The city of Troy was founded on its use of water with its origins as a Hudson River port and an early center of industry. Even though today Troy does not use the waterways in the same way, they provide a sense of place, and they clearly are a part of our community. From 2014-2015, sound artist Andrea Williams collected stories from Troy residents and water experts on local waterways along with various sounds and videos. The Troy Waterways Project is an online map that acts as a container for these ongoing various stories and media experiences, currently highlighting seven local waterways: the Hudson River at Riverfront Park; the Poestenkill Falls; Spring Avenue natural spring; Ingalls Avenue boat launch; the Burden Waterwheel; the Piscawenkill, a small creek in North Troy; and the nearby Cohoes Falls of the Mohawk River that flows into the Hudson River. More information will be added over time so check back frequently. This project has been created to get a better understanding of people’s connection to water. Truth and fiction are sometimes blurred by local mythology. Stories told by residents reveal the beliefs held by the community that shape their connection to the waterways through generations.
Artist Bio: New York sound artist and composer, Andrea Williams, utilizes site-specific elements and perceptual cues to reveal the unseen connections between people and their environment. Her compositions make use of field recordings, instruments, computer technologies and the sound of the performance space itself. She has led soundwalks in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, and has shown and performed both solo and with various musicians and artists at galleries and alternative spaces internationally, such as the Whitney Museum, Eyebeam Art+Technology Center, Observatori Festival, Children’s Creativity Museum, NPR, Miami Art Fair, and the Mamori sound artist residency in the Amazon rainforest.