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TROY, NY (10/24/24) — Troy Glow 2024 is a dazzling 10-day, free, family-friendly festival that will light up downtown Troy, Nov.1 to Nov. 10.

Produced by the Arts Center of the Capital Region, the festival will include 10 site-specific outdoor installations of light-based art created by professional artists that visitors can experience on a 15 minute guided or self-guided walk through Troy’s historic streets. Four festival-specific events are scheduled to occur during the outdoor exhibition.

“Troy Glow is a delightful way for people of all ages to view world class art and architecture in a beautiful urban setting," said Troy Glow Curator Judie Gilmore, who recently served as director of Public Art and Placemaking at the Arts Center of the Capital Region. "Because the installations are temporary, there is a playful quality to it all—almost like catching friendly ghosts in the act of putting on a spectacle."

The festival debuted in 2022 as one of many popular public art and placemaking programs produced by the Arts Center of the Capital Region. While nine of the installations are new this year, one installation "Empty Signs" by Adam Frelin, is now a permanent fixture downtown, where it guides pedestrians from the Hudson River at Front Street up the stairwell to Troy’s charming commercial district at River Street.

"People loved Adam’s installation so much we had to add it to Troy's permanent collection of public art," said Elizabeth Reiss, executive director of the Arts Center of the Capital Region. "And we get to feature it again in Troy Glow 2024! We are so excited to bring back Troy Glow this year, which further establishes downtown Troy as a destination for visitors who want to see beautiful, innovative art."

Projects will be lit nightly from 4 p.m to 11 p.m. (Note: the sunset will be 5:45 p.m on Nov. 1 & 2 and then will start one hour earlier the remaining days due to Daylight Savings Time. Twilight lasts about 60 minutes.)

On nights without public events (Nov 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10), a free guided tour will be offered at 6 p.m. from the Arts Center of the Capital Region, 265 River St.

FESTIVAL EVENTS

On Friday, Nov. 1, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., there will be an Opening Night Reception at The Tavern Bar, located at 217 Broadway.

Guests are invited to toast Troy Glow 2024 at a kick off party featuring a cash bar and refreshments. Free tours of Glow installations will be given every hour on the hour from 6 p.m to 8 p.m starting outside The Tavern.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. there will be a family-friendly Troy Glow Block Party and Parade in Franklin Alley, between River Street and Broadway.

The block party will feature snacks and beverages, face painting, and art activities, including lantern making, t-shirt decorating, and button making. DJ vibes will be provided by dynamic duo Groop.lab. There will be a festival style light performance by the glowing Acadia Rae and festival goers may take a photo with Michael and his ghostly pup partner Lily and the Ghostbuster Mobile. Costumes and DIY light creations are encouraged, with prizes awarded for best of each. Free tours of Glow installations will start every hour on the hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., departing from the corner of Broadway and Franklin Alley. The block party will culminate in a walking light parade where visitors can stroll together to see all ten Glow installations.

On Friday, Nov. 8, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., there will be a bar crawl called Neon Nights, a glowing evening of cocktails, fun, and prizes, all set against the backdrop of Troy Glow.

Participating bars will serve up specialty Glow-themed cocktails. Visitors will pick up their passports at Mean Max Brew Works (251 River St.) starting at 6 p.m. After visiting four or more of the participating bars and getting their passport stamped, participants will return their passports to Helderberg Meadworks (45 Third St) by 11 p.m. to be entered into a raffle for prizes including gift cards and swag from favorite downtown Troy businesses.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., there will be the "Troyful Glow: Downtown Stroll." Sixteen local businesses will be activated with live music and art presented by the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District. Check in at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Box Office, 30 Second St. Free tours of Glow installations will begin every hour on the hour from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 30 Second St.

In addition to these events, eleven downtown Troy businesses will be offering Troy Glow themed specials during the entire length of the festival, Nov. 1 to 10:
 

• LIGHTEXTURE, 2 3rd St. - 15 percent off in-store purchases. Window light installation in development for opera performance at EMPAC.
   
• NO FUN TROY, 275 River St. - Liquid light painting and glow sticks. Glow-in-the-dark and UV light cocktails. (Nov. 9 only)
   
• 400 DISPENSARY & LOUNGE, 400 River St. - Snacks + glow-in-the-dark temporary tattoos.
   
• ANNICK DESIGNS, 269 River St. - Fluorescent mineral specimens for purchase.
   
• T&J SOAPS, 271 River St. - Groovy black light soaps available for purchase.
   
• CLARK HOUSE HOSPITALITY & RPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, 217 Broadway - Projector show and projection light installations in garden.
   
• TROJAN HORSE ANTIQUES, 297 River St. - Historic Troy books, maps, ephemera + more.
   
• ARTCENTRIC MARKETPLACE, 266 River St. - Light-filled creative window displays.
   
• THE WHISTLING KETTLE, 275 River St. - Limited time “Galaxy” lemonade beverage.
   
• RARE FORM BREWING CO., 266 River St. - First beer only $5 for all festival goers.
   
• THE COLLECTIVE BY DB TRENDS, 275 River St. - Special gift with $25 purchase from three brands

Troy Glow was co-curated by Judie Gilmore, former Director of Public Art and Placemaking at the Arts Center who also created the Troy Master Plan for Public Art in 2016, and Adam Frelin, Troy-based artist and art professor at UAlbany.

Troy Glow is a project of the Arts Center of the Capital Region in partnership with the City of Troy and the Downtown Troy BID. It is made is made possible with support from the American Rescue Plan Act and the City of Troy, The Opalka Family, Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, United Group, WestShore Design Engineers, The Rosenblum Companies, Lightspec, Mannix Marketing, Mean Max Brew Works, McDonald Real Estate, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Clark House Hospitality, and many individual friends of the project.

This project is supported through a Market New York grant awarded by Empire State Development and I LOVE NY, New York State’s Division of Tourism.

DETAILS AND LOCATIONS FOR PROJECT COMMISSIONS

"Altered Glow" by Alissa Eberle

Troy Wine Co., 2nd St. and Broadway

“Altered Glow” explores the threads between past, present, and possible futures. A trio of handmade neon artworks each offer a lens on our collective and personal histories and seek to illuminate the complexity of our evolving relationship with time, memory, and light.

Alissa Eberle is a Philadelphia-based neon glass artist and sign fabricator. Originally from Lowell, Mass., Eberle studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where she received her BFA. She began her journey learning neon apprenticing at Neometix in New Orleans before apprenticing under Dom Urbani at Urban Neon in Philadelphia. Her artwork explores the intersection between past, future, fantasy, and reality.

"Eos" by Aurora Robson

Troy Saving Bank Music Hall Box Office, 30 2nd Street

“Eos” is a celebration of curved forms created from industrial plastic rescued from the wastestream. Eos is the Greek goddess of the dawn who each morning announced the arrival of her brother, the sun god Helios. A wake up call, the installation calls attention to the situation we have created due to the overuse of plastic.

Aurora Robson’s practice focuses on plastic debris as a sculpture medium, using methods like welding and 3D printing. Robson was born in Canada, grew up in Hawaii, then lived in New York City for 21 years. She has received numerous awards and is the founding artist of Project Vortex. She lives and works in the Hudson Valley.

"Light Spills" by Carol Salmanson

Pioneer Bank, 21 2nd Street

“Light Spills” are carnival-like geometric compositions created from layers of reflective vinyl, the same kind used to make road signs. Composed of many layers of color and light, they create surprising depth at the same time as their light fills the windows and splashes onto the street. Their innovation mirrors that of Troy: contemporary technology transforming a historic space.

Carol Salmanson works with light and reflective materials to create installations, sculptures, and wall pieces. Her work forms complex layered geometric compositions that radiate color out into their surroundings. Salmanson’s public window installations and sculptures have been seen in Russia, New York, and New Jersey. She is based out of Brooklyn.

"Beacon" by Jason Peters

4th and Fulton streets

Through complex light installations created from simple five gallon buckets, the artist creates situations where nothing is as it seems. Notions of reality are exposed as mere assumptions that may or may not bear relationships to how the world works. The artist invites viewers to enter a space where the mind is allowed free rein and to escape reality through beautiful, dancing light.

Json Peters lives and works in Brooklyn and attended the Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore. He utilizes mass-produced found objects within his practice to construct large-scale installations that reference their surroundings. He attempts to evoke emotional reactions to these objects, often utilizing light to manipulate perception.

"Troy 1877" by Layla Klinger

Trojan Horse Antiques, 297 River St.

The artist presents an electroluminescent lace installation inspired by a historical map of Troy published in 1877 where different sections of the map disappear and reappear in alternating patterns. “Troy 1877” remakes a memory of space into a different kind of divider, one of physical space, while offering new and changing reconfigurations.

Layla Klinger is an interdisciplinary artist and educator working across sculpture, lacemaking, audiovisual installation and queer performance. Klinger has exhibited work in New York, New Jersey, and Houston and have created site-specific installations nationally and abroad. They live in Brooklyn and teach at Parsons School of Design.

"Evolving Luminescence" by Level Studio Architecture and Vespr Studio

Donna’s, Franklin Alley & Broadway

“Evolving Luminescence” acts as an extension of the historic building’s facade. It reaches into Franklin Alley and enchants onlookers with its interplay of colored lights on cantilevered scrims. The artwork takes advantage of this corner transition and illuminates a look towards Troy’s future.

Level Studio Architecture, a full service architectural design firm based in Brooklyn, and Vespr Studio, a highly creative lighting design studio, have partnered for the first time together on “Evolving Luminescence.” With a shared vision of creating spaces that resonate with simplicity, materiality and site-specific sensitivity, the team is excited to work together on this installation.

"Light Work, Troy" by Natan Diacon-Furtado

Lightspec, 48 4th Street

“Light Work, Troy” encourages visitors to see themselves reflected in the history and culture of Troy and become active collaborators in the changing city. A floating sculpture with a mirrored surface shifts throughout the day. Projections onto the sculpture change. Visitors’ reflections merge and interact with the form, becoming part of the work.

Natan Diacon-Furtado is a Brazilian and American collaborative artist and designer based out of Troy, N.Y. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, public interest designer and architect, their public, iterative and interactive projects collaboratively imbue basic forms, patterns and rhythms with shared meaning: crafting spaces and projects that act as community architectures and living archives.

"Entanglement" by Nate Mohler

Monument Square, Broadway and 2nd Street

Mohler's ice sculpture explores the interplay between humanity and nature, the impermanence of time, and the pressing urgency of climate change. The combination of melting ice and animated light serves as a visual metaphor for how connected humans are to nature and how our actions have far-reaching impacts on the environment.

Based out of Los Angeles, Nate Mohler integrates physical installations with technology to build conceptual and avant-garde experiences. A UCLA graduate, Mohler is intrigued with the fusion of conceptual art and technology to support connectivity and social activism. His work focuses on eliciting action and question through various digital mediums.

"Blue Lotus" by Sabrina Barrios

River Street Stairwell, 273 River St.

The artist’s practice explores “techno-ancestry,” inhabiting the present with awareness of our roots while envisioning a future where technology strengthens, rather than severs, our connection to the past. “Blue Lotus” depicts a portal that invites viewers into a technological sphere pulsating with echoes of ancestral knowledge. The artist currently lives between Brooklyn and Rio de Janeiro, using art as an instrument for dialogue, resistance and political change.

Sabrina Barrios is an interdisciplinary artist whose work delves into the possibilities of the metaverse, and explores the tension amongst material, digital and spiritual worlds. She has exhibited and produced site-specific installations across the globe.

“Empty Signs” by Adam Frelin

River Street Stairwell, 272 River St.

Troy Glow’s signature project was created by artist, Troy resident, and Troy Glow 2024 co-curator, Adam Frelin. “Empty Signs” consists of a cluster of glowing, whimsical signs, intriguingly with no text, in various shapes and colors whose lights dance in a choreographed sequence. While most signage individuals encounter in cities are either trying to sell something or give directions, “Empty Signs” does the opposite: it invites viewers to enjoy the moment and be fully present.