A beloved arts collective vital again
Members of locally seminal group Upstate Artists Guild reband for Albany show
More than 50 local artists have reunited for the UAG Goodtime Revival Show currently on view at the Art Associates Gallery in Albany. The mammoth group exhibition reunites former members of the sorely missed Upstate Artists Guild. For more than a decade the collective operated out of a storefront space on Lark Street where it brought together a generation of visual artists for classes, collaborations and exhibits. To the larger arts community, UAG is remembered for lively and well attended opening nights that expanded into the First Friday celebrations.
“I really miss the Upstate Artists Guild and what it’s given to me in knowing and working with other artists,” says Rebecca Schoonmaker. “Some us thought, maybe we can pull off a show once a year.” Schoonmaker was one of the co-founders who put on a one-day show in a former clothing store across from Bomber’s. After a successful debut at Lark Fest in September 2005, the group took a lease on the space and got to work establishing an education program and a series of monthly openings. There was a feeling of both whimsy and innovation in shows like “Illumination,” “Red” and “Pretty Girls and Robots” that drew artists of varied styles and career stations.
UAG rode on a wave of grass-roots art
initiatives in the downtown and Center Square districts. In early 2004 a handful of painters calling themselves the Albany Underground Artists began producing one-off shows in unexpected locales like a shuttered bakery, the ornate Home Savings Bank in downtown and an empty 10-bedroom mansion overlooking Washington Park. As the impromptu series continued more artists were welcomed into the fold and the openings became highly anticipated events.
Schoonmaker recalls after the crowds had dispersed from “The Mansion Show,” she and a couple other artists took a few moments to catch their breaths. The conversation with Tommy Watkins, one of the original Underground Artists, and painter Nina Stanley soon turned to the idea of establishing a more formal cooperative.
Stanley was already laying the groundwork with Art 4 Central, a nascent enterprise that shared space with a yoga studio on Central Avenue. According to Schoonmaker, Stanley is known as “the UAG Mother.”
UAG eventually achieved official nonprofit status, while still relying on young, hardworking board members who organized the shows, produced the receptions, and sometimes chipped in from their personal funds to make the rent. As the years went on, core members got pulled away, whether to full time jobs, parenthood or just other artistic ventures.
By 2016, the most active board members had dwindled down to Stanley, Schoonmaker, Robyn Diaz and Christa Dijstelbergen. They closed the gallery at the end of that year while vowing to continue operating out of temporary spaces. There were a few happenings during 2017, including a show at the Albany Bard, but things weren’t the same without the prominent space on Lark Street.
Nevertheless, the four women — each of them is an artist and a mother — remained in close contact. “Every so often we get together, we’ll have a little wine and a show usually comes out of it,” says Schoonmaker.
This year they decided the time was right for a UAG reunion. According to Schoonmaker, the organization had 434 members during its tenure and an email announcement of the new show was sent to as many of them as possible. Obviously the response was good since the show consists of more than 100 pieces. Also included are works by Tommy Watkins, who is now living in London, and by the late Thomas D’ambrose, an artist and musician who died in November 2019 at age 63.
Besides lots of art to display, the announcement of the show also elicited a flood of memories and fond sentiments. “People say they remember good times at UAG,” says Schoonmaker. “we were sorry to see them close up. They were so good for Lark Street and so good for the community. A lot of artists were helped through their work,” says Attila Zalavary, owner of Art Associates Gallery, which is also a frame shop.
Zalavary learned framing 50 years ago in his native Hungry and he’s been a part of the local scene since 1988, when he arrived in the area and opened Plaza Poster Gallery in the Empire State Plaza. He says that
Art Associates is the only gallery in the region that takes no commission on sales of art.
“All of the money goes to the artists to help them do more shows,” says Zalavary, adding, “I do my part to support new faces.”
Gratified by the response to the UAG Goodtime Revival, the organizers will, no doubt, continue doing their part to support fellow artist. Just not right away.
Schoonmaker recalls that during one of their recent confabs, Stanley suggested a full comeback of UAG. That notion was met with silence from the other three woman. “Whoa,” says Schoonmaker. “To me, that’s exciting and terrifying.”
Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.