A Tribute To The Neighborhood Collective
Many of you might still remember this location as the former May Jen Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue. Well, May Jen is long gone and in its place is one of the Buffalo's greatest grass-roots success stories. Local jewelry designer, Annie Adams, purchased this building with one thing in mind... to create a artistic climate conducive to established artists needs, while incubating up-and-coming artists as well. A recent visit to The Collective was inspiring to say the least.
The Collective is an urban oasis that has attracted some of Buffalo's most creative artists who spend much of their time preparing for the myriad of shows, which take place on a regular basis. The modern interior of the building holds a number of spaces where people gather to eat, sip tea, participate in studio classes, browse jewelry, appreciate (and purchase) art and attend lectures. Within its gallery walls are authors, photographers, cooks, painters as well as people who run the Science Spot and Studio 806 Massage Studio. Between the artists and the daily visitors, there is so much activity going on within the space that it is easy to get lost amongst the sights, smells and sounds within. See the accompanying slide showOe
So what's new at The Collective?
The recent addition of Jill Sessa's Looped (and Looped Back) was totally unexpected, but then again one never knows what to expect upon walking into this creative art center. Jill's latest enterprise (hand-knitted items ranging from shawls to bags) is very exciting and fits in perfectly with the rest of the featured artists (look for her profile in an upcoming BRO Trend post). Michael Morgulis' Local Color Gallery is also on the move into its new home on the second floor of the building. Here visitors will be able to pick up the latest and greatest Buffalo t-shirts along with Michael's newest artistic wall creations. By the way, itis another emarriage of sortsiOe Michael is married to Trudy Stern (owner of tru-teas!).
Annie's new jewelry line (silks and leather) is exquisite as always, and the food at tru-teas! will literally blow you away. Bryant Street Studio and Insite Gallery have been busy with their latest shows as well (as seen on BRO's Art Channel). And having Lori Joyce as The Collective photographer means that everything gets documented for posterity. So if you still have not made it over to The Neighborhood Collective, I urge you to do so. It will inspire you!
The iTea en Teei Reception (very creative guys) will take place Friday, March 31st from 7-9pm. Creative party attire appropriate. There is an additional surprise that evening: Joann Tomasulo (of Lexington Co-op fame) will be signing her new book entitled The 28 Day Cleansing Program.
Neighborhood Collective Gallery 810 Elmwood Avenue Buffalo, NY 716-884-9410
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Matt Sabuda
Great article. Perhaps I am more ignorant to all that the Elmwood strip has to offer than I thought. I really had no idea what the neighborhood collective was all about. I've walked by it many times and thought it was a private gallery or something along those lines. Maybe it's the way the exterior of the place is set up, but I just had no idea what was inside. I'll definitely stop in now. Sounds like a great place, only wish I knew about it before.
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