The idea for BoardedUP was simple: utilize the boarded-up windows on the face of long-abandoned St. Anthony’s church for a public art exhibition.

The primary inspiration for the BoardedUP show is a work of street art that was not selected or approved by GSCA. Area artists installed a beautiful stencil of a child jumping rope, on the fifth of nine boarded-up windows on abandoned St. Anthony’s church. This works pre-dates GSCA’s ownership of the building.

BoardedUP is now an opportunity for us to recognize the role of artists and the creativity of expression. BoardedUP is something of a tribute to favorite local artists and arts organizers that have expanded conventional ideas of who makes art and who views art, explored the distinction between public and private space, and have challenged the boundaries between sanctioned and unsanctioned displays of art.

At Grand Street Community Arts (GSCA) we seek to promote the arts as an accessible tool of self-expression and as a valuable community resource. The BoardedUP exhibition was designed to further our mission. The works of BoardedUP are diverse, challenging, beautiful, and inspiring. Though these works were designed to be viewed at street-level and to be accessible and engaging to passers-by on busy downtown Madison Avenue.

Interested in Painting a Board?

GSCA is looking for BoardedUP artwork that fits within our mission, which is creating unity and connection, especially through the arts, in an inner-city neighborhood with racial and economic diversity. Each BoardedUP piece is displayed outside on the Madison Avenue side of GSCA Center for one month, starting on the 1st Friday of each month. In the warmer months, GSCA is a host for the 1st Friday of Albany. GSCA Staff and Coordinators are on hand to show the community the BoardedUP artwork. Currently BoardedUP is a six-month art exhibition from March to September. In September, GSCA hosts an annual Boarded Exhibition and Auction and all artwork submitted during the six-month art exhibition is sold at auction. The proceeds go towards GSCA programs and projects.