This week, keep an eye out around town for artist Candy Chang’s public art installation project, “Before I Die,” which invites our communities to examine our hopes, dreams, and challenges by sharing them on blackboards installed at the Hostel Buffalo-Niagara (Main Street), the Five Points neighborhood, Torn Space Theatre, and UB’s CFA building. Candy Chang will then give a talk about her work on Friday 9/22 (Central Library, 6pm, FREE), launching the Festival weekend which celebrates a theme of “Communities: Trust.”
From September 22-24, 2023 the annual Buffalo Humanities Festival will feature presentations and panel discussions by scholars, artists, and community activists, as well as live music, film screenings, and art activities, designed to provoke thought, spur new encounters, and introduce you to new friends in our city. This year’s festival celebrates how our interrelatedness binds us, and challenges us, as collectives, publics, neighborhoods, and families.
The Festival will explore a wide range of topics: community art, comfort food, indigenous languages, ecological loneliness, Black Studies in the university, human-animal bonds, prisons, policing, and renewable energy, while keeping an eye on local landscapes from Love Canal to the Waterfront.
Of special note: BHF tickets are now offered on a donation basis to keep the festival free and accessible for all to join the conversations. The detailed schedule of the BHF can be found here. The full list of participating scholars, artists, and activists can be found here.
Friday 9/22
On Friday evening (9/22) at 6pm at the Central Library (1 Lafayette Square), artist Candy Chang will give a talk called “The Power of Public Art to Engage Communities.” Chang’s work has been described by The Atlantic as “one of the most creative community projects ever.” (More about her project can be found HERE). Brian Higgins will kick off her event and launch the Festival weekend. Admission is free and there is even free parking with early registration HERE.
Saturday 9/23
On Saturday 9/23, visit Buffalo State University’s Rockwell Hall for a full day of presentations and panels by scholars, artists, and community activists exploring topics on comfort food, indigenous languages, ecological loneliness, Black Studies in the university, human-animal bonds, prisons, policing, and renewable energy while keeping an eye on local landscapes from Love Canal to the Waterfront. Performances by Buffalo String Works and Genkin Philharmonic. There will also be live music, short films, food trucks, and art activities! After dark, check out the Front Yard at the Burchfield Penney Art Center for film screenings of 10 regional media artists.
Sunday 9/24
Finally, on Sunday 9/24 the Festival draws to a close with the final matinee performance of “What the Constitution Means to Me” at the Kavinoky Theatre with special pricing for BHF goers. Tickets (discounted to $25) are for sale directly from the theatre HERE.
Founded in 2014, the BHF is Buffalo’s festival of ideas supported by five Buffalo universities—UB, Buffalo State, Daemen, Canisius, and Niagara—along with the Buffalo Public Library and Humanities New York, who come together to create a fun and thought-provoking weekend so that we can think, learn, and discuss challenging ideas together!
