Upstater

The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center located at RPI in Troy has a lot going on both inside and out. Architecturally speaking, its ultra-modern, cutting edge look was designed by the London-based firm Grimshaw and opened to the public in October 2008. The center is 220,000 square feet and includes 4 performance venues, additional studio spaces, and labs. Technologically speaking, EMPAC is hooked up in a big way. Regarding its infrastructure, according to the EMPAC website, “When linked to Rensselaer’s CCNI supercomputer, our superb venues provide opportunities for research that surpass those of most other media research centers.” Our nerdy hearts are all a-flutter at the mention of a “supercomputer”, in spite of it conjuring up HAL-like scenarios and world domination.

So what’s going inside the EMPAC? How is the experimental media world utilizing this ambitious multi-tasker of a performing arts center? If you’re picturing TED talks and John Cage Music festivals, you’re not far off. There are multitude of lectures, presentations, performances, and workshops coming in the spring at EMPAC, including a program of music for violin, piano, and computer, an avant-garde adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein using inflatables and accompanied by the music of Radiohole, and a talk on software archeology, just to name a few. If you would like to see EMPAC’s full calendar of events, check out their website.

EMPAC is located at 110 8th Street, Troy. GMAP

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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