is needed to support a vibrant arts community in New York State as a whole. 

Additionally, ArtsNYS has stepped in as the potential state-wide partner. Siena College Research Institute built the survey and the searchable report.

Next Steps

We live in a data-driven world and in an era in which arts funding is perilous, working with proven facts substantiates our value proposition and provides leverage with elected representatives and other relevant stakeholders. As such, we are building a document of recommendations for future state-wide implementation.  

Please take a look and see for yourself the state of the capital region creative. Use the stats - let’s all work to strengthen our artist community. And importantly...feedback is requested and welcome!

Comments can be sent to:

Corey Aldrich (ACE!) at hello@upstatecreative.org or 

Elizabeth Reiss (Arts Center of the Capital Region) elizabeth@artscenteronline.org 

NYS Opportunity Survey was funded by the State of New York through a special Senate Initiative.

ACE! is made possible with the generous support of the Kiwi Foundation, the Saratoga Institute and the Nordlys Foundation.