Unifying force
Radio station is Grand Street Community Arts’ latest tool for being unifying force
Radio station is Grand Street Community Arts’ latest way to boost local creativity./
Atthe intersection of Grand Street and Madison Avenue in Albany stands the former St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, a handsome, classically scaled red and yellow brick edifice with a rose window above the front door and a threestory bell tower on the corner. Since 2003 the building has been the home of Grand Street Community Arts – but you wouldn’t have known that from the outside, since there’s never been a sign.
According to reporting in the Times Union, on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 25, someone spray-painted a racial epitaph on the front of the building, followed by the words “life is horrible.” The following Sunday a group of community members washed away the words. The day after that a proper sign was finally installed.
Along with the organization’s name and web address ( grandarts.org) the new signage highlights a breakthrough project, WCAA-LP 107.3 FM “The Voice.”
The call letters stand for “community art and activism.” The “LP” is an FCC designation for low-power radio stations, which is an accurate description of
WCAA with its 100 watts. The signal reaches most of Albany and also across the Hudson to portions of Rensselaer County while online streaming makes it available to anyone with internet access.
With strong volunteer support, the station could just as easily be described as high-powered. Currently there are 37 local producers generating about 40 hours of original shows every week. Program director Paul Smart expects to add another 10 new shows by the end of the year. Production work took place on-site at Grand Street until Covid restrictions came. Since then most shows are generated from the volunteers’ homes.
The station lineup is a diverse and informative mix of music and talk. There are several shows dedicated to local news and issues, including “Focus on Albany” with Cynthia Pooler, a whitehaired grandmother who’s been keeping a close watch on state government since retiring from the Department of Labor. “Sister Farmer” features voices from Soul Fire Farm, a Rensselaer County cooperative dedicated to ending racism and injustice in the food system. The musical selections are diverse and supplemented by programming from the Pacifica network. As a member of Pacifica, WCAA’S offerings are available to be picked up by sister stations. A number of local shows have been broadcast on stations in distant U.S. cities and even overseas, thus bringing the reach of Grand Street Community Arts far beyond the Mansion District of Albany.
The goal of GSCA is “to unify community through the arts” and since radio is sometimes considered an art form in itself, the project fit under the general mission even if it’s in the air, so to speak. “It’s a platform for voices from different cultures and all walks of life. Right now there’s so much division in the world, people feel they don’t have a voice,” says Ta- Sean C. Murdock, who serves in the part-time volunteer position of executive director.
Back on the ground, GSCA’S other programing is rather scant and many of the activities that were happening onsite have been put on hold by the epidemic. There was a series of breakfast gatherings with featured speakers that started last fall, and that will resume on Sunday. There was also a cookout and bazaar on Oct. 17 and a couple of voter registration events were held earlier in the month. Otherwise, a boxing school was leasing the basement for about a year, and the crew of the Netflix show “Modern Love” recently rented the sanctuary to park some equipment for a day.
The dynamic filmmaking program Youth FX was launched at GSCA in 2008, but broke off into an independent entity 10 years later. Two other projects from the last decade are Youth Organics and Vacant Lots Projects, both of which were absorbed by bigger agencies. Visual and performing arts events have been sporadic but sometimes impressive, starting with the stunning inaugural weekend of installations and happenings curated by artists Michael Oatman and Ryder Coley in 2007. By all accounts the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars concert in 2011 was a lively and memorable concert.
The future of the organization looked doubtful in 2013 when structural problems with the church became critical and funds were meager. Since then, the roof was repaired, the stained glass windows restored, a proper heating system was installed for the first time, and major electrical upgrades were also completed. The sanctuary and its vaulted ceiling also got a paint job thanks to help from the Empowered Construction Workers Association, Local 102, which took on the job as an educational opportunity for its apprentices.
Finding a way to get things done through the years are Lawrence and
Ellen Becker. Both attorneys in indepen
Our goal is to increase the amount of activities within the building.” “We have to provide services to the community and from that will come resources to maintain the building. Often donors want to see we’re making a difference and have a positive presence in the community.” — Ta-sean C. Murdock
dent practice, they’re longtime residents of the neighborhood and fixtures on the small board of directors. Saving the old St. Anthony’s and starting an arts center was the brainchild of their daughter Gabrielle, then in her early 20s. She led the purchase of the building from the diocese for $5,000 and then moved out of Albany a couple of years later. There was talk in those early years of pursuing a full renovation and restoration to the tune of more than $1 million. Now that’s probably just a dream. The current institutional budget sits at around $20,000.
Ellen Becker sees the situation with GSCA as a reflection of the larger struggles of Albany’s South End. “The need is very strong and very apparent. It’s the need for food and jobs, for social justice and police community involvement,” she says, adding “We’ve been discussing a job posting board.”
While dealing with day to day needs like washing away graffiti, Murdock is holding onto a vision. “Our goal is to increase the amount of activities within the building,” he says. “We have to provide services to the community and from that will come resources to maintain the building. Often donors want to see we’re making a difference and have a positive presence in the community.”
Sitting just beside the arts center is large glass enclosed storefront that’s been dark for as long as anyone can remember. Across the street, a large red ‘X’ is affixed to the front of a house, indicating that the property is vacant and structurally unsound. Amid this discouraging urban landscape, perhaps Grand Street Community Arts can still offer some inspiration.
“I want to put lights on the building,” says Murdock, “and make it one of the centerpieces of the neighborhood.