The
Young Audiences of Western New York and the city of Buffalo are partnering to
create a new mural on Grant Street and Lafayette Avenue.
The mural will be constructed based on stories
from local refugees and immigrants, which will then be transformed into
pictures of art.
“The
theme of this mural is ‘Celebrating the Refugee Experience’, and we are just
trying to learn more about the immigrants in our community and their stories,”
said Melissa Buckley, Director of Development of Young Audiences of WNY.
The art project is broken down
into two different phases. The first involves Young Audiences doing programs
with school children of Lafayette High School, International School Number 45,
and the Community Academic Center, beginning early winter.
“The
purpose of these programs is to speak to the children and their families and
listen to their stories and then figure out how to turn that into art,” Buckley
said.
The
second involves sorting the combination of stories and coming up with the final
visual for the mural based on those anecdotes. The mural is expected to be
complete by next summer.
Councilman
David Rivera of the Niagara District thinks having the city of Buffalo join
with Young Audiences is something that contributes to this great creation.
“The
West Side is a very diverse neighborhood and immigrants are coming in from all
over the world, and they make up what we call our ‘beautiful melting pot,’ and
this mural will really capture that,” Rivera said. By Lakisha Forde and Narmeen Karzoun
