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November 14, 2016

Post Presidential Election: Community Resiliency & Strength

Category: Center Support,General,Programs — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 12:28 pm

My fellow community members,

Once again, I come to you with a heavy heart after hearing the news of the candidate that was elected President. This decision was a shocking upset that now has our community numb and afraid. While the future of where our country will go under the new President-elect is unclear , the rhetoric of fear and hate that has spread across the land during this campaign has fueled the fire of homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, racism, sexism and more. Even in our Capital Region, there have been incidences of hate committed in his name.

While today seems dark, we as a community have been though tougher times and have survived. We, as an LGBTQ people, have an amazing resiliency and strength that has been passed from generation to generation and we will be prepared for the days to come. We, as a movement, have been fighting for equality and justice since 1969 and we are not prepared to stop or surrender!

Now more than ever, the Pride Center of the Capital Region will be there as a beacon of light in dark times, a sanctuary for the oppressed, a refuge for the marginalized, a convener of community for support, a catalyst for unity and an advocate for equality and justice. Together, we must stand vigilant and face the challenges to come!

In the spirit of a united community, In Our Own Voices (IOOV) and the Pride Center will continue to create a safe space for LGBTQ individuals to discuss current concerns, questions, and/ or issues surrounding the results of the current election. We have heard our community cries, fears, and doubts.

There is hope! We are continuing to work with our local LGBTQ community, IOOV, and other partners in the fight for social justice partners to formulate ways to move forward and create solutions.  Our programs and services our hear to help support you.We invite you to connect with your community, to discuss your fears and concerns, share your ideas, and unite in the safe space provided at your Pride Center.  Follow us on Facebook for announcements on future community action. Check out our calendar and connect with Center Youth, Family Pride, Men’s Pride, Trans* Pride, Vintage Pride, or our  Women’s Pride programs. There is hope!

“Please, please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it. It’s always worth it.” –Hillary Clinton

Be well and be safe,

Michael Weidrich
Executive Director & CEO

July 15, 2014

Pride Center Youth Scholarship Gets a New Name! (Video)

Category: General,Programs — Tags: , , , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 2:30 am

Last Thursday, July 10th, the Pride Center held its annual Youth Scholarship Reception in Selkirk at the gorgeous Hudson River-side home of Tom & Lisa Evans. It was an incredibly successful evening where four remarkable LGBTQ youths were honored with scholarships to assist them with financing their future higher education goals.

 

Congratulations again to the following four scholarship recipients:

Anna Brewer

Taylor Keith

Troy O’Neill

AJ Rio-Glick

We wish them the best of luck with their future endeavors!

 

This year’s reception also marked the occasion of an exciting development for the future of the scholarship program. We are pleased to announce that starting next year, the Pride Center Youth Scholarship will be known as The David, Gladys and Candace Groudine Pride Center Youth Scholarship. 

This re-naming has taken place in honor of the Groudine’s, who have agreed to cover the scholarship cost for two youths in the coming years of the program. The Pride Center is incredibly grateful for this gift and we want to say a huge THANK YOU to the Groudine’s for all their support of the scholarship program and for their amazing generosity.

 

Watch video below of Pride Center Executive Director, Curran Streett, making this exciting announcement last Thursday at the Scholarship Reception:

May 31, 2014

The PRIDE Show artist Poppy

Category: Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 8:26 pm

David Rustin is the artist known as Poppy.

He is a life long resident of the capital district. David’s style of art is a combination of paper and acrylic, joint compound and acrylic or found objects.

He uses color to make a bold statement in some pieces and others to show movement.
In addition to the Romaine Brooks, Poppy has  show was in Boiceville, NY at the Boiceville Flower shop and Gallery, as well as in Troy and Schenectady,NY at local venues.

He feels that the most important part of his art is that it makes you feel something. If you like it, love it, hate it. It does its job as long as you walk away with an emotion.

Poppy was featured in It’s Men magazine’s February 27, 2014 edition.

The PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow

1st Friday | 6/6/14 | 5-9pm | FREE!

The Romaine Brooks Gallery at the Pride Center

 332 Hudson Ave, Albany | 1st Floor

#CapitalPRIDE  #PRIDEweek

PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow poster

The Romaine Brooks Gallery is the Pride Center’s very own art gallery. The gallery features a new show every month to coincide with Albany’s popular 1st Friday.

The Pride Show will highlight some of the amazing LGBTQA artists featured during the gallery’s 2013 season.

In addition to this special gallery show, we welcome members of the Fire and Flow Arts Collective of Albany. Fire spinning with props of many kinds and flowing with a bright glow into the night come out and meet some very different local talent all while supporting Capital PRIDE.

 

AFTER 1st FRIDAY | #PRIDEweek

Remix ad 2

The PRIDE Show artist Stephanie Slominski

Category: Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 6:13 pm

“It takes some getting used to”

 …it’s not a name or title, rather what is required of those exposed to my work…and to me.

I enjoy the bizarre. I put slices of scenes that are completely unrelated together in a way that makes sense to me. I want to inspire hallucinations. I want people to stare at my images and think, “this isn’t right. This isn’t right at all.”

Stephanie Slominski

 

Stephanie was born in Hudson, New York in October of 1970, and moved to Albany in 2002. As a longtime specialty cake decorator, there was always an artistic inclination.

 

While studying for her BS in Accounting at SUNY Albany, she realized finding a way to detox from the unyielding world of business was critical.  Deciding to expand upon her predilection, she focused her electives in Fine Arts and quickly discovered a passion for photography and digital imaging.

 

Inspired by nature, NYC street art, album covers and blotter art, to name a few…

The PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow

1st Friday | 6/6/14 | 5-9pm | FREE!

The Romaine Brooks Gallery at the Pride Center

 332 Hudson Ave, Albany | 1st Floor

#CapitalPRIDE  #PRIDEweek

PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow poster

The Romaine Brooks Gallery is the Pride Center’s very own art gallery. The gallery features a new show every month to coincide with Albany’s popular 1st Friday.

The Pride Show will highlight some of the amazing LGBTQA artists featured during the gallery’s 2013 season.

In addition to this special gallery show, we welcome members of the Fire and Flow Arts Collective of Albany. Fire spinning with props of many kinds and flowing with a bright glow into the night come out and meet some very different local talent all while supporting Capital PRIDE.

 

AFTER 1st FRIDAY | #PRIDEweek

Remix ad 2

The PRIDE Show artist Mary Pierce LaFleur

Category: Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 1:46 pm

Mary Pierce LaFleur

     I began making pottery 35 years ago at the BostonCenter for Adult Education.  I studied for 3 years with Dorothy Mayzel.    In 1975, I moved back to Troy, NY when I married my husband, Bob.  One of our first purchases was a potter’s wheel, followed the next year by an electric kiln and I was in business.  Pinewoods Potters was established in 1977 on Pinewoods Avenue in Troy.

     I enjoy making functional pottery with a quirky twist.  My education background is in music education.  The forms and patterns that I like to use remind me of the movement and ornamentation in music.  Another influence has been my gardens which bloom with vibrant color and unique textures.

Going to my studio every day is an adventure.  I love creating new, one-of-a-kind pieces.  My new work is influenced by the classes I’ve taken in the last few years.  I studied hand building at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina taught by Lana Wilson, using the extruder in hand building taught by Hayne Bayless at Arrowmont, two raku workshops at Sugar Maples taught by Randy  Brodnax, and a saggar class at Snow Farm taught by Bob Green.  In October I traveled back to Arrowmont to take a hand building class with Sandy Blain.

Recently I have become very interested in saggar and raku firings.  The results are so unique, but also very random.  I find it exciting.  I have just begun mixing my pit fired pieces with wood and wire.  I love the mixed media textures and the organic feeling of combining different media.

I teach hand building and raku classes at the new Northeast Ceramics/Monroe Clayworks at 10 Monroe Street in South Troy.  I also volunteer in the pottery program at Roarke Center in Troy.

My work can be seen at The Broken Mold in Troy, Great Finds in Valatie, Departure at the Albany Airport, The Albany Institute of History and Art in Albany, Bennington Potters at Sterrup Square in Pittstown, Elissa Halloran on Lark Street,   the shop at Cherry Hill in Albany, Art de Cure in Albany, and the Albany Art Room.

 

The PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow

1st Friday | 6/6/14 | 5-9pm | FREE!

The Romaine Brooks Gallery at the Pride Center

 332 Hudson Ave, Albany | 1st Floor

#CapitalPRIDE  #PRIDEweek

PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow poster

The Romaine Brooks Gallery is the Pride Center’s very own art gallery. The gallery features a new show every month to coincide with Albany’s popular 1st Friday.

The Pride Show will highlight some of the amazing LGBTQA artists featured during the gallery’s 2013 season.

In addition to this special gallery show, we welcome members of the Fire and Flow Arts Collective of Albany. Fire spinning with props of many kinds and flowing with a bright glow into the night come out and meet some very different local talent all while supporting Capital PRIDE.

 

AFTER 1st FRIDAY | #PRIDEweek

Remix ad 2

The PRIDE Show artist Carole Fults

Category: Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 1:42 pm

   Carole Fults

I am originally from Michigan but have lived very happily in upstate New York for the last 20 plus years. I am a graduate of Nazareth College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a concentration in Art. My career has been fairly varied, initially in painting then moving to sculpture, back to painting and most recently photography.

I love color and the natural world, and I love joining with others in making art and exhibiting. As I continue to grow in my artistic expression I  am also acquiring a long list of projects and subjects I would like to explore and accomplish through both solo and group exhibits.

I am very pleased to be included in this particular show, featuring the genius and talents of so many gifted artists, where our individual ways of seeing combine to create a grand vision of beauty, uniqueness, and hope for our world.

My goal as an artist is to suggest things to the viewer that they may not have thought of or seen before, or to present a new view on an old subject. I hope to get better at seeing more truly and clearly, thereby increasing my skill as a reporter of things in the natural world.

 

Carole’s website: http://www.insideoutart-poetry.com

The PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow

1st Friday | 6/6/14 | 5-9pm | FREE!

The Romaine Brooks Gallery at the Pride Center

 332 Hudson Ave, Albany | 1st Floor

#CapitalPRIDE  #PRIDEweek

PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow poster

The Romaine Brooks Gallery is the Pride Center’s very own art gallery. The gallery features a new show every month to coincide with Albany’s popular 1st Friday.

The Pride Show will highlight some of the amazing LGBTQA artists featured during the gallery’s 2013 season.

In addition to this special gallery show, we welcome members of the Fire and Flow Arts Collective of Albany. Fire spinning with props of many kinds and flowing with a bright glow into the night come out and meet some very different local talent all while supporting Capital PRIDE.

 

AFTER 1st FRIDAY | #PRIDEweek

Remix ad 2

The PRIDE Show artist Lisa Mclain

Category: Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 1:37 pm

Lisa McLain

arsenic.and.old.ones@gmail.com

 

On the whole, I believe I possess a pretty non-descript crunchy candy shell—I grew up in Clifton Park, NY, hold degrees in Fine Arts and Art History, work for the State of New York, and have a wonderful and very precocious daughter.

The things that occasionally tiptoe their way into my active thoughts, however, lead me to believe I contain a sort of creamy nougat center comprised of dark humor and misanthropy, blended with my own special brand of neurosis.

To provide you with an example: currently, I am examining the theory that both the Weedy and Leafy varieties of seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus & Phycodurus eques – relatives of the seahorse) are the reincarnated souls of evil drag queens.  Not that that is a bad thing, mind you…I admire their flair.  The rest of us cynics could conceivably spend perpetuity as unremarkable seahorses adorning some waiting room aquarium (let’s just hope the water PH is ok.  And get ready for karmic payback for all the times you tapped on the glass even after they told you not to).

The above “nougat” theory is, of course, only that—to truly test that hypothesis would, no doubt, involve some from of electrical current and rather painful poking.

Please, however, don’t poke.  I have sharper poking implements than you.

The PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow

1st Friday | 6/6/14 | 5-9pm | FREE!

The Romaine Brooks Gallery at the Pride Center

 332 Hudson Ave, Albany | 1st Floor

#CapitalPRIDE  #PRIDEweek

PRIDE Show + Fire & Flow poster

The Romaine Brooks Gallery is the Pride Center’s very own art gallery. The gallery features a new show every month to coincide with Albany’s popular 1st Friday.

The Pride Show will highlight some of the amazing LGBTQA artists featured during the gallery’s 2013 season.

In addition to this special gallery show, we welcome members of the Fire and Flow Arts Collective of Albany. Fire spinning with props of many kinds and flowing with a bright glow into the night come out and meet some very different local talent all while supporting Capital PRIDE.

 

AFTER 1st FRIDAY | #PRIDEweek

Remix ad 2

April 15, 2014

Know Your Healthcare Options

Category: Center Support,General,Programs — Tags: , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 12:00 pm

If you had trouble completing your healthcare enrollment application before the March 31st deadline you have until April 15th at 11:59PM to complete. You should call the NYSOH marketplace – 1.855.355.5777 / TTY: 1.800.662.1220 to request an application extension.

 

Click through on the flyer below for more detailed information.

qualifying life events FAQ

March 13, 2014

What does Yoga have to do with St. Patrick’s Day?!

Category: General,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , , , , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 4:05 pm

March is LGBT Health Month! We at the Pride Center wanted to take this opportunity to offer our community a variety of options for a  healthy positive lifestyle. Yes, HIV and STI information is so important. At the same time we believe that our health is much more complex than that. Health is also about our bodies, minds, spirits and general energy…health is also an opportunity to have fun while making room for self care!

Please join us this Saturday, March 15th @ 11am while we take a deep breath and learn light & easy yoga poses that are sure to leave you feeling nothing short of blissful.

David C. Vozzy, MSEd, 200 Hour RYT, will help you ease stress and invite calming peace to your day.  David has been practicing Yoga for almost three years, but decided early on that he wanted to spread the gift to others via teaching. He has a background in counseling, and is the author of two books; “LIGHT: A Book of Solace” and “Behold the Doctor” both available on Amazon. David is also the creator of “Loving Your Life in Eight Weeks;” a stress reduction class on Daily OM.com. His desire is to use Yoga as a vehicle that will help clients travel to a place of self-realization and serenity.

Please bring yoga mat or towel. FREE ALL-AGES EVENT!

Snacks & recipes provided by Honest Weight Food Co-op!

The event will be held at the Pride Center of the Capital Region-332 Hudson Ave., Albany, NY 12210. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/230982300427675/ 

 

 

March 10, 2014

Tonight! The March Business Alliance Professional’s Networking Mixer

Category: General,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 12:04 pm

Don’t Miss the Region’s Biggest LGBT Monthly Event!

Tonight (March 10th) is the March Business Alliance Professional’s Networking Mixer at Aperitivo Bistro in Schenectady!

This very well could be the most appetizing networking mixer you have ever been to, just check out Aperitivo’s menu if you don’t believe us. On hand tonight will be selected scrumptious items from the menu (you’ll have to show up to find out which ones, though!) and a cash bar.

So be sure to come and meet up with friends, distribute your business cards and make important business contacts. All while enjoying some of the finest food the Capital Region has to offer!

 $10 suggested donation @ the door. 

 

What:

March Business Alliance Professional’s Networking Mixer

Where:

Aperitivo Bistro
426 State St, Schenectady

When:

Monday, March 10th (tonight)
6-8 PM

 

Support the Pride Center Business Alliance Members, or become a member:

http://www.capitalpridecenter.org/resources/business-alliance/

March 4, 2014

LGBT Health Month Is Here!

Category: Center Support,General,Programs,Upcoming Events — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 4:37 pm

health

Just a reminder to everyone: March is LGBT Health Month!

Here at the Pride Center we have a whole flurry of fantastic activities scheduled throughout the month to promote wellness, safety and healthy living. From chiropractic training to yoga & voguing classes, there’s a little something for everyone. All events are located at the Pride Center (332 Hudson Avenue in Albany) unless otherwise indicated.

Some of the highlights during LGBT Health Month include:

 

CHIROPRACTIC INFORMATION & CORE TRAINING w/ Dr. Nancy Radigan 

Thursday, March 6th @ 6pm

Our first activity of the month! Chiropractic & Core training to help manage, decrease & avoid back pain! Come find out things you didn’t know about  chiropractic & take first steps toward taking control of your own spinal health! Learn the basics to performing safe &  effective core exercises, that will help instead of hurt you! Please bring a towel.

 

CREATIVE SEXUALITY: THE ART OF LGBTQ SEX w/Lyndon Cudlitz

Sunday, March 9th @ 4pm 

Explore how LGBTQ people are redefining sexuality & getting creative! Learn how to get what you want & advocate for what you need. FREE sex-positive prizes!  AGES 18+ ONLY

 

GETCHA LYFE [BACK]: HIP-HOP & VOGUING CLASS  w/ Jermaine Wright

Sunday, March 23rd @ 6:30pm-E.B.A Dance Studio (351 Hudson Avenue, Albany)

This dance workshop will focus on community building & empowerment through performing arts. Let your hair down, get loose, & join us as we hit the dance floor with a little bit of “BOOM-BOOM KAT KAT FOR YOUR LYFE!” It’s truly amazing what the body can do to help free the mind, come thru & get your dance on!

 

Keep in mind that the events listed above are just some of the many events the Pride Center has planned during LGBT Health Month. For a full schedule of events please click on the flyer below:

lgbt health month

 

 

March 3, 2014

This Week on the Pride Center Blog: March 3rd-7th, 2014

Category: General,Programs,Upcoming Events — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 3:14 pm

This week on the Pride Center blog we’ll be discussing a whole plethora of activities happening in/around the Center and out in the wide world.

 

Pride Center blog topics for the week of March 3rd-7th, 2014

Tuesday, March 4th: A preview of the upcoming LGBT Health Month activities at the Pride Center during the month of March

Wednesday, March 5th: Two LGBT stories from NPR.

Thursday, March 6th: The Pride Center Youth Scholarship

Friday, March 7th: This month’s Business Alliance Professional’s Networking Mixer @ Aperitivo Bistro

 

Be sure to check back throughout the week to keep up with all the latest content and be sure to stay warm as winter hopefully begins to wind down soon!

February 26, 2014

LGBT Health Month: Chiropractic & Core Training!

Category: Center Support,General,Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 3:56 pm

Mark Your Calendars! Coming up on Thursday, March 6th, 2014 at 6PM we will be hosting a Chiropractic & Core Training featuring Dr. Nancy Radigan, here at the Pride Center!

Chiropractic & core training helps manage, decrease & avoid back pain! Come find out things you didn’t know about chiropractic care & take first steps toward taking control of your own spinal health!

Learn the basics to performing safe & effective core exercises, that will help instead of hurt you!

Please bring a towel.

This event is FREE and open to the public. See you there!

About the FABULOUS Dr. Nancy Radigan:

Dr. Radigan has been a practicing chiropractor in upstate NY for over 25 years. She has 3 years post graduate study in nutrition, 3 years of chiropractic rehabilitative exercise, and a year of applied Kinesiology.

Dr. Radigan grew up right here in Amsterdam, NY; received her BA from SUNY Albany, and went to school for her Doctor of Chiropractic degree in suburban Chicago. She is also an active member of the NYS Chiropractic Association.

Life and professional experience has brought her to a place where she understands that an “ounce of prevention” is worth far more than that “pound of cure,” and is trying to bring this perspective to her patients and family and anyone else who will listen! Consequently, she is trying to teach fitness and a healthy lifestyle through all of her professional and public interactions.

 

Check out the event page on Facebook with the link below!

LGBT Health Month: Chiropractic & Core Training

January 9, 2014

New Year? Time to update your HIV status. Get tested at the Pride Center!

Category: Center Support,Programs,Upcoming Events — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 11:14 am

Is routine HIV testing a part of your 2014 plan for good health? It should be!  If it’s been more than 6 months since your last test, it’s time for a new one.   The Pride Center offers FREE, confidential, rapid HIV testing.  Check out our drop-in dates for January and February:

January
Friday, January 10th (tomorrow!): 4-7pm
Friday, January 24th: 4-7pm

February
Monday, February 3rd: 4-7pm
Monday, February 17th: 4-7pm
Friday, February 28th: 4-7pm

We also offer testing by appointment.  Our test is painless, and is offered in a comfortable LGBT-friendly environment.  Results in just 20 minutes and FREE safer sex supplies are available!

For more info or to make an appointment call 518.462.6138 or email casemanagement@capitalpridecenter.org.  

January 6, 2014

Beat that Penalty!

Category: Center Support,General,Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 3:19 pm

If you missed the Deadline – don’t fret. There’s still time to Enroll.

And We Can Help!!

Sign-up by February 15th for coverage that begins on March 1st

Get Informed

 Join us tomorrow night!

We will be holding our first Drop-In Information Session of 2014 in the  Large Auditorium at:

Main Branch of the Albany Public Library —161 Washington Ave. 12210

Flyer

December 17, 2013

Today is so QFEST!

Category: General,Pride,Programs,Upcoming Events — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 12:01 pm

While deciding what fantastic snacks to purchase at the concession stand….

Stop by the Pride Center table and say hello to Steve Hendrickson. Steve will be answering questions about the Affordable Care Act and talking a bit about the Pride Center’s FREE Healthcare Enrollment Services.

make the yuletide

Make The Yuletide Gay

Tuesday, December 17

movie starts at 7:00 pm

432 State St
Schenectady, NY 12305

 

December 16, 2013

See you tonight for “…And a Healthy New Year!”

Category: Center Support,Programs,Upcoming Events — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 1:48 pm

It’s finally here!  The Pride Center welcomes you to join us TONIGHT and get a ready for a healthy start to 2014!

Stop in this evening between 5-7pm and choose between any of these fabulous services:

– FREE Health Insurance Enrollment Assistance

– FREE Rapid HIV Testing

– Flu Shots (FREE with Insurance, Sliding Scale Discount for uninsured!)

No Appointment Necessary! See you tonight at the Pride Center – 332 Hudson Ave, Albany!

...And a healthy new year event flyer

December 13, 2013

…And a Happy, Healthy New Year to you

Category: Center Support,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 1:03 pm


Please join us on Monday the 16th, from 5pm – 7pm as we welcome the New Year with a Health Extravaganza!

FREE Health Insurance Enrollment, FREE HIV Screening, FREE Flu Shots*

And much more!

* with insurance, $29.99 without insurance

...And a healthy new year event flyer

 

Introducing the newest member to our Pride Center Family!

Category: Center Support,General,Programs — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 11:47 am

photo 1Hello Capital Region!

Let me take this time to introduce myself. My name is Alison Horgan and I am an AmeriCorps VISTA with Siena College working at The Pride Center of the Capital Region as a Program Development Assistant. In this role, I will be assisting with the development of the Pride Center’s youth program by strengthening its existing community connections and creating new ones.

I graduated from The Academy of the Holy Names in 2002 and went on to Manhattan College with a track scholarship, graduating Cum Laude in 2006 with two degrees; Psychology and Communications. After college, I moved back to Albany and briefly worked at La Salle Institute before accepting a position at the New York State Senate in the Office of the Majority Leader. I worked at the Senate for 6 years before taking a year off to join AmeriCorps. I will return to work for the Senate when my year of service is done, in August 2014.

When I first joined AmeriCorps in July 2013, I was living and working on the Gulf Coast in South Mississippi. It is true when they say “there’s no place like home.” While the beach and warm weather were a wonderful change and the work fulfilling, I missed my roots and transferred home.

What is AmeriCorps VISTA? Great question! Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed specifically to fight poverty in America. Each VISTA member makes a year-long, full-time commitment to serve on a specific project at a nonprofit organization or public agency. With passion, commitment, and hard work, VISTA’s create or expand programs designed to bring individuals and communities out of poverty.

In addition to my professional career, I am a musician and vocalist. I have been performing in school and community theatre since 1997, have been a pianist since the age of 4, have been a member of my church choir since the age of 13, have sang in numerous vocal competitions and played keyboard and sang female lead vocals with a local rock and blues band. I am also a karaoke queen. Performing under the name ‘Ali Fabulous’, you can usually find me anywhere that has karaoke or an open mic night. I am also a hunter; a fact about me that surprises most people.

In closing, transferring home was the best decision I could have made. Since I have been home, I have felt the warmth and sense of community I so missed. Home to me isn’t just where the heart is; it is where my family is, where my love of music started, where my friends are and where my awareness for community service began. While I was away, I realized how important home is to me, and why I had to finish my year of service at home in my community, in my Albany.

 

Alison Horgan

Program Development Assistant

Siena College AmeriCorps VISTA

Pride Center of the Capital Region

332 Hudson Avenue

Albany, NY 12210

p: (518) 462-6138 x22

f: (518) 462-2101

e: ahorgan@capitalpridecenter.org

w: www.capitalpridecenter.org

December 5, 2013

Stacey Mercer’s “becoming” opens tomorrow at the Romaine Brooks!

Category: General,Programs,Upcoming Events — Tags: — Pride Center of the Capital Region @ 4:56 pm

 

We’re excited to open our December show in the Pride Center’s Romaine Brooks Gallery! Join us tomorrow night during Albany’s 1st Friday for a reception with artist Stacey Mercer as she presents her works in oil in a fabulous show entitled “becoming”

013
Stacey says of her show:

My show is called “becoming” and it is done in all oils. It took time to find the pathway my art took because it also mirrors my becoming and growth. While certain pieces mirror my own journey and what I understood or built on some show a mythical aspect of becoming and doorways. Execution came in layers and emotions and some sleepless nights because sometimes the muse just does not let you sleep until you get to where she wants you to be. I am currently building a new show around the fire and ancestors. Those that have come before and the light that is leading me into an amazing new way all the while my husband with me. As for promoting I will be performing on Long Island in a wintertime flow show and with more shows in the works on the performing front. Now if you would like to see some dance and perhaps even some fire feel free to reach out for rates and possibilities or would you like a commission a personalized piece done for you reach out.

Click here to read more about Stacey and her show in the current issue of CommUNITY!

005“Becoming” works in oils by Stacey Mercer
artist reception as part of Albany’s 1st Friday
from 5-9pm

Romaine Brooks Gallery
@ the Pride Center of the Capital Region
332 Hudson Avenue – 3rd floor

This show and the Romaine Brooks Gallery are part of our Center Arts program.

If you would like more information on this or any of our many programs, or would like to receive notices and calls for art please contact the Pride Center by sending us an email or giving us a call at 462-6138.

We look forward to seeing you for 1st Friday!

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