Living in the Albany area is often an exercise in living with cognitive dissonance. Twenty-first century Albany is simultaneously a small American city, not big enough to rate any major league (or even AAA) sports franchise, or a Costco or Ikea, and the capital city of New York, the state home to the financial capital of the world and one of the most famous cities in the world.
It’s against this backdrop that I read today’s story in the Times Union about the new executive director of the Albany Institute, Albany’s art and history museum. The Albany Institute hasn’t really been on my radar, despite living within ten miles of it for the past sixteen years. Its existence hasn’t registered next to the Clarke, the Tang, the Fenimore, Mass MoCa, and Art Omi, among other regional art galleries.
That might change soon, if Kayla Carlsen, the new executive director, has anything to say about it. I was surprised to learn that less than 1% of the Institute’s collection has been on display, leaving vast amounts of art and historical artifacts hidden away. It would be great if the Albany Institute can help raise the profile of the city of Albany closer to something worthy of a major American state.