TROY, N.Y. -- An art installation is shedding light on the number of vacant and abandoned buildings throughout the Capital Region.
The "Breathing Lights" art exhibit was the winner of the Bloomberg Philanthropic Public Art Challenge, along with three other cities.
The installation illuminates the windows of vacant buildings in Albany, Schenectady and Troy with a gentle and breath like glow.
Community members viewed and learned more about the project with a trolley ride organized by the Capital Region Art Center in Troy.
The Capital Region's past and present with electricity and light make it a unique way to pay tribute to the region while creating a life force in areas that need it.
"There is a literalness that we have to confront, and that literalness is really about the pain and the loss that comes from people having lost their homes, or from the people that have to live next to these buildings and their property values plummets, or for the people that use them for illicit purposes," lead artist Adam Frelin said.
"Really, the audience is the people who live in these neighborhoods and the people who might visit them," lead architect Barbara Nelson said. "So, it's a completely different way of seeing art and experiencing art."
The initiative is targeting 2,500 vacant properties.
Those properties will be lit between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. throughout October and November.