BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Cobblestone District is a little brighter after the Albright Knox unveiled new murals as part of its public art initiative.
12 artists were brought in to produce these murals, which were originally scheduled to be part of the "Cobblestone Live Music Fest," which was canceled due to the pandemic.
"We haven't been able to do that because of the pandemic, but I think now when we are able to gather again and when we are able to celebrate, the vibrancy behind us will only add to the vibrancy that this entire cobblestone district actually represents," said Aaron Ott, curator of public art at the Albright Knox.
The murals are a mixture of local, national, and international artists. Additionally, they are a mixture of male, female, black, LGBTQ+, each with their own signature style.
"We wanted that to be present here in a way that it would reflect back the diversity of our great city" Ott said.
The artists for the project are Obsidian Bellis, Jason Brammer, Lauren Mckenzie-Pearce, James Moffitt, aka YAME, Ellen Rutt, Bradd Young, aka SALUT, Monet Alyssa, Morgan Blair, Thomas Evans, aka Detour, Karle Norman, Miriam Singer, Cyrielle Tremblay.
"We do want this space to be international national local to represent the vitality of Buffalo and the kind of culture that our city is is worthy of," Ott said.
Ott said this installation adds to an already impressive lineup of public art in Buffalo.
"The Albright Knox has a reputation for presenting some of the best public art in North America right now," Ott said. "We have some of the best opportunities to do that in our great region and it's resulting in some of the best artwork that we've seen."