BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Nineteen Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology students left their mark on the city's East Side Thursday, unveiling a colorful mural they spent months designing and painting with local artists and instructors.
The vibrant public artwork was created by 19 BCAT students, who spent months working with instructors and local artists to transform their ideas into a large-scale mural that welcomes visitors to the East Side campus.
Junior Feza Wilondga said the mural is something the community can be proud of.
"Looking at it will make you feel, 'Wow, Buffalo is one of the biggest cities out there,'" said Wilondga.
WATCH: 'It builds community': Student-led mural brings color, creativity to Buffalo's East Side
Lead Teaching Artist and Program Facilitator Sarah Nemec said the design began with the students themselves.
"They took portraits of each other and broke those portraits down into abstract colors and shapes," said Nemec. "They took the pieces of themselves from their portraits and rearranged them into the mural we have today."
For many students, seeing the finished mural was an emotional moment.
Community leaders said the mural represents more than public art. They say it showcases the creativity of Buffalo's young people while highlighting BCAT's mission to provide educational opportunities and career pathways through the arts.
"The significance this building is going to have with the public art that has been put on it, I want to congratulate everyone," said Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes.
Nemec said she hopes the mural inspires the community.
"I think it's a great example of hope and having youth involved and showing that you care about the communities that they are in," she said. "You want to make them more beautiful and keep putting more good in to get good out."
The mural, titled "Let's See Dreams," is part of the Buffalo AKG Public Art Initiative and is prominently displayed on BCAT's new facility at 368 Sycamore Street, serving as a colorful landmark and a reflection of the students who created it.
