Breathing Lights wraps up with program at Proctors

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. >> Although the Breathing Lights public art installation celebrated its finale Friday afternoon at Proctors Theatre, those involved are hopeful that the project’s impact will continue to breathe new life into the Capital Region.

The mayors of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, as well as instrumental organizers and contributors to Breathing Lights, gathered at the venue to bring the installation to a close and present a summary of their findings with attendees.

After receiving a $1 million grant through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge in June 2015, artists in the Capital Region worked through the Breathing Lights project to light the windows of hundreds of vacant homes and buildings spanning across Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. The idea began in 2014 and combined the efforts of local artists, city officials, and supporting organizations. The public art exhibit launched two years later and was on display during fall 2016. It utilized 1,500 windows to shed light on the growing number of blighted properties in urban communities, using a diffused glow to mimic the rhythm of human breathing.

Breathing Lights project director Judie Gilmore presented a brief findings report of the installation, and said the full detailed report will be released next month.

Information about the project reached 20.2 million people through social media impressions, and 271.9 million through media coverage about the art installation. More than half of the audience that found the installation’s website were younger than 34-years-old.

“Young people are hungry to want to see innovative solutions,” said Gilmore. “They want to see how cities are dealing with the issues that they see as city-dwellers.”

Artists invested countless hours to ensure even the smallest of details in every display were perfected, according to Gilmore. Adam Frelin, who served as the lead artist for the project, even stood outside houses and asked the opinions of passers-by when the lighting systems were first put to the test.

“This is probably the most exciting project of my life,” said Frelin, who is also a professor at the University at Albany. “It taught me to be an active community member, and really required me to take on a role that I hadn’t before.”

Organizers and supporters said the vision for the display was to help residents rethink the stigma associated with vacant and abandoned buildings in a cooperative effort with many community members and residents. They also released a policy brief to spark the conversation to prioritize proper documentation for vacant properties, increase funding to address vacant properties, as well as create effective management of properties.

“This was an effort to shift perceptions and raise awareness,” said Troy Mayor Patrick Madden in a panel discussion at the Breathing Lights finale. “The artists came in and they told the stories of the people who lived in these houses.”

The installation provided a narrative that is valuable in preserving neighborhoods and stimulating economic development, according to Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy, who credited the project with helping residents to recognize the abandoned and vacant buildings rather than to pretend they do not exist.

The creative team for the project does not have any future plans for expanding the Breathing Lights project, but they believe the work they have done has made an impact on the community.

“The project itself was about kicking a hornet’s nest and to start talking about vacancy,” said Frelin.