Buffalo’s Back Yard: Photography Pop Up is a one-night only event on Friday, 6 pm to 10 pm, at the Lyth Cottage, 16 Harwood Place. Buffalo’s Back Yard will direct the lenses of 12 photographers toward the hidden, the private, and the seldom seen of Buffalo.
Scott Balzer, Dan Cogliano, Matthew Christopher, Jim Cielencki, Chris Hawley, Ed Healy, Molly Jarboe, Christina Laing, Nancy J. Parisi, Mike Puma, Daniel Seiders, and David Torke are the participating photographers.
“The ‘back yard’ could mean anything from the literal to the figurative and symbolic—a decision entrusted to each photographer,” says Chris Hawley, a co-organizer. “The event itself will take place in one of the most intriguing back yards of the city, behind a Hamlin Park cottage saved from the wrecking ball in 2011.”
The Lyth Cottage was a long abandoned historic house built in about 1868 by John Lyth, a terra cotta manufacturer. The City of Buffalo sold this “little house on the urban prairie” for $1 to two young professionals, who have since rehabilitated the cottage as their home.
This event will be the fourth photography pop up by Buffalo Obscura, a collaborative established in 2017 to bring photography to the public through one-night only events at obscure Buffalo locations. Buffalo East, the first photography pop up, took place on February 24, 2017, at Saddle Up Saloon, 55 Hubbard Street.
“Buffalo’s Back Yard will include established photographers whose work is widely shown, as well as citizen photographers known for their broader work in the community,” says Molly Jarboe, a co-organizer.
The work is designed to be affordable to all audiences. Each photographer is making available ten unframed prints, each in editions of five, for only $25 apiece.
“The photography pop-up series is intended to exist outside of Buffalo’s mainstream art scene,” says Christina Laing, co-organizer. “The Buffalo photography pop ups are mission oriented and, best of all, a fun way to explore the city through photography and off-the-beaten-path venues.”
Photo by David Torke