Upcoming

Feb 10, 2023 - May 28, 2023

In 1998, guest curator John Baker along with the Burchfield Penney staff organized the exhibition Sharing Our View to showcase the diverse range of black visual artists working in Buffalo. Following its presentation at the Center, the exhibition traveled to New Mount Ararat Temple of Prayer, a church and community center on the East Side to inaugurate East Side/West Side, the Museum Outreach Program. Centered on fostering community engagement and accessibility to the arts for Buffalo’s inner-city youth, the program aimed “to expose children to art – by having them create their own work, letting them meet artists from the community, and getting them into galleries.”[1] Youth participated in several activities facilitated by exhibiting artists that included games, a Kente weaving project, art-making workshops, and an interactive computer game.

25 years later, a transformative approach to community engagement and expanding access to the arts for young people remains central to the Burchfield Penney mission. An increasingly tumultuous social, economic, and political climate has renewed a sense of urgency in artistic expression as a means for youth to navigate and process these uncertain times. Using the original exhibition and Useum Outreach Program as a starting point, Sharing Our View: 25th Anniversary celebrates the ways the program’s core mission has evolved with the growth of the museum, and the intergenerational legacy of black artists who continue the important work of cultivating meaningful connections through art across Buffalo’s diverse communities. The exhibition features artwork by the artists included in the original show as well as related archival material. In celebration of both past and present, the exhibition also features several contemporary artists who continue to cultivate opportunities for connection through their own artwork, arts education, and community engagement practices. This is exemplified by their involvement with organizations such as WNY Urban Arts Collective, Buffalo’s Own, Inc., Get Fokus’d Productions, Princessa’s Studio and Art Gallery, Buffalo Arts Studio, the Buffalo Public Schools, and the Burchfield Penney Art Center, among others.

Additionally, John Baker has facilitated a community mural project that like the original program, connects students with local artists and cultural leaders to encourage them to tell their own stories through the visual arts. As a co-founder and current president of the WNY Urban Arts Collective, Baker has expressed a longstanding commitment to his community and to supporting emerging artists. His efforts in leading this project resulted in a collaborative recruitment process with Buffalo Public Schools teachers to encourage participation from students with a demonstrated interest in the arts, as well as transportation support from the NFTA. The young cohort of BPS students learned about the tradition of storytelling with the help of the Tradition Keepers: The Black Storytellers of Western New York. From there, they worked alongside exhibiting artists and WNY Urban Arts Collective members John Baker, James Cooper III, and Princessa S. Williams to conceptualize, design, and produce a collaborative piece. Their creative process was further supported by Burchfield Penney Associate Museum Educator Michaela Worosz. The piece reflects their own interests and connects to broader conversations rooted in history that also imagine new possibilities for the future. Collectively, the exhibition and mural project brings together generations of artists to inspire connection, conversation, education, and understanding. 

Sharing Our View: 25th Anniversary is presented through the generosity of Dr. Grant Golden & Ms. Deborah Goldman. For their continued support, we also gratefully acknowledge our generous Burchfield Penney members.

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The Spark Awards is ASI’s annual awards celebration where outstanding individuals and organizations from across the Western New York arts community are recognized for their dedication, talent, and impact on the sector.

Our 8th annual Spark Awards will be held virtually this year. We will be streaming the presentation for free on our YouTube page.

Visit our website for more details on this year's honorees -Here

2021 Honorees

Arts Organization of the Year: Finalists
Buffalo Opera Unlimited
CEPA Gallery
Locust Street Neighborhood Art Classes

Artist of the Year: Finalists
Chantal Calato
Jalen A. Law
Stephen Solook

Arts Integration
Thembi Duncan, Shea’s PAC, and the Buffalo Police Department’s Body Language Competency Training for New Recruits

DEC Program of the Year
Defiant Monkey Improv’s “The Brain of Dr. Delgado”

Leading Where You Are
Nancy Clarke Mariani
Michael Quinniey
Jose Rodriguez
Gaitrie Subryan

Lifetime Achievement
Patrick Fagan

Rising Star
Nicole Cooke, WNY Book Arts Center

Supporter of the Cultural Sector
Cullen Foundation

Trailblazer of the Arts
Aitina Fareed-Cooke

Unsung Hero
Joan Fishburn

A reception for the Irving Black Arts Council’s (IBAC) annual Black History Month exhibition will be held on Saturday, February 6 from 2 to 5 PM.

Artistry and Inspiration exhibition features paintings, drawings, photographs and mixed media works by Missy Burton (McKinney, TX), Jennifer Monet Cowley (Trophy Club, TX), Amy Daniels (Allen, TX), Afi Ese (Houston, TX), Michael E. Johnson (Dallas, TX), Jalen A. Law (Buffalo, NY), Sontonya Necheal (Scurry, TX) and Terrell Weathersby (McKinney, TX).

Capacity will be limited. Click here to register.

Registration for the virtual tour of the exhibition will be available soon.

M.A. (Men`s Anonymous) will be hosting a series for men of color on Monday evenings, beginning in November. The event, is private and safety is priority for all who participate. Meets begin at 7pm via a private link emailed prior to for November 16th and November 21st .

M.A will be featuring Western New York’s talented artist and artisan’s hosted by WNY Urban Artist Jalen A. Law, Social Emotional Art Specialist. Accompanied, Ashley Watson, Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in Social/Emotional & Self-Development. Collectively, they will create a safe space for men across the diaspora that may not want to go to therapy. Or may have questions, curiosities, worries, fears, angers, desires, etc. and have nowhere to express themselves safely and freely. This is an opportunity for men who are seeking self-care resources, tools to becoming more mindful, development as a man through one’s own definition without pressure from any societal system or familial system.

M.A is an initiative created to establish a safe space for all men of color who are seeking some form of change or development. It empowers men through guided principles to want to grow and care for themselves more positively and healthily.

You can join by clicking here

MUCE presents QuARanTine - Virtual Exhibition on June 7th at 6 p.m. | Live on Facebook @muce305

The pandemic has shifted the way that we Live, Work 👩🏾‍🎨 & Play 🕴🏼 and the QUARANTINE became a cornerstone moment that we collectively experienced.

It unmasked disparities, birth new movements and transformed the ways that we are able to connect.

This exhibition serves to share the artworks created during this time. The virtual opening reception is a tour through the minds of the visual artists as they reflect on the uncertainty, the economic challenges and unprecedented moments.

Enjoy:
👉Art Talk with some of the exhibiting artists
👉Musical performances
👉Preview of the Exhibition

Being in the grip of panic hurts us. Just when we need to think clearly and stay calm, panic pitches our brain into foggy thinking and our body into tension, and leaves us in a space of feeling trapped. Creative Self Care is about providing a sacred space of expression for those who find themselves overwhelmed at this time. This event is kid friendly for families to participate in the activities. Guests will need paper, writing utensils, and color utensils (If available) for the artistic activities of the event.

About the hosts:

Kristin Quattlebaum | KQ Coaching

Kristin is a former 15 yr corporate hustler turned intuitive life coach. She teaches people how to leverage their intuition (instead of their minds) to make decisions. Kristin is passionate about this work because she believes that we have been conditioned to disconnect from our true selves and hustle our way through life. She offers intuitive readings and a mentorship program for those who know they were meant for more and are ready to start living the life they are meant to live.

Jalen Law| The Jalen Law Collection

Born in Buffalo, NY, Jalen A. Law’s first sketches were circles at the age of two. By the age of five, he was creating his own comic books and children stories, selling them to kids in elementary school for Lunchables and extra computer time. He is a graduate from the University of Buffalo, and for the past eight years he has been live-painting and displaying his work in international exhibitions. The theme of Jalen’s artwork involves visually powerful images that attempt to force the viewer to think about uncomfortable issues without deflecting their own feelings.

Currently, he is working on a research-based art program called the Emotional Intelligence Program to equip students with social and emotional tools that will assist them inside and outside of the classroom.

Buffalo's Own is proud to be hosting Dinner & Theater featuring staged reading “Tolly’s Place” by writer and actor Shirley Sarmiento. The event, located at the McCoy Convention Center 653 Clinton Street, will be held on Saturday March 15th 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

“Tolley’s Place” is the experience of four African-American women dealing with unexpected loss, family, lovers, and life challenges; and their journey of acceptance, healing, and moving onward, as they are aided by a wise, determined woman and a man who have seen it all. Sarmiento’s play features Valeria Aldridge, Joyce Carolyn, Mary Coleman, and Charles Everhart, Sr. It is directed by Buffalo native, Verneice Turner, performance artist and Artie award winning actor. Food and refreshments will be served. Tickets for the event is $30.00.

Buffalo's Own is built on the concept of creating opportunities for artists from Buffalo, New York to advance their careers in larger art markets. Click the ticket button to purchase your tickets.

APL'S arts portfolio panel discussion and film screening of Banana Manifesto (2018), Big Duran Big Apple (2018), and Halal (2017).

About this Event

Arts Partners for Learning is hosting this arts portfolio panel discussion and film screening featuring panelists: Grace Modi, New Generations; Ekrem Serdar, Squeaky Wheel Film and Media Art Center; Jalen Law and Jay Hawkins Sr., Buffalo’s Own 716. They will be discussing best practices for artist portfolios and applications in their craft.

Later we will be screening three films by muslim, Indonesian artist and UB Ph.D. Candidate graduate Azalia Muchransyah. Short films Banana Manifesto (2018) and Big Duran Big Apple (2018); and the evening’s feature film, Halal (2017).

“Since the event of 9/11 in 2001, Islamophobia has spread all over the world, especially in the United States of America. Earlier last year, President Donald Trump also banned people from a number of Muslim countries from entering the USA, with an idea to eventually ban all Muslims from coming to the USA. As a Muslim student from Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, I am amazed to encounter so many misconceptions of Islam and the concept of Halal in the United States."