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Collaborative effort among artists brings new mural to buffalo

Artists include Cecily Brown and local art students
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Posted at 2:57 PM, Jul 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-01 17:52:01-04

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The UB Arts Collaboratory has brought together seven local artists, and a number of art students, to work with internationally renowned painter Cecily Brown on a mural.

"We've been painting figures and stuff, trying to turn certain stuff that wasn't really a person, we try to turn it into a person," said Malinda Hammonds, a student at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.

"All I can hope is that the people who live around here actually like looking at it because one gets a bit nervous. That you're sort of imposing on a neighborhood," said Brown. "But that's partly why to avoid that, it is a collaboration."

It's mural with movement, where the artists are free-painting on the wall of the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.

"It's most definitely going to be something different from all the other murals that's on the wall," said Irena Northington, a student at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.

The collaborative effort between the artists tells unique stories and experiences from different communities in Buffalo and Western New York.

"Mohawk, one of the Haudenosaunee nations, and I really wanted people to connect with the place. With our stories, with elements from the creation story, not just for us, but of this land and of this place," said artist Jodilynn Maracle.

The overall message of the artwork is to bring joy to the newly reopened city of Buffalo, and inspire students for years to come.