ABOUT THE BARN
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Barn-raising is the name given an age-old practice of people coming together to erect a barn or house for a neighbor but it has come to mean a lot more than constructing a structure; itıs about building community.
Albany Barn, Inc is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to creating a permanent, sustainable creative arts incubator and neighborhood art space in Albany, NY.
Albany Barn recognizes how difficult it can be for aspiring working artists to get a foothold. It is our goal to make a home for all the rich and diverse arts of the Capital Region, not only by providing a place to display or perform, but a place to create, to network, to promote, to learn, and even to live.
Albany Barn evolved from Rock2Rebuild(TM), a grassroots production group established to create events benefiting important causes while raising the profile of local creative talent. Since its inception in early 2005, Rock2Rebuild (R2R) has staged several major multimedia concerts featuring regional artists and raised tens of thousands of dollars for goodwill agencies including Habitat For Humanity and Save The Children. The R2R ³Capital District Benefit for Tsunami Relief,² was voted one of the yearıs ³Best Concerts² in the Albany Times Union ³2005 Readersı Poll² and 2009 marks the fifth year of R2Rıs ³Rock Lite² bimonthly acoustic concert series in the Ronald McDonald House of Albany Family Roomı at Albany Medical Center.
R2Rıs work remains an integral part of Albany Barnıs broader mission. In 2008 Albany Barn pioneered new local music showcases at ³Art on Lark² and ³Lark Fest,² two of the regionıs largest cultural events, produced its second ³Summer In The City Youth Talent Exhibition² featuring student artists from the inner city, and collaborated on programs with the Salvation Army and Gildaıs Club Capital Region.
³Events are in our DNA, but local artists need more than visibility,² explains Jeff Mirel, Founder and President of Albany Barn dba Rock2Rebuild. ³We want to deliver arts from the community for the community 365 days a year. We want to put a roof over the Rock2Rebuild concept.²
Beholden to the spirit of those early R2R concerts and the successes of transformative art incubators in other American cities like Providence, RI, New York, NY, and Kansas City, MO, Albany Barn seeks to create new synergies between culture, commerce and community by providing an open forum for the exploration, creation and presentation of art; cauterizing the brain drain of promising young artists from our Region; nurturing productive relationships between artists, businesses and residents, particularly at-risk City youth, expanding the footprint of arts in the City; and facilitating neighborhood revitalization.
Facilities planned include affordable live/work residences, work studios, rehearsal suites, performance and exhibition space, a public darkroom, digital media lab, and more. They will be made available to local artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers and performers seeking an engaging, supportive environment in which to create and share their work, particularly those who cannot afford or otherwise obtain such space. Exhibits, performances and activities will be unjuried and open to all ages.
This is a call to all creative artists and art supporters in the Greater Capital Region:
Spread The Word
Get Involved
RAISE THE BARN
