Burchfield Penney celebrates year of the arts

The Burchfield Penney Art Center will be kicking off the Year of the Arts at Buffalo State Friday with their Welcome Back and Open House Event.

Admission is free for all, and the event will take place at the Burchfield Penney from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The event will feature the debut of three new exhibitions at the Burchfield, said Alana Ryder, curator for public and academic programs. These new exhibitions are "Buffalo in the 1940s," "Rapt in Beauty" and "For Once, Then, Something."

Live entertainment will be provided by Lukas Johnson, a Western New York native who is now based in Boston. Johnson is a musician and producer who specializes in live electronic music performance.

"We picked Lukas to perform because he grew up in Western New York and now is doing amazing things in electronic music production," Ryder said. "(Johnson) will present a live radio remix from selected Buffalo stations, as well as a set of his own compositions."

Buffalo State's radio station, 91.3 WBNY, will also feature live coverage of the performance.

Another exhibit that will be shown during the event, and is currently on display through Sept. 30, is "New York Remembers", in commemoration of the events of Sept.11.

According to the Buffalo State website, the Burchfield Penney is just one of 30 sites across New York state that houses similar exhibits that feature artifacts from that fateful day.

Among the items are pieces from the World Trade Center buildings, emergency vehicles and the airplanes that hit the towers, according the website.

Ryder also said that students will get the chance to interact with almost twenty organizations from around Buffalo, ranging from the Buffalo Zoo to Shea's Performing Arts Center.

"This Welcome Back and Open House is a chance for students to go to one place to get an introduction to their city," she said.

These many different organizations will be sharing volunteer and internship opportunities that they have, along with events they have planned for the fall.

The event is one of the first of many at the Burchfield this semester, Ryder said.

A film series called "Consider the Alternative," curated by Buffalo State communication professors Meg Knowles and Mike Niman, premieres Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. Admission is free for all students, faculty and staff.

Ryder also encourages students to join the Burchfield Penny Art Center Street Team. It is for those who "want to get more deeply involved," she said.

Representatives from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, just across Elmwood from the Burchfield, will also be present at the event.

The Albright-Knox offers free admission to the gallery's permanent collection on the first Friday of every month. Students may also purchase a semester pass from the box offices located in the Campbell Student Union and Rockwell Hall for $6 that will provide unlimited admission to the gallery for the entire semester.

For more information on any of the events of exhibitions at the Burchfield Penney you can visit burchfieldpenney.org.

Matt Schmidt can be reached by email at schmit.record@live.com.