‘Art Will Be Made’: Farmers Market brings murals to the Atrium (Troy Record)
This story by Erica Bouska was published in the Troy Record on January 28, 2025.
Above: The Record, Jan. 28, 2025, page A1. Below: continued on page A2. Click either page to enlarge.
By Erica Bouska
ebouska@troyrecord.com
TROY, N.Y. — Though the Troy Farmers Market doesn’t know how long it will be in the Atrium, marketgoers can come back week after week to see new murals going up on the walls, pillars and nooks of the building.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because we don’t know what’s gonna happen with this building,” said Mural Project Coordinator Kayla Jolin. “It feels kind of fleeting and temporary but also really exciting to know that there is funding for artists to make art even if it isn’t going to last forever.”
Proposal requests started coming in when the market moved indoors for the winter and the artists began painting a few weeks ago. Market Manager Steve Ridler said they wanted pieces that showcase the variety and importance of agriculture in the market.
As of last week, there were pieces like beets and carrots winding up columns, stamps with apples, radishes and potatoes and a colorfully painted cubby that Jolin hopes encourages kids to take photos inside.
It’s the second time the market has brought artists in to do murals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the indoor market moved to the old Price Chopper in Lansingburgh and brightened it up by adding murals.
Ridler said they have wanted to bring them to the Atrium for years and when they mentioned the idea to the owners, they agreed. Through the Farmers Market contributing its own funds, they have 10 mural projects with $500 stipends for regional artists.
Their goal, however, is to fund 10 more, Jolin and Ridler said, though that’s certainly not a cap. They have plenty of spaces to add more if they receive enough donations, Jolin said, adding a mural of a beanstalk herself.
Schools have also joined in with their own funding; some of the painters like Ella Hallgren, are college students and this is the first work they were officially hired for. Even businesses like Brown’s Brewing are collaborating with a mural artist they regularly work with to bring a mural in, Jolin said.
More businesses are welcome; as are any donations, she said. On the Troy Farmers Market website, people can donate through their PayPal, but they also have QR codes and buckets for people to add their leftover change and cash when they visit.
One of the most fun parts about the murals, Ridler said, is that regulars and newcomers to the market will see a new Atrium week-over-week. Some of the artists are even painting during the market on Saturdays and it’s fun for them and the passersby to meet, Jolin said.
“Customers get to see the change each week, you know, as they walk in they’ll see something different going on on the walls during the winter market,” Ridler said. “Troy has a very active arts community.”
Working with the Arts Center of the Capital Region, who did a similar project in Franklin Alley, they are using the Center’s Community Art Closet to provide paint and materials for the artists they hire, Ridler said. Troy likes murals, he said.
Hiring and paying
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Captions
The first complete mural at the Troy Farmers Market by Jade Warrick also known as TrashKiD Art. (Erica Bouska — MediaNews Group)
Mural Project Coordinator Kayla Jolin stands with paint from the Arts Center of the Capital Region’s Community Arts Closet. (Erica Bouska — MediaNews Group)
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local artists is huge, Jolin said, especially mural artists who don’t have as much or any work in the winter months. If they can get the additional funding of $5,000 for 10 more murals, they’d be at 24 pieces with the already funded projects plus the outside organizations.
They have about 60 proposals in total that they’ve picked from, and they have extended their proposals to include 3-D art like sculptures as well, she said. Their current goal is to paint through February and, if they can, into March.
“Anything that’s art, that’s bright and cheerful,” Jolin said. “As long as funds are coming in, art will be made and I am happy to do this for however long we’re in this space until (the) winter market’s over.”
Captions
Artist Ella Hallgren stands with her mural in the Atrium. (Erica Bouska — MediaNews Group)
Artist and student Delaney with her mural in at the Troy Farmers Market. (Erica Bouska — MediaNews Group)
Read this story online at the Troy Record.