Month: September 2012

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Earlier this month, the people behind MoHu — a 10-day celebration of the arts in the Capital Region — gathered to announced that the second annual MoHu festival will take place beginning Friday, Oct. 5, with more than 100 venues, artists, and arts organizations from all over Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Saratoga counties banding together to display the strength and diversity of the cultural programming that makes this area so special.

One of the main goals of the MoHu festival is to raise awareness of the diversity and quality of the arts in the region — to let readers like you know more about what’s going on in the area around you — in the areas bordering the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. (Get it? That’s where “MoHu” comes from, Mohawk and Hudson.)

Last year, the MoHu organizers hoped to have 50,000 attend various MoHu-labeled events, and they say an estimated 52,272 people turned out for music, dance, theater, comedy, poetry and visual arts. The figure is an estimate, because not all events were ticketed.

One of the events of note is a free event called “Drums Along the MoHu Festival Finale” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, at The Egg in Albany. The event features four percussionists – Brian Melick, Devesh Chandra, Robot Aston Ellis and Zorkie Nelson – will perform musical works that celebrate the diversity of the Capital Region.

Another new thing this year is a pre-MoHu fundraiser, called MoHu Takes Flight and labeled as a “an interactive arts cocktail party to kick off and help support the second annual MOHU Festival.” The benefit includes opportunities for art-making and watching. It takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Eclipse Hangar at the Albany International Airport. Tickets are $50 for the public and $30 for MoHu artists. For more information about the benefit, contact Leesa Perazzo 518•382•3884 x187 or lperazzo@proctors.org

For more information about MoHu, visit http://mohufest.com/

Want to make yourself useful while enjoying a day of great local and national music acts?

Well, Lark Fest still needs volunteers for Saturday’s 31st annual event taking place on Lark Street in Albany from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

A variety of positions are available with shifts from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is a particular need for “Lark Patrol” volunteers, who will assist the Albany Police Department with the closure of side streets throughout the day.

To volunteer, contact volunteer coordinator Aimee Gould-Pryba at 434-5411 or goulda@ci.albany.ny.us.

For more information about the festival, call the Lark Street Business Improvement District at 434-3861 or visit http://www.larkstreet.org.

For an interview with headliner Karl Wallinger, click here.

— CJ Lais

Museums are places that contain things, most often objects of historical or cultural value and significance. Museums are also places in which events can take place, such as galas or concerts. So it shouldn’t be surprising that the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, one of the most prominent U.S. institutions of contemporary art, held an Internet Cat Video Festival last week.

One of the ironies of the event is that the videos being shown were from the Internet, which allows people to experience the same cultural artifacts (whether significant or not) even if they are separated by place and time; however, on the grounds of the Walker, the videos were watched by people gathered together in one location to watch the same thing at the same time.

Another irony is that even though some may think a bricks and mortar museum as a repository as culture has been overwhelmed by the World Wide Wide as a repository of culture, people remain social animals, willing to gather at a museum to share a cultural experience.

The broader question, though, can be stated two ways:
1. If the Walker is spending time with cat videos, then does that mean it is spending less time with serious artists?
2. Are cat videos art?

This just in:

Hudson Valley Community College’s Cultural Affairs Program regretfully announces the cancellation of An Evening with Stephen Sondheim, an on-stage conversation with the legendary composer and lyricist on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 in the Maureen Stapleton Theatre on the college’s campus in Troy.

It is hoped the program can be rescheduled during the Spring 2013 semester.

Tickets hadn’t yet gone on sale to the general public, but students, faculty and staff seeking to refund tickets should contact Debby Gardner at (518) 629-8071.