The families have gone home and the celebrities have left, the artists have packed their bags, and—at least for a little while—the building lies dormant. This past weekend marked the conclusion of the three-week celebration honoring the opening of the Curtis R. Priem ’82 Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. We saw events of all shapes and sizes, from black-tie formal to street-clothes casual, from symphony orchestras to scientific symposiums to a student sketch-comedy group. Truly, these three weekends demonstrated the versatility of the brand new facility.
Though the building currently sits seemingly abandoned on the hill, it will soon come to life again as the first regular season of events kicks off next month. A full listing of the performances is available on the EMPAC website, and they too run the gamut from concerts to literary readings, starting with an election party on November 4. Furthermore, the campus can look forward to coming back in the spring with a wide variety of exciting presentations, including the kick-off performance of a new tour by renowned banjo player Bela Fleck.
EMPAC is more than just another venue, though. It’s also a research facility, but perhaps even more important to the core Rensselaer community, it’s designed to be a social space. Often touted as a potential “living room” of the campus, it promises to be a place where students, faculty, and staff can go to relax, whether or not there is a performance or exhibit actively happening. The building commands an amazing view of Albany and the greater capital district, and has truly wonderful vantage points for watching the sun set over the Hudson River.
Evelyn’s Café will be an integral part of making that vision a reality. An outside vendor providing casual dining options to the campus in a comfortable environment will be a boon to the overall atmosphere. In particular, the terrace dining area on the hill outside will offer a unique experience during the spring and fall months as Troy changes with the seasons. The space will also be a useful study area, and may even rival the Union in that capacity. With that in mind, we are looking forward to the announcement of that vendor, and hope it will happen before winter falls on Rensselaer.
