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Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy

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Cap Region Entrepreneur Highlight: Kaciem Swain

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Kaciem Swain was born and raised in Arbor Hill and the South End of Albany, in an underserved community. His plan was to move away when he had the chance, but for his whole adult life, he’s stuck around to serve those very same communities he grew up in. Currently, he’s in the midst of launching a few entrepreneurial ventures, including Capital Curbside. His goal is “to hire creatives of color, bring them into my company, give them equity in it.” We were curious to learn more…

How did you become an entrepreneur?

I’ve worked for several corporations, and I tried to contribute ideas or to get them to see things differently, but they didn’t want to. I’ve been working since I was nine. My dad told me it was time for me to start learning how to make money. I was always mowing lawns or helping him with some side hustle. My father taught me how to take care of myself so I could help take care of others. I’ve been entrepreneurial my whole life. I also work part-time for AVillage, where I instilled my vision of a Night Market.

Can you talk a bit more about the South End Night Market and its mission and importance in the Albany community?

AVillage has always been an advocacy platform that focuses on social justice issues, including economic and health disparities in the community. Originally, the organization started running a small farmers market on Saturdays. I didn’t think it fit what the community or market needed at the time. I had a vision for a night market where people could stop by when they get out of school or on their way home from work. We decided that the South End Night Market would run on Thursdays from 4pm – 7pm. This would be best way to reach the people who need access to food, fresh veggies, etc.

This space was designed for black people and people of color to come and create equity, ownership, and black wealth. We’re currently looking to add more black vendors to the market.

Aside from the Night Market, you’re launching Capital Curbside. Tell us about your vision for this new business.

After the market launch, I started thinking…what if there was a way for these foods to be delivered to people who can’t make it to the market? What if there was a more economical delivery service for markets & restaurants? The amount of money GrubHub and DoorDash are taking from restaurants is substantial. I started asking myself, what is a better way to serve small local restaurants and provide a better service than these apps? That’s where Capital Curbside comes in.

In January, I signed a lease for a new restaurant in Troy (more to come on that) and in March, when COVID-19 became more serious, I decided to get Capital Curbside going. These common app based services have no standard operating procedure across the line for PPE. The drivers aren’t concerned with building relationships with the restaurants. All of our workers are on payroll and we have a weekly team meeting. We’re starting deliveries this week! If you’re interested in learning more about our services, please visit our website and give us a call.

What piece of advice would you like to leave fellow entrepreneurs and/or our readers?

You don’t need to work for somebody else. Ultimately, what you’re giving to company is your intellectual and creative capital. I’m always looking for people who are willing to collaborate, do the work themselves, and share equity in a project. A lot of times we want to come into a pre-developed infrastructure and make change when ultimately, you can be the change yourself.

Connect with Kaciem & Capital Curbside!
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A Freelancer & An Activist: Jade Warrick, “TrashKid”

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Jade Warrick is a powerhouse artist and freelancer. Known in the art world as “TrashKid,” you may remember her from our “Freelancer February” series. Jade is not only a Cap Region icon because of her creative graphic design & energetic spirit, but because of her active voice in the communities she’s a part of and her passion for making art accessible for everybody. We sat down with Jade to ask her what she’s been up to over the past few months – especially during the COVID-19 crisis and the Black Lives Matter movement.

So much has changed since we last spoke in February. How has your business/work changed?

Healing While Black

Business has been decent for me. I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of marketing and graphic design work and I’m enjoying that. I think a lot of people are getting businesses off the ground and working on things they never had the time to. I’ve been working with a few podcasters, Didi Delgado being one. I’ve also done some commission work with Healing While Black, LLC, an amazing black voice. I’ve been wanting to do more TrashKid stuff – doing more comics and drawings – but it has taken a backseat due to the commission work.

I have some side projects going on. I’m working on building a website that helps promote the work of people of color. I’m also working on a COVID-19 graphic novel with Noelle Gentile, a local actor and children’s author. The book is geared toward youth — it talks about what the pandemic means, missing your friends, etc. It’s a living document and is being changed all the time due to new information, events taking place, etc. We’re hoping to release that in mid-June.

Can you tell us a bit more about the website you’re building to help promote the work of black artists and artists of color?

I’ve been wanting to build this website for a while, but never had the time until now. I want to give my friends and creatives – especially those who aren’t very good at marketing nor have a website — a place where people can see their art and contact them if they’re interested in commissioning them for work. This is a resource for all people, but the idea is to promote artists of color. It’s a place where people can find under-looked black artists and support their business. The logo will consist of a pigeon. Pigeons are looked down upon and seen as gross, but they’re very smart birds. I think it’s an interesting reflection of how people see urbanized black culture.

I regularly see you on social media using art to build community. What’s your latest community building project?

I’m working on mural at YouthFX in downtown Albany today (on Friday, 6/5) while youth in the community will hold a protest and have the floor to speak about how they feel about the current state of the world. I’m also going to be working with Albany Barn, Albany Center Gallery, D. Colin, and others to encourage our black youth to paint murals downtown. Youth are going through a lot right now, not only the protests, but there is still a pandemic going on. People are still struggling and unemployed, kids aren’t going back to school. Kids are angry about a lot. I would’ve loved this type of opportunity as a kid. I wasn’t around art as much as I would’ve liked to and I would’ve been a stronger artist if I had been. I never really got the opportunity, my parents were too busy raising their kids and trying to get by.

Any last words of advice you’d like to leave for our readers?

The world is really negative right now. I’ve been trying to help as much as I can and help people feel less alone. I’ve found positivity through connecting with my community – getting in touch with people who feel the same way as me. If you reach out, many organizations will welcome you in with open arms and provide you resources to join workgroups.

Connect with Jade!

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Cap Region Creatives: Andrea “Drea” LaRose

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Andrea “Drea” LaRose is a Cap Region native, born in Troy, NY. She’s an artist that works primarily in photography and site-specific installations that deal with visual shifts in analog and digital worlds. In January 2020, Drea and her good friend, Carolyn Hopkins, opened Second Street Studios, in Troy as a space to create artwork and grow a sense of community amongst artists. In this interview, she talks about the struggles and rewards of being a young artist.

Drea, please introduce your creative endeavors and what you’re up to these days.

I like to play and interfere with photography in a way that the information, originality, and authorship mirror our own interactions with images on the internet, a constantly fluctuating digital world around me. I have taught painting at SUNY New Paltz, where I went to undergrad and sculpture at SUNY Albany, where I went to graduate school. I received my Masters in Fine Arts a year ago from UAlbany where they awarded me an amazing summer residency at Sculpture Space in Utica, NY.

After the experience of working with artists from around the world, I knew I wanted to continue the arts in a way that wasn’t just about my studio practice, but finding ways to involve other artists. Today, I’m a server, which was my main source of income before the crisis, while applying to adjunct teaching jobs waiting for the right fit – as many artists are doing; juggling multiple jobs to support their practice.

Let’s talk about your gallery space, Second Street Studios. What led you to open the space? What is its status now with the current crisis?

An artist and good friend of mine, Carolyn Hopkins, were both in a similar position of wanting a studio space outside of the home. It’s sometimes quite difficult to create in a space you live in, or I find it that way anyway. I got lucky and found this amazing space at 68 Second Street in Troy, a small but beautiful space that we could instantly see ourselves in. We both had the idea of making it into more than just a studio, we wanted to have classes, invite other artists into the studio for critique nights and exhibit work of other artists. You’re told so many times how difficult the “real world” is after graduate school, especially in the arts, but until we actually went through it, we didn’t have a clue.

Application fees for exhibitions added up…we received so many rejection letters from job or show opportunities, it began to drag a bit. But what remained was that we both wanted to provide a space for emerging artists, like ourselves, to show their work, without all these application steps AND keep 100% of their sales. “The Hallway” (literally the adjoining hallway from the front door to our studio) became this opportunity to exhibit artwork, and our inspiration for what this space could turn into started there. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, Carolyn had to move out of the space because she wasn’t able to use it anymore, but she’s still part of the energy. So now we’re at a bit of a standstill with the physical space and I’m coming up with ideas of how I can make Second Street Studios come back stronger than before.

Why do you love being a creative in the Cap Region?

The support we’ve gotten on our exhibitions has been absolutely eye-opening. We’ve had roughly 100 people through our space for each exhibition and it’s amazing to see the community come together, even if the space is small and a bit alternative (compared to your average white-cube art space). I am so happy that through this tough time, our community has donated to help us keep our doors open; and to give back, we’ve been hosting virtual exhibitions that can be viewed on our Facebook page. Our second show airs on Friday May 29th (which would have been Troy Night Out). I don’t want to lose momentum, and most understand the struggles of a starting space/business, especially in the arts; but I want to be able to provide an open, creative, and inclusive environment for people, in-person or virtual.

Seeing the work virtually is in no way a replacement of seeing it in person, but we want to be sure that during this time, they are being supported. I understand there is a huge surge of visual information out there, with businesses, schools, etc. moving to online platforms…we just ask that people simply look.

There’s nothing required of you, other than to look and appreciate what people are making and creating. Through all of this, I think it’s been particularly eye-opening how much the general public has gripped onto the arts as a means of entertainment. I hope everyone remembers that after this is over and helps support the emerging artists today in their community.

Will you leave us with a positive word?

Something I’ve been struggling with during this whole pandemic is the idea of what to do with all of this time. As an artist and creator, this time is ideal to create artwork, but it has proven to be difficult for me at times. I’ve reached out to other artists friends who are feeling the same way, and I’d just like to say to whoever needs to hear this that it’s okay if you aren’t as productive as you were pre-Covid-19. We’re all figuring things out and there’s enough pressure on us all to find solutions to our seemingly ever increasing problems. So, if you need to take a day to do nothing? Do nothing, take time for yourself, and we’ll all get through this together.

Connect with Drea

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Email

Unemployment Talks: Salon Owner, Jessica Shattuck

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Meet Jessica Shattuck, Owner of The Shop on 7 in Latham. Before salons were legally shutdown, Jess made the difficult decision to shut down her business for two weeks in order to protect the wellbeing of her clients and herself. She felt that despite losing the income, she had to do her part to stop the spread. A few days later, NYS shut down all salons. Unsure of how long this would last and if there would be any unemployment benefits for sole proprietors, anxiety ensued. Luckily, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) was created to help people like her, but it took seven weeks of back and forth, answering questions incorrectly, and confusion before she received her first payment. Here’s her story…

When you did you first apply for unemployment and what was the process like?

I applied the second week of April, when I first realized sole proprietor’s could obtain some benefits. I spent one whole day filing and on the phone, I waited on the phone for seven hours. At this point, my employee who I had laid off when we shut down still hadn’t gotten through herself and she applied weeks before.

I finally got through and after giving some information, the person said my application was complete. Since I opened business Dec. 2018 and hadn’t yet filed for 2019, I got a letter saying I was approved for unemployment but for $0. Again, since I hadn’t filed for 2019 yet, my past four quarters showed I had no earnings. I filed my taxes the first weekend in April, right before applying, so I had to light a fire under my accountant to get those through and finally mailed, emailed, and faxed my 2019 taxes to the state.

What happened after you sent your 2019 taxes in?

One night, I got an email saying to apply for PUA. I started filling out the information and I felt like I was finally getting somewhere. I had gone six weeks with no pay at this point. It asked, “are you willing to work” and I said “yes,” then it asked if I was able to work, and I clicked “no” because legally, I could not work as salon owner. This caused it to automatically kick me out. Then, I got an email saying “since you’re not willing to work, you’re disqualified for PUA.” That obviously was not the case. There was no way to go back so I had to start the entire application process again and wait on the phone for additional hours.

Later on, I finally got call from unemployment and the way they were worded the questions was confusing and I kept answering incorrectly. The representative would say, are you sure you want to answer that way? The questions were ambiguous and I wasn’t answering the questions correctly to be approved. He was very helpful and patient. He finally told me I was approved, and I was coming up on seven weeks with no pay. He said I would receive back pay of unemployment and PUA in next 3-4 days, which I did receive in two separate waves. Finally.

People in my industry are resourceful and creative. We’re hustlers. We’ll bounce back.

Connect with Jess

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