Since the early 1900’s Buffalo has been home to important works: painters and photographers whose creations have had a lasting impact on the arts and artists of the region.

Whether it’s by an afternoon spent on Buffalo’s museum mile (actually a quarter-mile stretch) consisting of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (to reopen in 2022 as the Buffalo AKG Art Museum), the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the Buffalo History Museum, locals and tourists alike can can experience much of the modern, contemporary and regional art our city has to offer all without having to repark.

You can even experience some of these amazing local works from your home with virtual tours and books from exhibitions like In The Fullness Of Time, Painting In Buffalo, a collection of 100 public and private works presented by the Burchfield Penney Art Center in early 2020 focusing on the region and 86 artists who depicted it from 1832 until 1972.

But the art doesn’t stop there. In fact, in 1974 the Alternative Space Movement was beginning and a group of UB photography students used it to create the Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts (CEPA), a beloved gallery space to this day. Located in Buffalo’s historic Market Arcade Complex, the member-based organisation continues to bring national acclaim to regional artists.

“We tend to try to feature local artists or artists with themes that we feel will connect to the local community with an eye to openness, to the world,” shared Veronique Cote, CEPA’s Executive Director.

Presenting exhibits, contests and educational experiences throughout the year, CEPA and it’s sister gallery, Big Orbit, aim to bring globally recognized creations to the community and drive engagement inside (and outside) the gallery walls.

While all art may not be for everybody, art is made for everyone to experience—gallery owners hoping they can help to lose the stigma of art being boring or intimidating.

“Give it some time,” suggested Veronique.

“You need to live with art, or let it live around you and accept it for what it is and then try asking questions. And that’s what gets me excited about art. It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not, I can hate it. If it makes me wonder, XYZ, we can ask questions. Why is this, that, what am I looking at? Why am I supposed to be interested in that? Why is this important? And then I think the artist has done his job.”

“Weirdos welcome,” laughed Craig.

Maria added, “People sometimes are really intimidated going into art galleries and don’t want to sound like they’re educated, and we’re always like, ‘Ask us questions, we’d love to talk to you about the art.’ I want people to, if at first, the initial reaction is like, wow, the more they look at it, they want to understand it. That’s my hope, that they really want to enjoy it as much as we do.”