BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Monday, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s Public Art Initiative made the announcement that artist Bunnie Reiss will return to the city to produce another mural.
This time Reiss will be taking on the west side wall of Joe's Deli at 1322 Hertel Avenue.
Reiss' previous work in Buffalo is the "Magic Buffalo" she created in 2017 on a Hertel Avenue building.
“I want people to feel good when they’re looking at my work, to simply have a nice emotional response,” Reiss said. “Mural painting has a real function in a community. It beautifies neighborhoods, shares stories, encourages people to interact and gather, helps people slow down their busy lives. Murals reach a large demographic because they’re accessible and free to everybody. The public has a right to beautiful things.”
The new mural will be created May 23-27 after construction obscured the old one. Reiss will also be working with a Buffalo fine art print studio Mirabo Press May 16-20.
Reiss is a storyteller, weaving magic and imagination, along with a love of nature, into her work.
“Painting murals is my favorite thing to do,” Reiss says.
She recently moved to Los Angeles after years in the Bay Area.
Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s Public Art Initiative was established in 2013 to enhance the cultural identity in Buffalo. The city joined the partnership in 2014.
Buffalo AKG says the goal of the project is to "create spaces of dialogue where diverse communities have the ability to socially engage with, actively respond to, and cooperatively produce great public art that is capable of empowering individuals, creating stronger neighborhoods, and establishing Western New York as a critical cultural center."