Renée Bouchard’s Anonymous Citizens opens at Kiddie Pool

Happy Monday, Capital Region! Today, we’re coming home to Kiddie Pool—a popup gallery happening right here in our very own 1874 row house in downtown Albany. At Kiddie Pool, contemporary art trades the cold white cube for historic charm and the warmth of a real home. Come check it out and meet us too!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

Renée Bouchard’s evocative Anonymous Citizens opens at Kiddie Pool

Our very own Karley Sullivan is also the curator of Kiddie Pool, a rare residential art space in the Capital District, where works are shown among everyday objects in a lived-in historic home. (Read our previous profile: Kiddie Pool is where home, art & community collide.)

This Saturday, you’re invited to see for yourself as Kiddie Pool presents Anonymous Citizens, a solo exhibition of “loosely painted portraits” by Renée Bouchard. The Vermont native is known for her gestural paintings that draw on her research into feminist theory, critiques of imperialism, and the lived complexity of motherhood. Her paintings contain vivid color fields and scrawled lines that shift and hint at figures in the process of becoming and unraveling.

“I’m thrilled to be showing Renée’s Anonymous Citizens at Kiddie Pool,” Karley says. “She’s spent more than five years developing a unique visual language through these evocative portraits. Renée has been recognized by the Puffin and Pollock-Krasner Foundations—yet most of these pieces have never been shown publicly. Plus, the domestic setting of Kiddie Pool is an apt environment to highlight the intimacy and interior focus of her work.”

Saturday’s public reception will also feature a presentation on “Cultural Activism Empowerment” by internationally known artist John DiLeva Halpern, cofounder of the Cultural Activism Project International. 

At 6:30p, John will speak on the “Superfluity of Self,” providing a conceptual complement to Renée’s dissolving subjects. There will be light refreshments, a welcoming, casual atmosphere, and good company. It’s also an opportunity to meet us, The 518 publishers! Come say 👋 

The deets: Kiddie Pool, 128 Grand St, Albany, 6-9p, Sat. The opening reception for Anonymous Citizens is open to the public. Viewings available by appointment July 6–August 6. To learn more about Anonymous Citizens, read the press release.

🥵 Get ready to sweat as summer kicks into high gear with scorching heat and humidity. Stay hydrated as temperatures inch near 100°, breaking with nighttime thunderstorms midweek. Once the heat wave passes, we slip back into temperate summer days with shifting sun and storms.

🗳️ It’s time to vote! The polls will be open 6a to 9p for Tuesday’s New York State primaries. Mail-in ballots must be returned, or mailed and postmarked, by this date. The TU has a handy guide to the candidates and issues. CBS6 spoke with Albany’s mayoral candidates to get their final thoughts ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

🍺 Bri Collins, a 28-year-old Saratoga Springs resident and bartender, is taking over the Tint & Lint on Caroline Street. Longtime owner Jim Stanley is happily handing over the keys to one of the oldest operating bars in Spa City. Don McLean was rumored to have written “American Pie” at the bar, but the singer himself set the record straight in this New York Times article. [Daily Gazette]

🥦 Schenectady’s food co-op that’s been planned for years got a big boost Friday with the announcement of a $2.1 million state grant for the Electric City Community Grocery. The city is also putting in $1 million toward startup costs. “This grant is exactly what we needed as we push forward to sign a final lease and open the store,” the co-op’s president says. [News10]

🍰 Sweet Mimi’s Cafe & Bakery in Saratoga was named one of the 10 best cake shops in the country by USA Today. Here’s the full list.

A word from our partner

Hilltown Commons invites you to the inaugural Pond Hill Writers’ Retreat, launching this weekend.

Held on The Commons’ bucolic 100-acre campus in Rensselaerville, this 5-day workshop will feature two main tracks: (1) for writers who want to workshop their book-in-progress and (2) for anyone who wants to enrich their writing, whether fiction or creative nonfiction.

“This is a really special program,” says founding instructor Steven Rinehart. “You’ll come out of it writing better sentences for the rest of your life.”

Register for the workshop here. Use promo code COMMONS518 for a $100 discount on any overnight workshop at Hilltown Commons.

Want to meet the writers and instructors at the retreat? On Tuesday, July 1, at 7 pm, poet José Olivarez and novelist Christine Pride will read from their recent work. This event is free & open to the public.

Sitting pretty on a country lane dotted with similarly graceful homesteads in the village of Chatham, this contemporary 4-bedroom home features hardwood floors, a sun-flooded layout that flows from inside to out, and plenty of cute nooks for personal space and projects. Out back, mature trees cast dappled shade over the private backyard and stone patio. The location really does set the stage for a balanced, breezy lifestyle, mere steps from the village center, and a quick car ride to the Berkshires, ski resorts, and cultural gems like Art Omi and Tanglewood. We’re big fans of Chatham!

The deets: 4 bd, 1 ba, 2054 sf. Asking: $395,000. Days on market: 7. See the full listing here. 

Our full weekend roundup publishes every Thursday. Be sure to check your inboxes!

🎸 The outdoor concert season is underway. On Wednesday, Troy’s Rockin’ on the River and Scotia’s Freedom Park host their first music shows of the summer.

🎭️ It’s Disney’s World, we’re just living in it. On Tuesday, “The Little Mermaid” begins at the Cohoes Music Hall. Meanwhile, Proctors raises the curtain on “Beauty and the Beast” on Wednesday.

🎸 On Thursday, it’s Emo Night at Alive at Five, featuring Boys Like Girls with The Story Boys. Also Thursday, Local 11 headlines Schenectady’s Bands on Broadway.

🎬️ The 70th annual Flaherty Film Seminar kicks off Friday at the Tang Museum, with screenings and discussion at Picture Lock One’s bank vault location in Troy, finishing up on Sunday at the Sanctuary for Independent Media.

🇵🇭 On Saturday, Washington Park hosts the Filipino Day Grand Parade. Come for the parade, stay for the festival featuring all kinds of yummy Filipino foods.

🎷 The sprawling Saratoga Jazz Festival takes over SPAC this weekend. WAMC’s Joe Donahue gives a preview of the jazz extravaganza with festival producer Danny Melnick.

🍷 Love wine, good eats, and people watching? Get up to Lake George this weekend for the Adirondack Wine & Food Festival.

🩰 Good Karma Studio’s Aerial Dance of the Zodiac featuring Dark Ballet: After Dark is at The Egg on Saturday. Stay tuned for our profile of Good Karma Studio, the only circus arts center in the Capital Region.

🖼️ Speaking of Art Omi, meet their artists-in-residence at the Artists Open Studios this Saturday.

💀 The Upstate Punk Rock Flea Market is back at Albany’s Empire Live on Sunday.

🍷 The Bocage Champagne Bar invites you to their Seaside Sips Wine Tasting, celebrating the crisp, breezy wines of Portugal.

🐐 Sadly, the June Farms Cake Picnic this Saturday is sold out, but you can still join the Goat Yoga class on Sunday. Also the June Farms Pride Party featuring Plane Jane is Wednesday.

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