ALBANY – On Sunday, September 29, community members gathered for an afternoon celebration at the Genny Albany, where a public art project has been in the works for the past two years. The Black River table, designed by Glover artist Thersa Peura and built by Albany builder and blacksmith Brian Naylor, is the final piece in this three-part project.
courtesy photo
The Black River Table by Glover artist Theresa Peura is the final piece in the Genny Albany Public Art Project.
The project was initiated and facilitated by the Albany Community Trust with support from two Animating Infrastructure grants from the Vermont Arts Council. The first grant was a planning grant, and allowed ACT to hire artist Theresa Peura to engage the community in developing ideas for public art at the Genny Albany greenspace. Theresa led community conversations and sought input from all ages, including a survey of students at the Albany Community School. From this process three ideas emerged: An outdoor storyhouse to showcase illustrated “crankie” stories, a quilt square project to highlight community stories and bring art to the south side of the Genny building, and a River Table and benches to create a beautiful gathering place and to highlight the Black River.
The Storyhouse was built by Peura and installed in the summer of 2022. The story quilt squares were created by Albany Community School students based on their own research and interviews in the spring of 2024 as a collaboration between the school library and art class with support from local author Natalie Kinsey. Both of these projects are ongoing; for those who are interested in creating a crankie show or a story quilt square, they may contact the Albany Community Trust at [email protected] or Theresa Peura at [email protected].
The River Table and benches were designed by Peura, and with support from an Animating Infrastructure Implementation grant from the Vermont Arts Council, Brian Naylor was engaged as the builder in early June, 2024. Naylor met with the project committee of Kit Basom, Lindsay Martin, Theresa Peura, Gabriel Tempesta and Kristin Urie to work out the final details, and got to work. The tables are made with cedar, and are connected in the shape of part of the Black River as it flows through Albany. Ash wood inlaid into the table top details the meanderings of the river, which Peura based on a recent map. The table tops are supported by giant cedar tree bases that give the impression of the table growing out of the ground.
On Sunday, people tried out the benches, had cider and donuts at the table, and heard music from the local group, “What Four.”
