Across the United States, vacant homes and properties are a continuous problem Americans face. Visually, they are unappealing and lack life however, these vacant properties also take a heavy toll on our economic growth and the communities they are located within. Breathing Lights is looking to shed light on this problem through an innovative art installation that brings this issue to the forefront…right in Mohawk’s back yard.
Breathing Lights is a temporary public art installation based in the Capital Region of New York State that illuminates the windows of hundreds of vacant homes in the cities of Albany, Schenectady and Troy. The diffused glow that is seen within the windows mimics the rhythm of human breathing that anthropomorphizes the building into a living creature.
The project’s goal is to create an evocative, inclusive experience that brings attention and beauty to the Capital Regions’ vacant buildings and showcases an arts-based approach to stimulating local and regional revitalization.
Adam Frelin, artist and professor at the University of Albany, and Barbara Nelson, architect and executive director of the Troy Architectural Program, Inc., are the creators behind the project. “Abandonment of buildings is an extension of our “throw away” culture. Vacancy infects a city like cancer; it weakens neighborhood resilience and resistance to other problems. Behavior declines, property values decline and physical health is negatively effected,” states Neilson. “Breathing Lights does not shine a light on the vacancy problem. It enables our vacant buildings to shine a light on us, to call on use for answers.”
The project was made possible by being one of four projects that won a grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge, back in 2014. Each project within this challenge aims to address a local civic issue while celebrating the power of creativity. Breathing Lights also teamed up with a variety of artists, cultural institutions, universities and community based organizations within the local area to bring more success.
The instillation began in October and will continue to run until the end of November. “After two months of illumination, all of our lighted buildings will return to darkness,” says Frelin. “This may be saddening, or incite a call for action. Either way, Breathing Lights will allude to a life that, whether it continues or ends, was once lived.”
Breathing Lights program printed on Mohawk Superfine Eggshell Ultrawhite 80 Text
To find out more about the project, visit breathinglights.com or pick up a Breathing Lights program containing project insights, maps, and events that are located at a variety of businesses around the Capital Region.
Image credits: Breathing Lights
