Jonathan Camhi
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is holding an
open house for businesses to preview the Gallery’s new At Work program on this
Thursday May 14th. The At Work program is a
partnership between the Albright-Knox and businesses that will grant the local
business community the opportunity to use the Gallery’s impressive collection
and resources to further staff development in critical and creative
thinking.
The open house will run from 5 to 7pm, and
will start off at Muse, the Gallery’s restaurant. There will be a short presentation to introduce local
businesses to the At Work program and explain how the program will be
of use to them. The event
will also preview what will take place at the program’s meetings, which will
take place once a month on Thursday evenings. The focus of the meetings will alternate each month between
networking and skill building. The
open house will also include prize giveaways and a scavenger hunt in the
Gallery.
Maria Morreale is the Gallery’s Director of
Marketing and will be giving the presentation tomorrow night. She hopes that the program will attract
a diverse cross-section of local businesses from various industries, and says
that “The event tomorrow night will be about networking and relaxation. We’re just looking to introduce people
to the program and garner interest for it.” Commenting on the At Work program and its
benefits, she promises, “Everything’s going to be lots of fun, and very
interactive. We’ll use art to
teach how people see things differently across various disciplines.” For instance, the program facilitator
might show a particular painting to the group and ask people to think about it
from different perspectives.
Morreale believes that activities like this
will help people think differently about art and how other people view images: “We
might ask them ‘What if you had a neighbor and you walked into their living
room and they had this painting hanging there? What would that say about them?”
The program’s
goal is to develop a relationship between the Gallery and local business
communities that will be beneficial to both. Business employees who attend the program will receive many
networking opportunities in both the business and art communities, and will
gain a wider perspective from the educational experience the program offers. A facilitator from the Gallery’s staff will
direct each At Work meeting’s events and discussions. Businesses who sign up
for the program will pay an annual fee to the Gallery. For more information about the At Work program, you can
contact the Gallery’s Membership Office at 716.270.8247 or visit: www.albrightknox.org.