Casey Polomaine – Albany Barn – an Interview with Liam Sweeny

We reached out to Casey Polomaine, Executive Director of Albany Barn. As follows…

RRX: Albany Barn had its origins in something called Rock2Rebuild, which harnessed the power of music to raise money for the 2004 Southeastern tsunami. That was a massive event that was soon forgotten, soon for the magnitude of it. How did that effort become the seed for Albany Barn?

CP: After Rock2Rebuild, we realized that bringing artists together with a shared goal can yield absolutely amazing results, so it got our wheels turning regarding how we could continue our efforts. And in honor of this work, we decided to name our space Albany Barn, or The Barn for short; it represents the practice of Barn-raising, in which a community comes together to erect a structure that will ultimately provide support and resources to those who helped bring it to life

RRX: When I first heard of Albany Barn, my ignorance led me to believe it was a business that you might go to buy home décor or yarn. Of course, I came to understand that it is not that at all and is a very unique space. So I ask you, what is Albany Barn? Who can take part in it, and in what ways?

CP: Albany Barn is a creative arts incubator that is designed to support artists in turning their craft into careers. And that can mean a lot of different things-physical spaces to live and work, including apartments, work studios, and performance spaces. It can also mean providing professional development support, like connecting artists with community organizations that are looking to hire creative folks, or providing artists guidance in applying for grants or calls for art. We work with artists of all ages at all stages of their lives and careers, so if you’re an artist and you want to make your practice your full-time work, we’re the place for you!

RRX: Anything that gets off the ground in a creative capacity faces challenges getting started, either with the city, the business community, the residential community, or in the case of something like Albany Barn, the housing authority. What were some of the challenges, and did any of them reveal opportunities?

CP: We had a steep learning curve when it came to the necessary resources to provide through low-income housing, so it was great to partner with the Albany Housing Authority so they could provide that guidance, and we could focus on the artistic work. We also learned a lot in terms of what people really wanted out of a creative space; when Albany Barn first opened, we had several fully equipped rehearsal spaces that musicians or bands could rent space by the hour to rehearse. And after a few years, we realized that the demand for private workspaces far surpassed the demand for rehearsal suites, so we converted them to private studios. It just goes to show that you can do all of your research and make your best guess as to how to set up a space, but you won’t truly know what will work best until you just jump in and give it a try and listen to those around you.

RRX: Albany Barn has living space and performance space in the same building. In particular, living spaces for creatives sounds like a fun time, but I imagine keeping things running smoothly involves a bit of herding cats. And managing a performance space with so many potential performers; what does running the Albany Barn entail?

CP: It’s definitely a big undertaking! We have a very intense color-coded calendar that is shared among staff to help us track every artist and project coming in and out of the space. We hold regular meet-ups with our residential and work-only tenants so they can get to know each other and understand how everyone works within the space (with the hopes that they find ways to work together!). And every October we hold our annual fundraiser, Fusion, that brings everyone-artists, community neighbors, board members, organizational partners-together under one roof to celebrate all of the facets of our organization and the work that we do.

RRX: This is such a humanistic endeavor, and so needed in our region, and in the world in general. This must be rewarding beyond measure. I imagine that you have a large number of memorable moments being the Executive Director. What is your most cherished moment?

CP: I truly have so many throughout my nearly 10 years at The Barn. One of my favorite events we hold is our annual Collaborative Arts Showcase in partnership with Wildwood Programs, a non-profit organization that works to strengthen the well-being of people with disabilities. Youth and adult artists at Wildwood create original works of art, and then artists at The Barn create their own art that’s inspired by the Wildwood pieces. We then take all of the work and hang it together in one giant collaborative art exhibition. Getting to facilitate this show, and seeing all of these creative people with very different life experiences come together and celebrate the power of art and collaboration, is such a wonderful feeling.

RRX: You have created an additional performance space in Schenectady, so you’re growing. What’s on the horizon for Albany Barn? What’s not on the immediate horizon, but would be if you won the lottery on a big payday?

CP: Well we just actually launched our 3rd location, the Artistry Studios, on Eastern Avenue in Schenectady, so that’s been very exciting. The Artistry is housed in a former convent building, and it offers 20 work studios for artists that need a private space to do their work. It’s a great partner of Electric City Barn, our makerspace in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood in Schenectady-they’re 5 minutes away from one another, so an artist can, for example, become a member at ECB and use the sewing machines to craft their wearable garments in the fiber arts studio, then head back to their own private space at the Artistry to get those garments listed on their website or answer emails.
As far as that lottery win, I’d love to outfit our performance spaces with proper light and sound systems. We host a ton of independent theatrical production companies in our space, and while they’re all very savvy in working with the set-up we have, I’d love to be able to provide a system that rivals other theater spaces in the area. Someday!

RRX: This is where you answer the question I didn’t ask. Remarks? Comments? Educate, enlighten, emote – the floor is yours.

CP: If I can leave your readers with one thing, it’s a plea to consider how you can invite artists to the various tables that you sit at in your lives. Need to liven up your living room walls? Commission a local artist to create the piece of your dreams. Want to put together a really unique team-building experience for you and your colleagues at work? Hire an artist to host a custom paint party. Serve on a board of directors for a local organization and want to ensure various viewpoints are represented in your discussions? Invite an artist to join as a fellow director.  And if you want to do any of these things but don’t know how to start, come chat with us at The Barn and we’ll point you in the right direction!