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Kyra D. Gaunt PhD is Unapologetically Pushing Back and Taking Space

October 8, 2025 By Corey Aldrich

I recently attended an event hosted by the The New York Writers Institute with author Keach Hagey regarding her recent book on Sam Altman, The Optimist. Though I am not convinced of Sam’s motives I was pleasantly surprised at a post event dinner (that Paul Grandal and Elisabeth Gray were kind enough to include me in), to meet SUNY Albany’s AI and Society Fellow Kyra D. Gaunt PhD. Her perspectives on the AI tool set, her research on specific biases in the music industry, and in the roots of culturally driven video editing practices intrigued me so, I just had to find out more about this dynamic personality and pick her brain about the universe of things she has poured herself into.

Kyra D. Gaunt, PhD : University at Albany, SUNY | Image: Provided

Please state your name, current position(s) / organization(s). Can you also give us a bit of your educational background and personal path as well?

My name is Kyra D. Gaunt, PhD. I am an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology in Music, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), and Sociology.

Going to a community college, I never expected to become a professor. I am a proud graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where I received my PhD in ethnomusicology specializing in black girlhood studies and hip hop as music. All of my previous degrees are in classical voice. I started pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts while studying with the famed tenor, George Shirley. I am a singer, songwriter and jazz improvisational vocalist. I released an album in 2007 titled Be the True Revolution, named after a line from the poem When I Die (1970) by Nikki Giovanni.

I’m originally from Rockville Maryland from a community founded in 1891 called Linkin Park. My great great grandfather was a freedom seeker from Portsmouth, Virginia, escaping the free labor slavery camps in 1855. He changed his name from Robert Irving to Sheridan Ford and landed in Springfield, Massachusetts where my grandfather and his two brothers were from before they moved to the DC Maryland area. My great great grandmother also escaped from enslavement dressed as a man around the same time and migrated to Springfield, Massachusetts as well.

I only learned this in 2014 cause it’s the kind of knowledge that isn’t passed down by word of mouth in most African-American families. So my ancestors trace their history back nine generations: see here.

You can find more information about my work on the TED Fellows Blog.

You have so much going on! Its hard to pick where to focus. That said, one of the areas that I have interest in is your writing. Can you talk a bit about that and how you came to be published? Are you still active as a writer?

When I was still young and naïve (a fledgling 19!), I had my diary invaded by my mother‘s boyfriend at the very moment I was coming-of-age sexually. I’ve never shared this publicly, but it’s what inspires my current research project for a book that will come out next year titled PLAYED: How Music, Mutes and Monetizes Black Girls on YouTube.

I suffered 20 years of stage fright. My love language became procrastination! (lol) Writers block of one form or another followed. I thought academia wasn’t for me and left to get my MRS Degree. After a 5 year adjunct with TED I ended up landing here at University at Albany.

What has helped me find my voice has been my art and my artistry, my exploration of being true to the ancestral voice inside me that loves to sing and dance. Be silly and to teach others to free their voice. The root of my trauma has been emotional manipulation, so my work is often about that from research to teaching. If you ask me what I do as a teacher, I tell people that I teach emerging adults to own their own greatness, and their intellectual, emotional and social fitness.

One of the areas you explore as an ethnomusicalogist and professor is music videos on youtube, specifically in the area of black girlhood and musical blackness. You cover a number of areas but one was of specific interest to me. Can you share a bit about what ‘supercuts‘ are and maybe elaborate on that as a feminist practice that has a genesis that has been largely overlooked historically, and why it matters? Also, do you see a larger meaning or influence of this style of editing specifically in our current, larger cultural and political context as a communications style / tool?

I have a featured Vlog on my YouTube channel about the history of ‘supercuts.’ Most people don’t know that the vidding community of girls and women, invented the idea of ‘supercuts’ something that has taken over video culture since 2007. Vidding is when amateur content creators remix clips from their favorite songs and television shows together into an emotional narrative. It’s an underground scene that’s over 40 years in the making. As frequently is the case, the contributions of the most marginalized communities gets co-opted or gentrified by mainstream entities for profit, and the real influencers are left behind. The vidding community was primarily white and Latina. I’ve tried in my collaborative research with undergrads to change that. I prioritize emotional and effective labor with my students, who are emerging adults. In academia we focus a lot on STEM and book knowledge but not on helping students learn to have greater empathy for themselves and others. When we do that, we have more empathy for black girls and brown girls and disabled girls and other marginalized girls whose lives are often not represented by headlines about the harms of social media that have been in the news the last few years, even to the point of leading to congressional hearings. The black girl is the most disrespected user in the precarious and unregulated spaces of online content creation for kids and youth.

The aesthetic found in the female vidding community are similar aesthetics to most communities, but particularly the African aesthetic found from remix culture to dub culture and music. I argue with my first book that these aesthetics come from black girls game songs from hand club, games cheers and double dutch jump rope play. It’s the musicianship of gaming that is the hidden obvious as we like to say as ethnographers.

Still from TED TALK by Kyra D. Gaunt, PhD : University at Albany, SUNY | Image: Provided

You are also an ‘AI and Society’ Fellow at SUNY Albany. When we met, you had an interesting perspective on AI and how educators should consider approaching the tool with regards to student use…care to revisit that?

I found a new home thanks to Elizabeth Gray in the AI & Society Research Center at University at Albany. Most people on campus are pretty conservative about technology because our infrastructure really doesn’t help us explore new media and new emerging technologies. I recently spent two weeks writing a proposal for a Guggenheim fellowship in which I explore how the nonverbal sonic aspects of musical blackness cannot be read by AI’s large language models (LLM).

‘They tend to be text and visual based, but even when they do and code voice like Siri or Alexa, how do they translate in eyes and oops of African musical aesthetics?‘

I transcribed that last sentence by audio and you see what it produced. Let me transcribe that with human ingenuity: How does AI translate the aahs, the umms, the James Brown screams and field hollers, the Cardi B rolled kitten r’s or the moans from spirituals to jazz without a micro archive to develop systems of artificial intelligence consistent with ways of thinking, feeling, believing and behaving that are not from the term forms of knowledge associated with WEIRD nations (White, English Speaking, Industrialized, Rich Democracies).

I want to study with what Legacy Russell calls Glitch Feminism. The ghosts in the machine of artificial intelligence, the missing links, the faux pas that signal that you can’t read blackness. It begs the question: Does AI have any black and female friends? Like the old saying goes, ‘there’s truth in jest.’ Unless we have more ethnomusicologists interpreting non-western cultures in LLMs, more of us doing work with supercomputers like what’s available at the University at Albany, and having those systems made available to scholars like me – – a black women, brown women, people with disabilities, neurodivergents – the true revolution will be lost and left to only the most privileged in WEIRD Nations as we move into the age of post human AI intelligence. We are inhabiting the world that Octavia Butler imagined in ‘Parable of the Sower’. And I for one, will will do my best not to let that happen. I may be 63 years old and not considered somebody who is interested in new technology just because of my age. But my wisdom and ancestors who speak through me have so much more to offer than many of my students at a public university who have not been educated to trust their own thinking, take liberties and have compassion for people who are ‘not like us.’ (to riff off last summers Kendrick Lamar hit)

Presentation Board with Kyra D. Gaunt, PhD : University at Albany, SUNY | Image: Provided

In 2018 you had a TED video called “How the Jump Rope Got Its Rhythm” that has a total of over 7M views with translations in 29 languages. While covering the history of jumping rope and its importance as a tool of young female identity you also discussed how that playground practice then moved on to influence popular culture, specifically with black artists. Care to share a bit about this? I was intrigued by the concept of ‘Kinetic Orality‘ as a tool for memory. Please elaborate!

Kinetic orality and aurality is our first technology, both musical and otherwise. Hearing is the first sensory cognitive organ to develop in the womb. Nonverbal communication is our first language, it’s why in my opinion you should teach kids sign language before they can speak. There’s a gene in our DNA that prevents us from being able to say certain things with our tongue until a certain age. It’s just part of human development. However, kids can start to speak before they learn English by using sign language. We communicate all kinds of emotional knowledge and effective information by eye contact, tone, voice, facial expressions, gesture, timing, body posture, intensity, and our reactions to other human beings around us. Neuroscientist Daniel Siegel says that this is how you build an integrated brain in a child or in an adult. How does AI do this without hormones, without all of those factors of an integrated brain so that it can reproduce knowledge that I’d identify as African or African-American in tone, feel, touch and other sensibilities? Not just literate and visual communication?

Kinetic orality lives through the embodied action and percussion in games like telephone that we all remember from childhood. Black girls game songs have that added dimension of rhythmic intricacy and contrast expressed in polyrhythms, complexity and touch. We share hormones that keep us alive through touch, through hugs, through smiles and through laughter. AI doesn’t know how to tell a good black joke is my bet. It doesn’t know how to give sass and clap back to boys and men who think they can turn you into a joke or a punch line, whether it’s the Charlie Kirk‘s or the Drake’s of the world. Whether it’s the bullies or the sexual predators.

Kinetic orality is a term invented by Cornell West from 1989. He called it, the passionate physicality and embodied communication we used to survive and dream of freedom. I call it a technology, our first. Socio-biologists believe that music is our first technology. It’s what let us to walk upright to be able to sing a lullaby to a child swaddled on your back while you’re foraging or hunting. It led to how we language beyond the present to tell stories about the past and the future. Musical tone speech became the languages we all speak. Sets of pops and hisses as neuropsychologist Lera Boroditsky says turns into thousands of different languages among a single human race sharing 99.8% of the same DNA.

Embodied scripts of epigenetic or ancestral memory as behavior becomes part of our learned ways of being musical blackness. The earliest formation of a black popular music culture learned by kids, taught by girls, happens at a very young age; girls are taste makers of Black popular culture but they receive no royalties for them because they are children, they are female and they aren’t literate yet.

Finally, you also a singer songwriter in the jazz genre. How often do you gig and where can we find some of your music?

Right now I’m writing a memoir which I call a vocal memoir due to the fact that it’s based around several micro stories regarding my teaching after receiving hate mail my first year in the profession back in 1997, pertaining to various dimensions of my song life. A spiritual accompanies a story about why isn’t there a chapter on love in an anthropology textbook. The first song I ever wrote about meeting my dad at age 40 is accompanied by a story about daddy’s and daughters in the black community and the way people talk about deadbeat dads and won’t forgive the human experience. It’s my one woman show called Education Liberation: A Vocal Memoir. The tag is, ‘I know why the caged bird won’t sing.’

I performed it at University at Albany twice. The last time was in 2022. I sit in at a jazz jam sessions when I can, but now that I have arrived at having tenure, I can do more of the things I love. I’ve been cultivating the idea of doing an Albany First Friday event where I sing, tell stories and read poetry in the cozy lounge at the Argus Hotel in downtown Albany…

You can find my CD on all major platforms from iTunes to Spotify. But if you want me to make a few coins, then buy it on CDBaby. I love doing small gigs, parties or celebrations and I’m also a voice over artist. People love the voice that I was born with. I did the last national campaign for Planned Parenthood before Roe v. Wade was overturned. In fact, it was my first voice over gig ever.

Michael C. Clarke Leaves an Established Law Career to Promote Irish American Heritage

June 3, 2025 By Corey Aldrich

I met Michael C. Clarke, Executive Director at the Irish American Heritage Museum, recently at an event and was bowled over by not only his enthusiasm but his career story and how he came to be where he is today. Having decided to leave corporate real estate several years ago to pursue a career in arts and culture, I am always fascinated to find those kindred souls who make the plunge. But I guess for Michael, it is no surprise he ended up where he is…he has music in his soul and a strong connection to his immigrant heritage. Side note, ask him about a recent trip to Ireland where he helped deliver over 60 lambs on his brothers farm, it’s a good one but to long for this piece!

Micheal C Clarke : Performing Musician and Executive Director at the Irish American Heritage Museum
Image: Corey Aldrich

Could you please state your name, organization, position and give us a little bit about your history including educational, experiential and career background.

My name is Michael C. Clarke. I’m the Executive Director of the Irish American Heritage Museum (IAHM) at Quackenbush Square in Albany. I’ve been here for about six months. I’m a recovered lawyer. I left the law after about 30 plus years of practice and was reasonably successful. When I did, I had the intention of landing somewhere in the Irish cultural space. For a little background, I started playing Irish music when I was six years old and loved it. I was raised in a household of two Irish immigrants and had been very involved and aware of Irish culture and history growing up. I paid for college in law school, not by student loans, but by being a full-time musician playing music in New York City in the 1980s.

Micheal gets his first serious instrument at 13 years old | Image: Provided

IAHM is in the former Albany Planetarium location. In addition to a permanent exhibit including objects and artifacts of historical note, including a actual life sized cottage, there is a beautifully intimate 60 seat venue with a dome ceiling set up like a living room performance space. People come in and they sit down as if they’re at a friends home with the main difference being that there are stars shining up above while they listen to traditional and folk Irish music. We have an intensive program of music here and it’s filling up with internationally recognized artists. Additionally, we have a gallery space that currently has an amazing collection of canvases by painter Kevin McKrells, who is mainly known for his musical pursuits, first as a founding member of Celtic Folk band Donnybrook Fair and his current band, the Celtic Bluegrass band The McKrells.

Current Exhibit ‘Old Men in Hats’ at the Irish American Heritage Museum : Paintings by Kevin McKrell
Image: Corey Aldrich

What is the mission of the organization?

The mission of the organization is to educate. It’s to raise awareness in folks of the richness of Irish culture and art. My job is to curate shows, lectures, performances and exhibits that teach and expose our community to the impact of the Irish on America.

Irish American Heritage Museum Performance Space | Image: Provided

What artists have you had come through? Maybe you could elaborate a bit about that part of the program.

So we’ve had the Irish duo Ivan Goff and Katie Linane, who are internationally known for performing the Uilleann pipes, which is the Irish bagpipes in addition to the elbow pipes and fiddle. Last week we had Gerry O’Connor, who tours the EU and the United States constantly as an international recording artist. He has written books and he teaches at Celtic and traditional Irish music festivals around the globe. We had a band called Open the Door for Three. They are famous in the traditional Irish music and folk scene. They were performing in Buffalo and Maine and reached out to me and asked if they could perform in Albany on the way back through. So many people want to come because of the intimate nature of the venue which is perfect for this style of music. Albany is kind of a strategic stopover for them. I’ve been blessed in the six months that I’ve been here to be able to have this great pool of talent to choose from and only see that expanding over time. Oh one more…I am really excited to announce that later this year we have Kevin Burke who is one of the early members of the world-renowned Bothy Band and later the founder of Irish super-group Patrick Street, who will be performing on September 8th.

Irish Immigrant Objects at the Irish American Heritage Museum | Image: Corey Aldrich

Beyond the music, you said you had a connection with some genealogical research as well?

We have an in house genealogist! Lisa Walsh Dougherty has nearly 20 years experience helping people discover the specifics about their Irish roots. She is fantastic as far as sitting down with folks and is available on a regular basis. One of the scheduled times she comes in is before an open Irish jam style music event we sponsor called the ‘Traditional Music Sessions.’ These are held on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at the museum. They start at 7:00 PM and we typically will have anywhere from 8 to 12 musicians from the community, who are very good at what they do, sitting around a table jamming out / performing together. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. Lisa comes in an hour before so anybody who wants to come early to do some family history research are able to do so.

Irish American Heritage Museum : Traditional Music Sessions Series | Image: Provided

Anything you can tell us about your midterm or long-term plans that you’d like to share?

I’m a very visual person. The reason why I am where I am today is because three years ago I was like, “What does a photograph of me look like three years from now?” I saw myself exactly where I am. Involved in Irish Cultural and Arts promotion and being a proponent for that.

To fast forward, the photograph of the museum and me three years from now is one where we are encouraging a new generation to embrace their heritage of Irish music, culture, dance and in general creating an overall appreciation of Irish immigration’s impact on America in the community at large. I am focused on activities involving children. Two areas I am actively looking at right now involve Irish music and dance programming, integrating schools and / or education. We’ve got the perfect space for a teacher to come in and organize recitals for kids and their families…

I recently hired a new Assistant Director, Hayden-Grace Francis, and am looking to integrate her more deeply into the various aspects of running the organizational mission. In addition to having a History Degree from Siena College, Heyden is a Certified Irish Dance Instructor through An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha which adds a nice dimension to some of my aforementioned forward planning. Ultimately, I want this to be family oriented. It’s really about the mission, about getting the message out regarding the impact of Irish traditions, art and culture on American life while keeping them alive in a new generation.

HIstoric Cottage at the Irish American Heritage Museum | Image: Corey Aldrich

If people want to get involved, what’s the best way to do that?

Visit our website at irish-us.org or contact me at 518 . 427 . 1916.

Also, check out some of the events we have coming up later this month!

FIRST FRIDAY ALBANY Event – feat. Live Music with CURRAGH
Jun 6, 2025 | 6:00 PM | FREE SHOW! In collaboration with Metroland NOW!

THE EAST COASTERS – Trad / Folk Series
June 10, 2025 | 7:00 PM | Ticketed Event. Three renowned Irish performers from the eastern US weave together their regional styles in a memorable evening of tunes and songs

2025 Celtic Influences Performance Series: SEA SHANTIES W/SEÁN DAGHER
Jun 19, 2025 | 7:00 PM | Ticketed Event. The Sea Shanty resurgence is real! Join world renowned sea shanty expert and performer Seán Dagher in this full-throated, big fun IAHM evening of singing and learning about the genre!

Meg Mosca : Fashion Forward Design and Alterations in Saratoga Springs, New York

March 20, 2025 By Corey Aldrich

I recently reached out to Meg Mosca about helping out with a project ACE! is participating in this month with the NYS Art Teachers Association. I had worked with her back in 2017 where she participated in a fashion event that I did at the NYS Museum for Electric City Couture called IDENTITY. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she has grown and is now a fashion related entrepreneur working out of Saratoga Springs. Indie / custom fashion is a tough go. This is such a feel good and practical creative economy story, I just had to share. Additionally, who doesn’t need a good seamstress from time to time?!

Meg and Kevin Mosca : Owners at Mosca Alterations in Saratoga Springs, New York | Photo: Alexandra Eigo

Please state your name and title. Can you tell us a little about your educational / experiential background also?

My name is Megan Mosca, and I’m a fashion designer and small business owner. I completed my studies at Hudson Valley Community College before going on to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology. My education and experiences have shaped my approach to both the creative and practical sides of the fashion industry, allowing me to blend my passion for design with the skills necessary to run a business.

Starting at an existing business, WillFitUin in 2017, I eventually bought the business in August 2021.

2017 Electric City Couture IDENTITY Promo Shoot | Designer: Meg Kluball Mosca
Photo: (L) Doug Mitchell (R) Sarah Pezdek

What drew you to fashion and clothes making?

From a young age, I realized that clothing is like a second skin—it’s something I can choose for myself. It’s amazing how clothes can shift depending on your mood, how you want to present yourself to the world, or even how many times you want to change in a day. This realization sparked my interest in fashion. I quickly became fascinated by the power that clothing holds and how it can shape not just our appearance but how we feel and are perceived.

Mosca Alterations in Saratoga Springs, New York : Detail Work in Progress | Photo: Provided

Tell us more about your shop? Can you explain the types of work you do on a regular basis?

My husband and I own Mosca Alterations in Saratoga Springs, NY, where we specialize in women’s formal wear alterations, with a particular focus on wedding gowns. In addition to alterations, we also offer custom dresses, and we’re expanding into that market more and more. It’s really exciting to work on pieces that have such personal significance, and being a part of making someone’s day even more special is always incredibly rewarding.

Mosca Custom Wedding Dress Design | Photo: Michelle Lang

Are you still experimenting with producing original lines?

Yes, I’m currently working on developing a line of wedding veils called Opaline. I’m also focused on growing our custom gown offerings. One of the most rewarding parts of my work has been creating custom dresses for clients using vintage pieces, particularly wedding gowns from their families. Reworking these gowns—restoring them and giving them new life—has been such a joy, especially when you get to work with something so sentimental and meaningful.

Mosca Bespoke Garment Crafted From Heirloom Piece | Photo: Nicole Perfetuo

Running a business is a lot of work and a very different headspace from the creative. Can you tell us how you balance it? Also, anything you could share on the economics side of things? Any practical recommendations for fellow designers?

Balancing the creative and business sides is definitely a challenge. As a perfectionist, I often find it hard to let go of control, but being a business owner has forced me to rely on the strengths of my team. It’s an ongoing challenge to take my hands off certain tasks, but the growth that comes from collaboration has been invaluable.

In terms of practical advice, I try to keep a clear separation between work and life by setting boundaries. I “punch in” and track my hours to make sure I’m being as productive as possible during work hours. It’s also important to set times when I have to leave the studio. As someone whose brain never seems to turn off, I find it essential to create those boundaries to prevent burnout.

Mosca Opaline Veil | Photo: Amanda Irvine

EXTRA CREDIT: Anything you have coming up you would like to plug or that we should know about?

Yes! We’ve recently launched a collection of veils that are available via Etsy, and we’ll soon be adding them to our website as well. Be sure to check them out! It’s an exciting new venture, and I can’t wait for people to see the pieces we’ve been working on.

WEB: moscaalterations.com | IG: @moscaalterations

Albany’s Newest Secret Sauce : Diane Eber on ‘Hatching the EGG’

January 31, 2024 By Corey Aldrich

I first met Peter Lesser (Previous Executive Director of the EGG) many years ago through an introduction from Ellen Sinopoli. I was on the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company board of directors at the time and had stopped by Ellen’s office in The EGG. I was really blown away by the architecture and the excellent programming that Peter was bringing there…to the tune of over 200 events and upwards of 70K attendees per year! After 22 years, the time came and Peter moved on to spend more time with his family on the West Coast. Since then, after an exhaustive search, a new Executive Director has joined on to take up the mantle. Diane Eber is fun, energized, no nonsense and ready to honor that legacy while moving it forward for a new paradigm, in a new time. I caught up briefly with her to get a sense of who she is and what that will look like.

Diane Eber, Executive Director at The EGG in Albany, New York | Image: Provided

Please tell us your current title and what that entails on a daily basis. Also, a brief synopsis of your previous career experience and education.

My name is Diane Eber and I am Executive Director of The Egg in Albany, New York. My day is usually spent in LOTS of meetings with various partners / staff members / artists / agents / OGS / funders. Then if I have time I try and squeeze in some emailing and dreaming of future programming. I try to always prioritize creative time and make sure I spend at least SOME of my day thinking about ART which is why I do this work.

I am a music nerd at heart – raised by 2 musicians, I was on the path of being a classical clarinetist and then found my true passion was in the magic of bringing together an artist and an audience. I discovered my love for this path booking shows at Vassar College and then went on to work at a booking agency and followed by Warner Music Group, a major record label. I eventually landed at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn. In college I was a Psychology Major but spent most of my days learning the ins and outs of the music business and booking as many shows as I could pull together.

Courtney Barnett at Solid Sound Festival 2019 | Image: WFUV Public Radio

The EGG is an important institution on so many levels for Albany with some pretty established shoes to fill following up Peter’s (Peter Lesser) legacy. Can you share a bit about how you plan to continue that track record of stability while building a new institutional direction that addresses current needs and changes in the industry and attendee preferences?

Yes – Peter built SUCH an amazing legacy and what an incredible history of artists who have graced these 2 stages. I am humbled to try to fill his foot steps. It will be a gradual path to breathe new life into The Egg and I will be making small incremental changes as I go.

Right now I am mostly listening and learning about the community and the history and starting to have big dreams about how we can ‘Hatch The Egg.’ I have already brought in a marketing person who is amazing and it’s the first time The Egg has had a marketing person since the ’90s! I also made the bold (somewhat controversial) move to allow beverages into both theatres. I believe strongly that art is for everyone and that the experience of going to the theatre should not feel elitist. Part of making the experience comfortable is having a drink in your hand. I hope to attract new audiences and create buzz and excitement about this incredible space.

Sarah Jarosz Plays The EGG | Image: Claude Sawyer

Steve Lukather Shreds – TOTO at The EGG 2023 | Image: Claude Sawyer

In our recent conversation, you discussed finding new ways to incorporate a creative community ecosystem into the space and programming. Can you share a bit about that?

Creativity is at the core of everything I do and is so important to cultivate and help grow. I would love for The Egg to really be defined by it’s ‘ellipsoidal structure‘ (literally that is what the Enabling Legislation document calls the building – ‘ellipsoidal structure’ – I LOVE that!). At the core of The Egg we are a space with no straight lines where art and creativity can thrive and push artistic boundaries. I took this job because I love the idea of building a curatorial identity for The Egg where the building itself is the primary creative grounding.

The EGG in Albany, New York | Image: John Bellm

Interior Shot of The EGG in Albany, New York | Image: Provided

For programmatic initiatives: the big vision is to lean into the building – tell the story of its history and invite audience to engage with not just what is happening onstage but with the building itself – outside and in. Think of The Egg as a blank canvas for art. We are currently developing a couple of approaches on that front. ‘The Egg Incubates‘ – where we will incubate and support new work and premiere it on our stages and, ‘Expansion‘ – a series where we invite audience and artists to expand their minds and curate a series that goes beyond our current state of being.

2023 Steve Hackett at the EGG | Image: Timothy H. Raab

Part of breathing new life into The Egg is the branding and visual identity. You will see a shift in our graphic presence as well as the development of an authentic, individualized voice on social media. The Egg will be a place for engagement not just show announcements. This is all still a work in process as we develop these ideas more concretely for the next season. Consider this an ACE! insider sneak peak!

To follow along, check us out on social media and specifically, watch these 2 hash tags: #hatchtheegg #spottheegg

The Egg is such a striking part of the Albany skyline, history and ecosystem…it’s amazing where you can #spottheegg!

2023 Upcoming Shows at The EGG | Image: Provided

What’s the best way for folks to explore collaboration opportunities with The EGG?

Reach out to me via email! Diane (@) theegg.org

Always happy to connect – but just be patient if I don’t respond right away – my inbox is CRAZY 😉

Olivia Clemente : Synergizing Community One Event at a Time

June 29, 2023 By Corey Aldrich

I met Olivia in person earlier this year as I needed to coordinate with her for a series of events that I am producing in Franklin Alley in downtown Troy and wanted to coordinate with the BID. Personable and energized, I was excited about doing some joint promotion with her. Then came Troy’s first annual TROY PRIDE event, a new programmatic initiative that Olivia spearheaded with downtown business owners. The streets were packed, so many folks from Albany and around the region! I realized I needed to get a better understanding of what makes this capable woman tick.

Olivia Clemente : Executive Director at the TROY BID | Photo: Corey Aldrich

Please state your name, title and organization. What are you responsible for and what is a typical day for you on the job.

My name is Olivia Clemente, Executive Director of the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District. I am responsible for the overall administration, financial management, and day-to-day activities of the BID, but in a more simple terms I work for the people who live in Downtown Troy and the businesses that reside here. I work to help bring people to our downtown and explore all of the businesses and experience what we have to offer. If I’m not busy in event planning mode, I spend most of my days visiting Downtown Troy establishments, speaking to them about what makes them unique, how long they’ve been serving the community and what they would like to see in Downtown. I always like to ask, “What would make a difference? What do you want to see happen in this area.” I try my best to listen to everyone and make their suggestions and ideas a reality, whether it’s an event, block party or a new marketing campaign, I’ll always say “I can try!”

Chalk Drawings at Troy’s Riverfest | Image: Provided

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be in this position? In addition to working with a lot of creative talent as an event producer, how do you keep your creativity alive?

I’ve been in a lot of different industries since I was in college. I received a BA from Manhattan College and stayed in the city after I graduated, I spent about five years in Manhattan and worked in public relations, ad sales, events and political fundraising, I like to think I’m well versed in the changing media around us. I spent time as an intern at the Bronx Zoo with the Wildlife Conservation Society as their events intern, worked as an Ad Sales Admin at a start-up for mobile apps, went to a high-profile PR firm and my last hoorah in NYC – NBC Universal where I worked on public relations and social media for an ecommerce division of the Golf Channel.

I moved back to Upstate New York in 2019, and I decided to take a dive into the political world, I worked for the NYS Assembly where I started as a Press Coordinator for three downstate members and then I moved onto handling fundraising and events for the minority conference, I developed more fundraising initiatives for the conference turning a focus on the different regions of NYS and creating fundraisers that were more creative than your regular cocktail hour, I always try to make experiences fun for everyone involved and have them looking forward to the next one.

Contemporary Circus and Immersive Arts Center Performance at Troy Pride | Photo: Duncan Crary

I joined the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District in 2021 as the Director of Events and Partnerships. My first month on the job I was tasked with getting events that had been stalled due to COVID-19 back up and running, it wasn’t a small task to take on, but I managed to bring back Riverfest, Rockin on the River and Chowderfest. I went into 2023 taking over the Executive Director position of the BID. My main focus was to continue to hold “OG events” like the aforementioned in addition to retooling our popular Pig Out event. Additionally, I initiated additional events including the Hot Chocolate Stroll, Pride Night Out, Collar City Pop and a College Student Focused Block Party. I always have more up my sleeve, but for right now I’m working on getting people back to Downtown Troy.

When it comes to events or marketing I would definitely say I have a more creative approach to taking things on, I am always asking businesses or people in the community what they would like to see and then I begin to think like a consumer, so I try to think, “Would I want to see this at an event? Would this make me want to come back to visit? Is this appealing to me or people I know?”

Troy Glo in Downtown Troy. Installation by Adam Frelin | Images: Provided

Troy has a lot of creative economy businesses and arts / cultural organizations. How do you take advantage of the creativity of these downtown partners to raise awareness about how cool downtown Troy is?

Last year I worked with the Arts Center of the Capital Region during their exhibit ‘Troy Glo.’ We decided to bring business and art together by putting together a “bar crawl” that would get people to visit our downtown businesses. The BID created the bar crawl map to guarantee you walked past every installation of the ‘Troy Glo‘ project. Having an art pop-ups like this in our downtown is important to me as they can provide additional traffic to our businesses while creating quality of life for residents and out of town guests alike. People want to walk around and see art and as they’re walking around they can pop into a retail shop or a coffee shop and I love that.

I know another big thing for me right now is using our local artists that live in Downtown Troy to develop our marketing collateral for downtown events. I’ve currently worked with four Downtown Troy artists: to develop our Collar City Pop invites, Hot Chocolate Stroll poster, Pride Night Out and Pig Out collateral. All of the artist have been Troy natives and they are all so talented. I give them a lot of freedom in the design process. I’m going to continue using artists that live in Troy since this is an economy I care about.

Volunteer Day for Neighborhood Clean Up in Troy NY | Image: Provided

What are your current goals in the job, things you would like to do with it?

I have a lot of goals, I know an ‘Adopt-a-Block’ is on my plate of goals to accomplish, I’d love to work to do clean-ups block-by-block downtown and work with other organizations and businesses in Downtown Troy to make a difference, even if I clean one wall of graffiti tags, fix one store window, or work to get a beautiful piece of art on the side of a building, I’ll feel accomplished in my role of getting the community engaged in quality-of-life. Currently, this program is being implemented for 2024, so stay tuned for more information!

For things I am currently working on, I am hunkered down on bringing more tourism to Troy and making our downtown the place to visit. I can share we are currently working on creating better walking guides for the community that will showcase an easy to read map, a list of our businesses, a historical walking tour and a public art guide, all of this is currently in production and should be ready before the holiday season.

Olivia Doing an Event Install at Whiskey Pickle in Troy NY | Image: Provided

Anything coming up that you are especially excited about or want to share with our readers?

We have a heavy event schedule coming up. Pig Out returns on Sunday July 16. Our Rockin on the River series starts Wednesday June 28 and running every other Wednesday until August 9th, for the first time ever, we are putting together our very own College Block Party on Sunday, September 10 to welcome the students of RPI, Russell Sage and Hudson Valley Community College back to Downtown Troy. We are working to showcase to the students what the downtown has to offer while also having each school’s student organizations pop-up around downtown’s Monument Square to pass information out to friends, family and new students. It’s the downtown’s way of showing their love for the students who live and play here too!

Downtown Troy is on the rise, we have so much going on from new businesses, new public art programming and housing options, I’d say Troy is the place to be right now and it’s time everyone schedules a visit!