BUILT 2020 Featured Artist Interview - Scott Foster

Scott Nelson Foster is an artist and educator living in Albany, New York. He serves as the chair of the Creative Arts Department at Siena College where he holds the rank of associate professor of studio art. His watercolor and oils have been featured in galleries throughout the United States. In most of his paintings, Mr. Foster utilizes a variety of media—both traditional and modern—to create an image with many layers and levels of detail. His paintings evoke impressions of the nostalgia and memory tied to particular locations and objects 

Scott’s winning piece from 2019 - fourth street V

Thank for joining us Scott! First can you tell us about your piece for BUILT 2019 which won Best in Show?

That was a small watercolor I made of a house on 4th Street in Troy. Once summer I walked up the street taking photographs of houses that stood out to me. Ed Rucha had done this piece in 1966 called "Every Building on the Sunset Strip." It's one long continuous string of photographs that present each structure as a facade. I didn't have any intention of doing anything quite so ambitious, but I like the idea of expressing a location by depicting the buildings in a deadpan sort of way, and in limiting oneself by focusing on a defined geographic area. I've painted about a half dozen of the buildings along 4th Street at this point, and will probably paint more over the years to come. 

Do you find architecture an inspiring topic for your work?

I do. I have been painting buildings since 2005 when I was bored with the still life I had been painting, and walked across the street to sketch in a trailer park. Variety within unity is what keeps me painting. Every building is essentially the same, but every architect, home-owner, proprietor, etc. brings something unique that is reflected in the structure. That's not to say that those idiosyncrasies are the subject of my work (in fact it is the unity that is the more overt focus of my paintings), but those details are what makes me keen to start a new painting. 

 What would you say to someone considering submitting to BUILT for the first time in 2020?

You have very little to lose. You're able to attend a terrific party; the sale of your work will support the preservation of a city we love; and you'll get to meet and chat with a great community of artists, professionals, and creative minds.

Are you submitting a piece for 2020 and can you tell us anything about it?

I am planning to submit a painting. I have a small painting of a house from the area around New Scotland Ave. that I could submit, but I'd like to make something new. I've been painting motels and drive-thrus from Idaho (my home state) recently. I'd like to find something similar out here. I have some photographs of the Snowman in Troy that I'd like to do something with. Or perhaps the Historic Albany Community might have some suggestions?

Do you have a favorite building in Albany that you would love to base a piece on?

It would be hard to nail something down. I'm always finding new material. I take photographs wherever I go. Sometimes it's years later that I find something I like in a photograph. I still have 35mm slides and 4x6 prints I may work from someday. Anyway, when I first visited the area on an interview there was a house on Englewood off Washington Park that was for sale. I had dreams about moving to town and living there. It was way out of my family's price range. I did do a painting of it in 2011 or 2012 that I donated to the BUILT show. 

What do you think makes Albany's architecture unique?

scott’s current work in progress - lamplighter motel

I like the diversity of architecture. There's the mid century pop-culture stuff that I'm presently in love with, as well as the Victorian browns stones, cape-cods, and federal buildings. The dutch influence is something I like seeing. I hadn't seen any of that before coming here.

 Finally, how have you been entertaining yourself during the lockdown?

Entertainment is something I've been missing. Between childcare, teaching classes, keeping department business moving forward, and making time to paint, it's been a real juggling act. I've been taking a lot of walks, especially in the Rural Cemetery. If your readers haven't had a chance to really poke around in there, I would highly recommend it. The lockdown has definitely forced me to be more creative. Access to art supplies is something I no longer take for granted. I had to put together a quick tutorial on making pens and ink for my students. It's linked here on my website

Interested in submitting to BUILT 2020? Find out more here >>

The Steamer No. 10 Firehouse by Akum Norder

Undated postcard image of Steamer No. 10 firehouse, postmarked 1912.

The Steamer No. 10 firehouse is an anchor of the Pine Hills and a landmark of my kids' childhoods. A little rough around the edges, sure, but quirky and creative, good-hearted, and its roots run deep – on every count, the old place is just like the city it stands in.

A 1954 photo from the firehouse’s “Engine 10” days. From The History of the Paid Albany Fire Department: A Story of Fires and Firemen From 1867-1967. Warren Abriel, editor, and Joseph Winchell, photographer. Albany: Argus Greenwood, 1967

In 1892, when the fire station opened, residential development was booming up here in what they used to call Albany's West End, as the city's expanding trolley network gave people new options on where they could live and still commute downtown. A bit of history, just because it's so cool: The Steamer 10 crew fought blazes with the help of a steam-powered pumping engine pulled by horses. The firefighters took pride in being quick to the call: They'd get out a stopwatch and demonstrate for visitors how the firemen could slide down the pole, drop the harness on the horses and climb into their places on the engine and hose cart in — get this — seven seconds. In 1897, during a citywide firehouse inspection, they hitched up in 5.25 seconds — the fastest time of any fire crew in the city. The steam engine had to be ready, too, and the building had several boilers in the basement to keep the pump primed at all times.

Albany switched to motorized trucks in the late teens, and Steamer 10 became Engine 10 – less poetic, maybe, but more practical. For most of the twentieth century, firefighters answered the call from their Pine Hills station house. But the West End of Albany kept on moving west, and in 1988 the Engine 10 company moved that way, too, out to Brevator Street.

“The reuse of old buildings marries a city's past to its future. Notable buildings ground us – they remind us we are here, in this place, not in some generic Anywhere USA”

And then came the question that comes, in time, to all oversized, outdated buildings: What do we do with the firehouse now? City officials toyed with converting it into a neighborhood library, but engineers determined the structure couldn't handle the weight of the books. Next the city offered it to The College of Saint Rose for use as an arts center, but they didn't bite.

Enter Ric Chesser.

Laughs at curtain call, Steamer 10 Theatre, 2017

Chesser was executive director of Washington Park Theatre Inc., a drama group that had played in spaces around Albany since the mid-1970s. He had seen first-hand what a great tool live performances could be for reaching young audiences, and he persuaded the city to lease the firehouse for use as a children's theatre. In 1991, the building took back its old name, the one carved above the double doors, becoming Steamer 10 Theatre.

“We liked that it was collaborative, not competitive. It gave kids responsibility, but also room to be silly”

It was the mid-aughts when my husband and I started taking our kids there, first as audience members and then as participants in their theatre camps and youth productions. To start, it was as much about convenience as anything else – why drive the kids all over creation for after-school activities when this place is two blocks from our house? But what we discovered is that a theatre is a pretty darn good place to raise your kids. Ours is not a very sportsy family, so theatre is where our children learned teamwork and the ability to think on their feet. We liked that it was collaborative, not competitive. It gave kids responsibility, but also room to be silly. It was a place where kids like ours – with big emotions and heads full of stories – could find each other, and thrive.

Steamer 10 has the feel of a place run by a man who's doing more than anyone should do on his own: never quite tidy, always some half-finished repair that was supposed to be done the year before, or the year before that. A big project to build a lobby was snarled by, among other things, the discovery of multiple underground fuel tanks – remember all those boilers? – and dealing with those blew a hole in the budget.

In one sense, how the place looks isn't the important part – it's what goes on inside, etc., etc. But in another sense, a building like the Steamer 10 firehouse matters very much – both for the people who use it and those who just pass by. The reuse of old buildings marries a city's past to its future. Notable buildings ground us – they remind us we are here, in this place, not in some generic Anywhere USA. Schools, seats of government, and churches are built with a sense of grandeur, or used to be, not only to inspire or awe us but also to remind us there's something larger than ourselves. They're a tug on our community conscience.

For a city like Albany and a neighborhood like Pine Hills, the firehouse is a symbol: of resilience, adaptability, and also fragility. Its future is by no means assured; it hinges on whether we decide old places like these are worth keeping, and do what's necessary to keep them. Which makes the firehouse also a symbol of hope. And Albany needs more of that.

by Akum Norder

For more information about Steamer 10 Theatre and to support them visit their website or follow them on Facebook

steamer 10 curtain call 2014

Featured BUILT Artist - Emmet Kirchman

In preparation for BUILT 2020, we wanted to catch up with some of our winners from last year’s event. Firstly we chatted with Emmet Kirchman , Young Artist and winner of the 2019 Committee Choice Award.

Hi Emmett! Thank you for agreeing to an interview. First can you tell us about your piece for BUILT 2019 which won the Committee choice award?

E: The Albany skyline was made from found bottle caps on an historic plinth block.

Why did you decide to submit to BUILT last year?

E: I decided to submit because my Mom has been submitting to BUILT and I thought that I would qualify for it.  

You have a very distinct style when it comes to your art, can you tell us more about it?

E: Well I completely made it up.  I collected bottle caps for awhile and then realized that I could smash and cut them into images. My first piece was a large-mouth bass.  

Are you submitting a piece for 2020 and can you tell us anything about it if so?

E: Probably I will but I’m not certain what to do yet.

What would you say to any young artists who are thinking of submitting to BUILT 2020?

E: The BUILT event is super fun and you shouldn’t be nervous.

Finally, how have you been entertaining yourself during the lock down?

E: I have been fishing, playing video games, and making new art.

Historic Albany Foundation is now taking submissions for this year’s BUILT pop up gallery and art auction. All bidding will be done online. Artists of all backgrounds, experiences, and ages are encouraged. Entry fee is $40 for up to 3 pieces. Art must reflect some built element of the Capital Region (a bridge, a building etc.) OR be constructed using architectural salvage. Half of all art sold goes towards Historic Albany Foundation - for full details visit the ARTIST PORTAL.

In Our Own Voices, 245 Lark Street by Alexa Moynihan

As part of the We Save Albany’s Stories project, the Historic Albany Foundation has researched Capitol Region buildings significant to the LGBTQ+ history of Albany, New York. Among other organizations within the area, Albany’s In Our Own Voices emerged as an essential space dedicated to the development of the Albany LGBT community.

Recent Image of 245 Lark Street, In Our Own Voices Inc.

“These organizations came together initially to encourage other human and civil rights groups to broaden their agendas to include the issues that affect LGBT people of color.”

— In Our Own Voices Inc.

Early Image of 245 Lark Street From a 1975 Inventory Form

In Our Own Voices currently operates to provide supportive services within the Albany area. The organization that exists today combines the efforts of various social action groups including Sisters and Brothers in the Life (SABIL), the Gay Men of Color Alliance (GMOCA), the Feminist Action Network (FAN), and finally the Social Justice Center.

“Providing essential resources to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community of Albany, In Our Own Voices aims to ensure the strength and survival of these communities”

Providing essential resources to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community of Albany, In Our Own Voices aims to ensure the strength and survival of these communities in a wide range of social spheres. These include mental, physical, political, spiritual, and economic realms. With their impact on the Capitol Districts’s LGBT+ community, the buildings which have housed the organization provide a significant backdrop for the essential work of In Our Own Voices.

Early Blueprint of the Property From a 1975 Inventory From

In Our Own Voices operates from their property on 245 Lark Street. The office building which stands today was originally built in the late 1870’s, and has since provided work space to multiple organizations in Albany. The property is surrounded by a densely built up area of both residential and commercial lots. The 5,445 square foot lot includes an additional 6,420 square feet of interior space for the organization.

“Following their purchase, IOOV could realize their goals to provide a platform for LGBT voices and a space to develop leadership within the community”

An Image Prior to IOOV’s purchase of 245 Lark Street ca. 1988

The building predates the organization itself, but boasts a rich history in the community care industry. In 1975, it was owned by Albany’s Visiting Nurse Association as one of the organization's three properties in Arbor Hill. Founded in 1880, VNA is one of the oldest home healthcare agencies in the country and continues to provide essential care to those in low-income housing areas. With the Visiting Nurse Association’s ownership of 245 Lark street, the property has a long standing tradition of supporting Albany communities.”

In 1988, the property was put on the market and later purchased by In Our Own Voices. Following their purchase, IOOV could realize their goals to provide a platform for LGBT voices and a space to develop leadership within the community. As In Our Own Voices continues operation in pursuit of these goals, 245 Lark Street has become a significant landmark to the LGBT+ history of the Capitol District.

by Alexa Moynihan

Many thanks to Tandra LaGrone for providing additional information.

In Our Own Voices promotes the health & well-being of LGBT POC in upstate New York. For More information about the work they do and to support them, visit their website here >>