BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo AKG opens a special exhibition that features poetry, portraits and prose from three local artists in response to the mass shooting at Tops on May 14th.
The show is called 'Before and After Again' and opens on March 8th. It deals with the Tops tragedy on 5/14 in Buffalo.
This exhibit came about because of community conversations months after the tragedy. There was a common experience of not being able to put such a tragedy into words, how to understand it, or how to share it.
The Buffalo AKG approached three local artists: Julia Bottoms, Jillian Hanesworth, and Tiffany Gaines. Each artist spoke with family members and people in the community affected by the tragedy, the violence, and systemic racism in Buffalo.
Together, they came up with ways to present a space of dialogue through different pieces of art.
"Each of the artists is presenting their vision and their voice and it's a very powerful one. It's a very thoughtful one, but more than anything I like to believe it gives us space to think about our grief and our experience. So we don't feel so alone in that journey," Aaron Ott, the curator for the show, said.
Ott hopes this is a space where people can come together to talk about what happened on May 14th.
The doors open to the public on March 8th at 10 in the morning. Starting at 7 in the evening, Gerald Whitfield, Ebony White, and Mark Talley, who are all survivors, will speak about the activism they created in the community since the tragedy.
Later in April, the Buffalo AKG will come out with a book that will feature all the artwork in this exhibit plus some. The price will be around $7.
The exhibition is free and is open through September 30th.
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