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Can a community heal through shared art?

In the late 1970s, New York State Department of Transportation demolished nine blocks of a commercial property and hundreds of residential residences to build the Hoosick Street Bridge. Soaring over the Hudson River, the structure was built with landscaped areas, pocket parks, basketball courts, and an ice rink. Today, however, the space is mostly paved for parking. South of the bridge sits a historic Victorian downtown. To the North, one of the area's most disinvested neighborhoods, where activists and community organizers work to foster a livable, walkable, and affordable community, free from the shadows of a dividing line.

 

A promised community connector is now a monument to division, though the work of local organizers hopes to bring the bridge's original mission back into frame. Through The Uniting Line project, local artist Jade Warrick will install murals throughout the bridge's surface area to transform and beautify the space. The City of Troy was selected as one of 16 cities nationwide to receive a $25,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative to implement the project, and work is set to begin in the coming weeks, spearheaded by The Arts Center of the Capital Region, TAP Inc, the city of Troy, and Collar Works.

 

As a neighborhood works to shift divisions and narratives through community-driven art, WMHT is proud to be covering this project for an upcoming documentary Bridging the Divide, featuring exclusive access to the art installation process. 

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The Backstory: Understanding the Context

Upstate locals share memories of a beloved Troy institution, The Palace Diner.

Bridging the Divide
1 / 12 Videos
The Story of a Troy Diner
WMHT Specials
The Story of a Troy Diner
Bridging the Divide - Panel Discussion
WMHT Specials
Bridging the Divide - Panel Discussion
Bridging the Divide Panel: Elizabeth Dubben
WMHT Specials
Bridging the Divide Panel: Elizabeth Dubben
Bridging the Divide Panel: Jade Warrick
WMHT Specials
Bridging the Divide Panel: Jade Warrick
Bridging the Divide Panel: James Mayben on TRIP
WMHT Specials
Bridging the Divide Panel: James Mayben on TRIP
Bridging the Divide Panel: James Mayben on Hoosick Street
WMHT Specials
Bridging the Divide Panel: James Mayben on Hoosick Street
Bridging the Divide | Preview
WMHT Specials
Bridging the Divide | Preview
Reminiscing With Len Stuart | Bridging the Divide
WMHT Specials
Reminiscing With Len Stuart | Bridging the Divide
James' Neighborhood | James Mayben
WMHT Specials
James' Neighborhood | James Mayben
The Cookbook: An Interview with Gary Nelson
WMHT Specials
The Cookbook: An Interview with Gary Nelson
Documentary Sneak Peek: Joe Fama
WMHT Specials
Documentary Sneak Peek: Joe Fama
Building the Bridge
WMHT Specials
Building the Bridge

Stories From The Neighborhood

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Required Reading

Space and culture

Activating Space Field Guide

The Activating Space Field Guide is written for individuals and community groups that need help with turning ideas about the public good into civic actions.

bloomberg associates

Asphalt Art Guide

How to reclaim city roadways and public infrastructure with art.

New York Times

Mount Vernon, N.Y.: Can Public Art Help to Heal Old Divisions?

A railroad trench split the city a century ago, but a new sculptural fence tells the local story from the Indigenous Siwanoy to the rapper Heavy D.

Ira Sanyal | Medium

Activating and Reclaiming Public Spaces

Visibility of marginalized communities in public spaces are important steps towards a diverse, dynamic and urbane world.

The Art Assignment

Why Murals?

Today we're going to continue our discussion of public art, this time focusing on murals.

PBS LearningMedia

Street Art

This collection of videos was made for teaching and learning about street art.  Each artist discusses their practice in an interview, and many demonstrate hands-on art-making techniques.

Follow the Story on Instagram @Bridging_Divide

Bridging the Divide is made possible by 

Chet and Karen Opalka

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