Located in the historic Tri-Main Building on Main Street, the Buffalo Arts Studio (BAS) encompasses 20,000 sq. ft. of the building’s fifth floor. With multiple galleries, over thirty studio spaces and an education program for locals, the center’s multi-functional space is committed to making art accessible to the Buffalo community.
Alma Carrillo, the Executive Director for the BAS, told The Spectrum, “I think…what I want [readers] to know is that there is a space for them,…that art can be accessible, and that you can find something that you love.”
This belief is at the core of how the center functions.
Despite other galleries being forced to reduce their hours, the BAS stays open to the public — for free —five days a week, and is a part of the M&T Bank Fourth Friday program — free admission to the museum once a month — allowing them to extend their hours every fourth Friday. The center also runs a Jumpstart Program for middle and high school students interested in pursuing a career in the arts. This program provides students with mentorship and support as they explore their talent and interests.
The BAS does not make art accessible for just the viewer, but also for the creator.
Carrillo explains, “[W]e, in studio spaces, are affordable and safe, and that's one of our big missions. We want to make sure working artists, especially as the pricing for spaces to work continues to grow, ‘Do they have a space where they can actually engage, and, you know, do the work?’”
As the center is a non-profit, their mission is supported by donations and events such as Live on Five.
The event features an exhibition of nearly 700 donated 5-by-5 inch pieces by over 200 local artists. The resulting display is a beautifully diverse array of works in a number of different mediums. It is truly astonishing to see how much the artists could accomplish with small canvases.
“There are drawings, there are paintings, there are oil, acrylics, there’s even sculptural work that you're gonna be able to find there,” Carrillo explains. “So there's something, really, for everyone.”
Live on Five has been a primary source of funding for BAS for 5 years now, and holds the auction online with bidding beginning at only $25 in congruence with their mission of accessibility.
“We are trying to raise funds,” Carrillo clarifies, “but we want to make sure that we are continuing to build collectors, and for people to really connect with the artists and to get to know them”
The online approach allows bidders to engage with their desired pieces from wherever circumstances might place them. Bidders at the center during auctioning are able to mingle with artists and explore the surrounding studios during the live auction, only having to look out for a notification on their phone if they’re outbid.
“It was so successful,” Carrillo says about the remote auction. “People loved it. It made it really easy.”
The online auction took place from April 16 to 18. Lucky bidders will pick up their pieces at the center on April 24 at the BAS’ Pick-Up Party. The free Pick-Up Party will feature a performance from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
BAS prioritizes the Buffalo Community, whether that be by providing affordable studio spaces to local artists, or welcoming patrons 7 days a week for no charge; Live on Five is one of the major contributors to making this possible.
“[T]his fundraiser is helping us with a lot of those expenses that come from keeping the space open,” Carrillo explains. “You know, from keeping the lights on… paying the rent, making sure that we keep our hours”
The 5-by-5 exhibit was freely available to the public from March 27 toApril 17. This allowed local artists to gain much traction, as well as for viewers to better acquaint themselves with the robust art community in our highly creative city. Carillo emphasizes the community building aspect of this event.
“The event is a great opportunity for people to get introduced to the artist community here in Buffalo,” she says.
Carrillo highlights the BAS’ goal of squashing the stereotypical, exclusive, “enigmatic” environment of the art crowd. She explains many people may have connotations of the art community being intimidating, but as she recounts past events at the studio, it is clear that these local artists are incredibly inclined to share their passions with their community, as well as “nerd out” with fellow enjoyers and creators of art.
The Buffalo Arts Studio is open to the public for free Mondays to Fridays from 11 a.m.to 5 p.m.and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.The center’s galleries feature various artists’ work throughout the year, and their artists’ studios are open for visitors to walk through.
The arts desk can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Myanmar Student Association
