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Innovative Placemaking Puts miSci on the Cutting Edge

April 3, 2022 By Corey Aldrich

COREY: Please state your name, title and what you do at miSci. How long have you been here?

GINA: My name is Gina C. Gould and I have been the President of miSci for the past four years. Like most museum professionals, we all wear a lot of hats. In my role as president, I mainly focus on big picture things like the care and preservation of miSci’s invaluable archives and collections, ensuring we are creating cutting-edge, place-based educational programs for our audiences. Making new friends in and around the Capital Region.

Historic Archieve Images involving radio and the electric light. — Images from the miSci Archival Collection.

From Innovation to Inspiration

COREY: You oversee a collection that represents so much technological development for our country and the world in general. All this while being located in a city with an important provenance in the tapestry of innovation. How and what do you focus on in a typical day to push that forward? To create meaning from it…

GINA: miSci’s team spends all of its time developing exhibitions and programs that focus innovations. These areas include science, technology, engineering, art and math. We dabble in past, present and future. We want everyone, regardless of their age or interests, to understand and appreciate that these innovations are what change society and the world. For the good, bad and sometimes ugly. Their lives are surrounded, every second of every day by these innovations that dictate how we live our lives. By understanding these concepts, we hope to provide our youth inspiration. It is that inspiration that will help them to change our world. And for adults, we hope to provide them with enough information to be informed citizens of the world.

Archival images of an engine, florescent light bulb and an early x ray machine. — Images from the miSci Archival Collection

Opening Young Minds

COREY: The past establishes a foundation for the future. As such, where do you see yourself taking the organization to make it as impactful as the history it represents?

GINA: For a long time, miSci neglected what is in its basement. This is where there are some of the worlds “first” inventions of the 20^th Century that changed the world. Unlike other science museums that focus on natural history or early human innovation, miSci’s collections focus on a wide breadth of innovation from lighting the world to renewable energy that will save the world. The general concepts that each object miSci houses, from toasters to jet engines, can be brought down to the basics of such things as heat transfer or combustion. All of these phenomena are what children learn in school. Showing them “firsts,” such as the first toaster, or first dynamo, connects the past to the present and makes it real, tangible. It’s something they can touch if not something they have in their homes, albeit is a more modern form.

Images of an old clock, a young girl and a portable record player. — Images from the miSci Archival Collection

A STEAM Collective

COREY: How do you see miSci growing its value proposition to the City of Schenectady and why is this important?

GINA: With our growing partnership with Clarkson University, the City of Schenectady School District, the Schenectady Historical Society, and Union College, together we will become a STEAM learning and research center for people of all ages.

Image of Jay Street in Schenectady. — Jay Street, a revitalized part of downtown Schenectady.

Placemaking In Action

COREY: I am super excited that you will be hosting an onsite event in conjunction with the NEMA 2022 Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit this month that will be held in downtown Schenectady. Maybe we can bring in your partner Lorraine Cox (Co-Producer at NEMA 2022) on that to talk about how that production team came to partner up with miSci.

Lorraine: The summit is both a sharing of the rich creative placemaking activities happening in this region of the country, as well as a space to inspire and empower placemakers to build new and better partnerships, projects, programs and policies. That would include right here in Schenectady and the broader Capital Region. Creative Placemaking is a strategy that can support the goals of miSci making this a great opportunity to further discuss and flesh out what that might look like. Gina has taken her institution to a new level using these collaborative principles. We felt that miSci would be the perfect real world example of the power of this approach.

Photo of a group event crowd. — Photo: **Richard Lovrich**

See For Yourself

COREY: ACE is excited to play a part of what you have coming up later this month! Gina, I have to say, I have been wanting to do an event here for some time. Can you tell us a little more about what to expect from the Creative Networking Happy Hour event on the 21st?

GINA: Attendees will see how miSci is evolving to become not only a Regional Science Museum but also a community-based museum that specializes in place-based, immersive hands-on STEAM learning. Additionally, we are planning on making a special announcement regarding a new national program that miSci will be instituting that will create commission opportunities for regional designers, makers and artists so make sure to be there for that!

EDITORS NOTE:
We are excited to announce the first ACE Creative Networking Event of 2022 will be held at miSci in conjunction with the NEMA 2022 Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit. These events always well supported, advance RSVP is recommended and appreciated.

for more info or to RSVP NOW!

CAP Region 5 : Independently Owned Authentic Korean Restaurants

April 3, 2022 By Nellie Ackerman-Vellano

Food image from Seoul Restaurant. — **Seoul Korean Restaurant** | Photo: **Bon Vivant Photographe**

It wasn’t that long ago in the Capital Region where you would either have to have a Korean friend or personally know a Korean family to enjoy Korean Food in Upstate NY. They’d invite you over for a sit down style family meal consisting of white rice, kimchi, and all of the other favored Korean dishes that are served in almost every Korean home. The classic bulgogi dish, or a kimbap roll were not always mentioned between friends looking for a place to meet out for lunch, or in the office discussion as a food option for a group order for delivery.

I was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in a Korean home with a Korean mother making the most delicious Korean food I’ve ever had… and of course no one makes food the way your own mother does. Going to the market place in Seoul as a child, I still remember the smells of the food being made by street cart vendors and the aromas coming from the restaurants as we walked for blocks and blocks shopping while looking for a place for my family to eat dinner at.

I first moved to Upstate NY when I was a teenager, and since then I’ve always longed for this region to embrace and appreciate Korean food. Today, you can easily find about a half dozen korean food restaurants offering traditional and newer korean style foods to the Capital Region.

This article is presented through a content collaboration with ACE and CapNY.
Visit us on Instagram at @upstatecreative and @gocapny

Images of Korean BBQ at NOMU Restaurant — **NOMU** | Photo: **Bon Vivant Photographe**

NAMU | Colonie

The first Korean BBQ grill restaurant in the Capital Region, Namu has been offering guests the upfront and close experience of having their dinner grilled at their table right in front of them since 2014. The owners of Namu had the vision for this interactive dining experience in the Capital Region when they opened their restaurant eight years ago. With 30 tables in their dining room, each with its own grill in the center, the large and spacious restaurant still allows for an intimate dining experience with those sitting near you. This is a great date night place and invites engagement and conversation, and it is a good place to bring the family while the kids watch their food being cooked on an open grill.

The menu here caters to the more traditional Korean palette, while dining in a more contemporary atmosphere, with modern western decor and k-pop music playing in the background.

IG: @namukoreanbbq | web: namukoreanbbq.com
p: 518.591.0800 | a: 1770 Central Ave, Albany 12205

Interior and food shots at Son of Egg — **SON OF EGG** | Photo: **Bon Vivant Photographe**

SON OF EGG | ALBANY

Bringing Korean influence to Albany, NY in 2020, Mincho Ko and her son & co-owner, Justin Ko, opened Son of Egg around the corner from Lark Street. The narrow cafe and wall counter seating reminds me of my visits to K-town in NYC, as we walked to different restaurants and grabbed a quick order of mandoo to eat on the go. Son Of Egg offers one of my favorite Korean foods, a traditional kimbap roll. A small roll sells for $2, which I grabbed two of, and jumped back in my car and ate them on the way home. They offer a more contemporary menu with Korean inspired flavors and ingredients, fused into a street food concept that you can eat in-house or while walking around town. They’ve switched up Korean family meals a bit with their Bulgogi Burger… and the Tornado Potato, which is a deep fried spiral cut potato on a bamboo skewer served with a variety of sauces on the side.

As a small locally owned business that cares about their community and those in it, Son Of Egg created “The Good Egg Initiative”, which allows you to purchase a meal in person or online for a homeless individual in need of a meal. The meal tickets are left in a designated location and made available for the homeless and or those with food insecurities to receive a free meal. At any time during business hours, this individual can discreetly come visit, grab an available meal ticket, and present it to the cashier. Meal tickets are $9.

IG: @son_of_egg | web: sonofegg.com
p: 518.917.3806 (text or call) | a: 418 Madison Avenue, Albany

Interior and food shots of Bespoki Bowl — **Bespoki Bowl** | Photo: **Bon Vivant Photographe**

BESPOKI BOWL | TROY

An authentic Hawaiian & Asian eatery in the heart of downtown Troy, NY, the Bespoki Bowl started in the Troy Kitchen in 2016, and opened around the corner on 4th Street in 2017. Paul Park, owner of the Bespoki Bowl, has artful murals covering the walls around the dining room, and asking thoughtful questions such as “how do you feel?”

Making their own kimchi in house, and mixing their bulgogi marinade from scratch, you will absolutely find authentic Korean flavors in the Korean foods served in this neighborhood restaurant. You can order traditional bulgogi & rice here, or get a more modern Bulgogi Taco. The Spam Musubi, spam on rice with teriyaki sauce wrapped in a nori sheet, is one of my favorites here and sells for just $3 each. Whether you grab a bulgogi bowl to go, or sit and enjoy a plate of spicy pork and rice, you’ll experience a taste of Korea each time.

IG: @bespokibowl | web: bespokibowl.com
p: 518.244.5347 | a: 122 4th St, Troy 12180

Exterior and food shots of Seoul Korean Restaurant. — **Seoul Korean Restaurant** | Photo: **Bon Vivant Photographe**

SEOUL KOREAN RESTAURANT | LATHAM

One of the longest operating Korean restaurants in the Capital Region, Seoul Korean restaurant offers authentic traditional Korean foods as well as street foods. Opened in 2013 in Latham, was purchased three years ago by Mijung Kim and her husband, both from Seoul. You’ll walk past shelves of Korean pantry items and products as you enter the restaurant leading you into a large dining area, which accommodates bigger parties and families looking to dine out together.

The foods and flavors at this restaurant remind me of downtown Seoul and the many family meals of my childhood in Korea. Their traditional Korean food makes this restaurant appealing to anyone looking to be introduced to authentic Korean foods for the very first time or who is in town looking for a good Korean meal. The extensive dinner menu ensures that there is something for everyone to enjoy. You can enjoy unique asian bottled sodas for the kid in all of us, and a variety of Soju, Plum wines and asian beers are available for the adults.

IG: @seoulkorean_restaurant | web: seoulkoreanlatham.com
p: 518.782.9609 | a: Peter Harris Plaza, 952 Troy Schenectady Rd, Latham

Image of the outside of Sunhee's Restaurant — **Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen** | Photo: **Bon Vivant Photographe**

SUNHEE’S FARM AND KITCHEN | TROY

Jinah Ahn came onto the downtown Troy food scene in 2016, opening her Korean restaurant with a big vision and a huge love for her community. Sunhee’s is a farmhouse style restaurant with a small shop in the back offering some shelves filled with Korean market items, stationary products, and a small fridge with jars of their homemade kimchi for sale. Wooden farm tables, rustic pitchers & glass vases filled with dried wild flowers welcome you to sit in their dining room. In addition to the Troy location, Sunhee’s operates a small family farm in Cambridge, New York, raising chickens and ducks while cultivating a mix of organically grown Korean and domestic vegetables.

Serving traditional Korean favorites such as Bibimpap and Japchae, Sunhee’s goes above and beyond the delicious Korean cuisine they serve by also offering free English classes for adult immigrants, from beginner to advanced via zoom or in person in downtown Troy. Classes are open to all immigrants, and all are welcome.

IG: @sunhees95ferry | Web: sunhees.com
P: 518.272.3413 | a: 95-97 Ferry Street, Troy

Nellie Ackerman-Vellano is a freelance brand development professional, food writer and photographer who writes for a variety of periodicals including 518 Profiles Magazine. | IG: @FeedMe518 | @BonVivantPhotographe

This article is presented through a content collaboration with ACE and CapNY.
Visit us on Instagram at @upstatecreative and @gocapny

Rock Star Style with Hair Maven Molly Tremante

March 1, 2022 By Corey Aldrich

I met Molly several years ago after hearing continuously about her reputation as a hairstylist. At the time I was pretty involved in the upstate fashion scene through my sustainable fashion initiative Electric City Couture. Since then, I have had a number of projects that I was able to work with her on. One was a cool show called REIMAGINED at the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls New York where we did a promotional fashion shoot to support an Alphonse Mucha exhibition and a tableaux vivant fashion event in 2018.

Photo: Corey Aldrich

Molly Tremante is a hairstylist & business owner. Her shop, Fur Hairdressing is located in Schenectady, NY on Upper Union Street. Fur is a boutique collective of independent stylists who focus on advanced hair cutting and coloring techniques. They thrive on a passion for hairdressing and cultivating clients authentic true style. The inclusive philosophy: ‘Beauty is for everyone, and all humans are welcome at FUR.‘

As part of her overall passion and retro aesthetic, Molly sells vintage and pre-loved clothing in the shop as well.

Molly Cutting Hair. — Photo: Corey Aldrich

A CAREER IN HAIR

Molly has been working behind the chair professionally as a stylist for 18 years. She has been working in salons for 22 years. Growing up (when she was only 14!) she worked on Saturdays sweeping hair and taking out rollers for weekly wash and set clients. The salon owner at the time was a friend of the family. The opportunity to get a feel for the industry at such a young age got her excited. She knew immediately that this industry was the right career fit for her. Molly ended up going to beauty school at Capital Region BOCES while she was in high school. She started doing hair professionally the day after she graduated.

Molly Tremante Platform LIVE work. — Photo: Glow Optical Photography

When Molly started to find her groove in the industry, she realized that she wanted to focus on hair cutting, editorial styling and sharing her love for the craft. She became an educator for international brand Goldwell / KMS and was able to teach out of their academy’s in LA and NYC. This allowed her to teach classes and do hair shows all over the country. Working for Goldwell also opened doors of opportunity. Working fashion week, creating looks for editorial shoots, being published in and working with various platforms such as American Salon, Modern Salon & Hairbrained. At her peak, she was able to design a hairspray with the brands product development team in Germany. Molly eventually resigned. She was ready to focus on her own vision. To this day though, she continues educating and doing editorial shoots to get her ‘creative fix.’

Sample Cuts by Molly Tremante. — Some recent cuts by Molly.

THE VINTAGE BUSINESS

Molly also branched out into another passion, vintage clothing. A self described newbie to that biz, she is not a new to hoarding tangible pieces of history. She has been collecting vintage furniture, decor and clothing for years. Her mom and sister have always been pickers and trips to the local thrift store was a regular activity for them growing up. As such, she has had a passion for fashion & design as long as she can remember. She has always admired vintage sellers as well. Molly says she currently has way too much stuff, but has a hard time letting it go. So, when her friends put The Vintage Roundup together last summer (Albany’s Vintage & Antique Market) she had to give it a shot.

“I love participating in markets and helping someone find that one piece of clothing or trinket they’ve been yearning for. It is almost as satisfying as someone’s reaction after they get their dream haircut.”

Fur Vintage Clothing. — Part of the mini shop in her salon.

Molly looks to continue in her new entrepreneurial direction.

“I feel like I’ve found my place in the industry and really want to spill that into my shop. Bringing the local hair community together to celebrate inspiration and education is something I’d really like to focus on at my hair home.”

Molly is currently accepting new clients. Make sure to drop in to check out the cool collection of vintage clothes and shoes!

FUR Hairdressing and Vintage | 1702 Union Street | Schenectady, New York

Clowning Around with CCIAC Executive Director Aaron Marquise

January 5, 2022 By Maureen Sager

Just when you thought you knew everything about the 518… did you know that we’re on the brink of becoming one of world’s great homes for Clowndom? Aaron Marquise has worked internationally as a performer and clown, and now he’s working to bring the world — and its clowns — to the Capital Region. Read on to hear what drives his amazing vision.

Where are you from?

I’m originally from Round Lake, Exit 11! I left to study play writing and musical theater in New York for a year and half. Then, I moved up to Montreal to study contemporary circus in Montreal for four years. After that, I had the amazing opportunity to work in Switzerland, France, Germany and other places, sharing my time between Europe and the United States. I’ve been back in the area for the past few years now.

What’s the name of your company, and what do you do?

The company is Contemporary Circus and Immersive Arts Center (CCIAC). We promote, produce and present contemporary circus. Our vision is to link this incredible art form with American audiences, who have such an interesting relationship with the term “circus.” We want to redevelop people’s relationship with circus.

CCIAC’s performance at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, a week before lockdown, 2020

How and when did you know that circus – and starting this company — was what you wanted to do?

Growing up, I’d been to Ringling Brothers, and saw Cirque du Soleil in Florida, and thought, “Gosh, this is incredible, I wish I could do this.” But I never knew I could do this for a living, until I went to Montreal. We want to help audiences here experience the amazement and wow of the things that I saw at school, standing in the chapeteau (the French term for circus tent). I want to bring that to our area. We are completely unfamiliar with it.

Aaron’s favorite photo of himself in clown, taken during a performance of his solo show A.Lone, 2017

Is this what you imagined doing for a living, when you were a child?

I’m blessed because I’ve been in the performing arts almost my entire life. I always thought I’d be an actor on Broadway, and I always knew performing was what I’d do. Even as a kid on the playground, I was organizing productions of Peter Pan. So I always had that skill set and desire, but the thought of being in circus — well, that part is new.

Was it hard, as a creative person, to learn how to run a business?

The business part of this was not something I ever saw myself doing. Creative producing has always been in my blood – that part is easy. But payroll and budgeting and marketing and strategic planning is new for me.

I find it so exciting, and I think I understand the long term vision of what we’re trying to do and how we’re going to do it. I’m learning every day. I’m not afraid to say what I don’t understand something, and when I need help.

I heard someone say that show business has two parts to it – it’s the show, and it’s the business. Yes, we can be really good artists, but we have to pay our bills.

What’s your “unique selling proposition”? What is CCIAC doing that no one else is?

No one was focusing on awards for just circus shows, like we see for the Tony Awards or the Oscars. Covid allowed us to do this economically, because the show could be presented digitally. We celebrated work from all around the world, without having to travel.

Clown Aaron Marquise — From CCIAC’s “Behind the Curtain” event in 2021

As a new dad, how do you balance your work and family obligations?

It’s not easy. But I’m a disciplined person, which I learned in school. I love getting up at 4:15 and working out and getting all of my emails done before my son wakes up. That’s where I thrive as a person.

That being said, not every day is like that. There are times where we’re having friends over, drinking a glass of wine, and I’m not into waking up early.

How did the “It’s All Circus” number come about?

I love the opening numbers for award shows, they’re my favorite. So when we were planning the digital ceremony, we thought, “Let’s write a great opening about what circus can be. We wanted to define what it can be, but right now, in contemporary circus, it can be really anything or anywhere. And we wanted a fun way to be able to talk about that.

Feeling the Music Go Through You – A Conversation with Sophia Subbayya Vastek

January 4, 2022 By Corey Aldrich

Memory is so unforgiving sometimes. As such, I don’t quite remember the first time I met Sophia Subbayya Vastek but I do remember somehow beginning to follow her on Instagram and WOW! She would post the most amazing performance snippets and honestly, I fell in love with her work. Then I find out she is deeply integrated into the music scene in Troy (specifically the Troy Music Hall) and that was enough for me, I just had to know more! As the interview unfolded, I realized I had found a kindred soul. Much of what she said resonated with me regarding mind set, performance spaces and shared experiences. So, lets get to it!

Sophia Vastek — Photo by **Kiki Vassilikas**

Please let us know a bit about your practice. Are you a full time performer? Do you have any other creative gigs you do to pay the bills?

I’m a musician (pianist and composer), educator, and producer/event organizer. And, I am a full-time musician. My days are all music-focused.

I’m glad you asked about paying the bills. I encounter a lot of resistance about discussing how creatives organize their finances. Ugh, there’s so much shame and baggage built up in the creative economy…. especially about money, which is a topic that I’ve been working to unpack for myself for years.

Before the pandemic, performing was a bigger part of my income. During the pandemic, my teaching studio grew to be a very important part of my life. This actually became a wonderful and liberating thing for me. I love teaching. Because of having a larger teaching studio, I’m now able to perform when I want, when it’s meaningful, and right. I spent so many years agonizing about whether I was performing enough and in the right venues. Fuck it. I realized that there are so many other aspects to my musicianship that I hadn’t been nurturing. I went full-tilt into exploring composing during the pandemic.

Can you talk a little about your approach to your own compositions and playing?

Playing the piano doesn’t mean a thing to me unless it’s part of a shared experience. Music is a truly magical thing that effects people both physically and ephemerally. It’s sound waves literally hitting your body! How magical is that? When I create music that gives voice to my own feelings, it will in turn give voice to something in someone else. The Gift by Lewis Hyde had a huge influence on my creativity. Seeing what we do as a gift is life-changing. When we put something out into the world, it’s no longer ours – it belongs to others – and that’s a very empowering and humbling concept.

Many people don’t realize that it takes painstaking time, work and care to create music and spaces that feel “right.” I look at what I do as engineering experiences. Whether it’s my own music and performing, or presenting another performance, I’m thinking about what that experience is going to be like for both the listener and performer. Like, how the sound system is going to interact with the acoustics in the space and how it’s going to reach a listener’s ear. You can have the most amazing performer or the most amazing music but if the experience isn’t right, it will fall flat. There are many variables that help create magical experiences beyond just the music itself.

Can you talk a little about what brought you to Troy (Upstate) and where you were before that?

Before we got married, my husband Sam and I lived in New York City and then Baltimore for a while. We were involved with an artist residency program in the Capital Region and had been coming to the area for a few years. Sam also did a residency at EMPAC. We really fell in love with Troy and decided to move here, because we wanted a more stable home base where we could put down roots. We love it here!

I see that in addition to being a composer and performer that you produce events for venues with musicians as well. Can you tell us more about that…is that your 501c3 Organ Colossal?

I’ve run various music series’ in other cities, organized concerts, etc. It was a natural next step to put structure around what I’ve already been doing for a while. I founded ‘Organ Colossal’ with Sam. We produce and present concerts around town like the ‘Lift Series’ in collaboration with the Troy Music Hall. We’re a young organization, but we’ve got big plans for this coming year. We have the most amazing board of directors. There is a lot of thought and care that must go in to bringing people together and creating spaces that are equitable and caring. I can’t imagine doing this work without a team of people that bring different perspectives to the vision.

With the current state of affairs, live music which was coming back strong seems not be totally out of the woods with our ongoing health crisis. Do you have plans on how to deal with that to keep the flame alive?

I’m very optimistic. I don’t think keeping the flame alive is ever going to be the issue. It’s become clear that live music is as important as ever. I have to come back to music as a magic thing – what happens when people experience live music together is totally irreplaceable. Sound waves moving through bodies – your own body and the bodies next to you – create a bond of shared experience. We need these experiences to give voice to the deepest things that we feel that go unprocessed.

My next album that is coming out mid-2022. It’s different from everything else that I’ve put out. It’s scary! This music represents a side of my creativity that I haven’t been able to give voice to until recently. I never gave myself the space to slow down and explore it. The new album is soft, intimate, and enveloping. It’s my own music, recorded on my piano with the best audio engineer in the state, my husband (I’m not biased!). Doing it in my home gave me the freedom to be as vulnerable as possible.

Organ Colossal is in the planning stages of some exciting new projects. We’re committed to creating accessible spaces for music, so we’re moving in a direction that involves more public, open-call work. The next concert on the Lift Series is coming up on on Feb. 23 is Warp Trio (a fantastic genre-bending chamber ensemble). After that, power trio Super 400 (regional superheros!) is slated for March 23. Follow our Instagram page or sign up to my mailing list to keep up to date on future shows and programming.

IG: @sophiavastek
WEB: www.sophiavastek.com

IG: Organ Colossal: @organcolossal