By Anika
Rawlins and A.J. Speier
BengalNews Reporters
At
first glance, the corner of Grant Street and Auburn Avenue may not be very
appealing with the view of a large blank wall that does not have much
attraction.
With just a 7-Eleven and a large
vacant lot across the street, this area may be overlooked with very little to
offer a neighborhood with a great deal of culture and diversity.
The
view of this West Side corner is about to change.
By September, this corner will be ornamented
with a beautiful mural reflecting the large immigrant population and variety of
cultures that are present on the West Side.
Grant
Street Global Voice Public Arts Project: Celebrating Immigrants and Refugee
Experience is the project to commemorate the immigrant community through
different visual arts projects.
The mural design project is one of
the Buffalo State Community Academic Center’s projects in efforts to showcase
the diverse cultures while integrating student input from West Side schools
Lafayette High School and International School 45.
The
mural project is a collaboration between Buffalo State College, Young Audiences of Western New York, Buffalo Public Schools and the City of Buffalo.
Funding
for the mural is a 75 thousand dollar Our Town Grant from National Endowment
for the Arts who provide grants for art projects that will add to the culture
of different communities.
The proposal for the grant consisted of a
Mural, speaking to the theme of cultural diversity and a series of community
and school based art workshops that would be incorporated into the mural.
“We’re
budgeted for the year with the grant but we see this as starting the
possibilities for Grant Street being an arts corridor and really celebrating
its history in a visual way,” Maureen McCarthy, director of the Buffalo State
Community Academic Center said.
Ellen
Melmed a teaching artist and leader of school based workshops held at
International School 45 and Lafayette, and Augustina Droze, the muralist that
will paint the mural on Grant Street, held workshops for students to come up
with their own art designs that may be incorporated into the mural and in
window shops down Grant Street.
The
workshops that are conducted for the mural will allow students and members of
the community to incorporate their ideas and refugee stories pertaining to the theme
of diversity to be included in the mural.
With
plans to start the mural painting in May, Droze is currently focusing on
incorporating artwork from students and locals of the West Side.
“It will be a
celebration of diversity and unity incorporating some of the student artwork
created in workshops over the past months as well as numerous photos recently
taken of local people” Droze said.
The
mural is expected to be complete by September of this year with earlier
unveilings throughout July and August.
Muralist Augustina Droze is a well-rounded artist in the Buffalo area currently working on putting together the Global Voices mural on Buffalo’s West Side. She is known for painting large-scale murals that reflect realistic imagery depicting different cultures. Not only is she a great muralist, Droze is also an art educator and frequently works with youth in at-risk communities such as Chicago, IL and Buffalo, NY. Her recent works in the Buffalo area include the production of a mural project at McKinley High School. Droze also conducts art programs in Western New York such as mask and pattern making workshops that incorporate a variety of cultures. - Anika Rawlins and A.J. Speier
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