The Joseph Giambra Legacy Fund is fiscally sponsored by Arts Services Inc and all donations will be accepted through ASI’s Pay Pal account to be distributed by the Joseph Giambra Legacy Fund. Be Part of the Legacy The Joseph Giambra Legacy Fund is committed to inspiring, entertaining, and integrating arts and culture in our community as modeled by the life of Joey Giambra, often called Buffalo’s Most Beloved Citizen. Joey Giambra’s contributions are heralded through print media outlets, radio, television, and virtual platforms. From compelling and entertaining anecdotes, compositions, poems, music, and performance, his legacy brings us closer together and…
Author: Arts Services Inc. (ASI)
Author: Nicole Murray Just a short journey away from Ellicottville, an enchanting experience awaits those who visit Griffis Sculpture Park in East Otto, New York. The sculpture park was founded in 1969 by Larry Griffis, Jr. who was an exceptional businessman as well as an avid sculptor. Taking inspiration from watching his children play around the sculptures in Hadrian’s Villa in Italy, he returned to Buffalo with the idea of making art an interactive and immersive experience. After receiving a gift of 125 acres of land from his mother in Ashford Hollow, the park began with exhibitions of Larry’s sculptures, many of…
Author: Nicole Murray The North Shore Arts Alliance was founded about thirteen years ago by a group of artists with the mission to promote, mentor, and encourage visual artists of all disciplines in Chautauqua County. The organization has grown significantly since then and membership in the alliance includes local artists and community members who can join for a nominal fee. All administrative work is done by volunteers and the funds that are raised go directly to the promotion of Alliance artists and to arts scholarships for local college-bound seniors. Their signature event is the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail, a driving trail that…
Author: Nicole Murray All too often, “Western New York” is a term used to describe the city of Buffalo and its immediate suburbs. Maybe names such as Clarence, Orchard Park, Tonawanda, and Lancaster come to mind. But if you take just a short 45 minute drive outside of any of these places, you’ll find that you’ve left the suburbs and hustle and bustle of city life far behind and entered the beautiful rural areas of Western New York. These types of rural settings have historically attracted artists of all disciplines who have packed up their crowded city studios to seek…
In July of 2020, local artist Cassandra Ott was chosen to create a mural at 550 Seneca Street through a proposal competition administered through ASI. Building construction and COVID delayed plans to complete the mural as scheduled but Cassi’s vision has recently been completed and her work now welcomes visitors into Larkinville. This was Cassi’s second mural project (the first can be seen at Revolver Records on Elmwood) and her largest work to date. The mural took just about a week and a half to complete, thanks to agreeable early summer weather. The design inspiration came from old issues of “The…
Author: Nicole Murray Art in its truest form is a means of self-expression which is why those who identify as LGBTQIA+ often turn to the arts as a safe outlet for exploring and questioning self-identity, gender roles, and sexuality. (LGBTQIA+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual/Agender, with the “+” used as a denotation of everything on the gender and sexuality spectrum that words can’t yet describe.) Some of the resulting works are deeply personal and may never be seen by anyone other than the creator. Others are created with the express purpose of being seen to…
The Made in Buffalo – Cheryl Stern Performing Artist Fund was created in response to the generous support connected to Cheryl Stern’s starring turn in “From Buffalo to Broadway: Waiting in the Wings,” supported by the Buffalo Jewish Federation. Buffalo native Cheryl Stern who is now a Broadway, TV, and film star came home to host and perform in this show she created and directed, which included Broadway and local performers. The incredible dearth of local talent in this show inspired a desire to raise funds to continue to develop and promote local performing artists. ASI is proud to support this…
Authors: Tessa Pszonak, Jess Trainor, and Holly Grant By definition, a community is a social unit united by a shared geographic location and/or commonality. In a region as diverse as Western New York, there are many arts and cultural organizations whose work provides this ‘community’ space for the immigrant, refugee, and newly arrived populations. This month, we wanted to feature a few of the organizations doing this very important work. Yuki Numata Resnick, the Executive Director of Buffalo String Works, believes that music education can be a tool to build community. Buffalo String Works offers an afterschool program focused on the…
The Spark Awards celebrate and recognize outstanding individuals and organizations from across the Western New York arts community for their dedication, talent, and impact on the arts and cultural sector. This year’s presentation will be streamed for free on our YouTube page on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Click here to learn more about the Spark Awards. Since 1959, Locust Street Neighborhood Art Classes has made it their priority to ensure that everyone has access to engage in the visual arts, especially youth, low-income and minority individuals. It has provided free, all-inclusive, high quality art classes for anyone interested in…
The Spark Awards celebrate and recognize outstanding individuals and organizations from across the Western New York arts community for their dedication, talent, and impact on the arts and cultural sector. This year’s presentation will be streamed for free on our YouTube page on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Click here to learn more about the Spark Awards. The Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts (CEPA) is one of the nation’s foremost presenters of contemporary, photo-related art. Established in 1974, CEPA’s mission is to foster the exploration of photography and contemporary visual art to nurture creativity and encourage active learning. To…