Beyond / In Western New York 2005

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery has been organizing exhibitions dedicated to artists living and working in the Western New York region since 1934. Beyond/In Western New York 2005 continues the Gallery’s commitment to regional artists, and in an ambitious effort to expand the scope of the project, the geographic parameters for eligible artists was extended to Southern Ontario, North Eastern Ohio, North Western Pennsylvania, and Western and Central New York. This endeavor marks the largest collaborative exhibition in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s history, by expanding the exhibition not only geographically, but also by inviting other local institutions to participate, including Buffalo Arts Studio, The Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Big Orbit Gallery, Carnegie Art Center, Castellani Art Museum ,CEPA Gallery, El Museo Francisco Oller Y Diego Rivera, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Langston Hughes Institute, Squeaky Wheel, UB Anderson Gallery, and the UB Art Gallery.

The History of Western New York and In Western New York Exhibitions

Exhibitions dedicated to work from Western New York have been held at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery since 1934. The original exhibition, titled Western New York, was presented at the Gallery on a yearly basis until the mid-1960s, at which point it changed to a biennial format. Notable to the exhibition was its juried format and the call for work extended to the eight counties in Western New York: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming. Jurors were often prominent members of the art world including, at one time or another, curators and artists such as George Segal, Nancy Graves, and Hedda Sterne. Entries were numerous and the resulting exhibitions were large and well received.

When Western New York 1974 exhibited only thirty-seven works out of 1,401 entries, protests arose regarding the validity of the juried format, and artists claimed the exhibition had become more of a competition rather than a carefully chosen exhibition. Local artists also felt there was a lack of interest and support from the Gallery regarding their work and "protest exhibitions" countered at other Buffalo institutions. In response to the outcry from local artists, the Gallery instituted a change in exhibition format.

In 1977 the In Western New York series was launched. In Western New York differed from Western New York in that it abandoned the juried format and was the first regional invitational exhibition held at the Albright-Knox with participating artists selected by Gallery curators. The inaugural exhibition, In Western New York 1977, included seventy-two works of art by fourty-one artists, including Robert Longo and Cindy Sherman. The invitational format offered Gallery curators the opportunity to take a closer look at the work being produced in the community, resulting in an exhibition with fewer artists and more works by those selected. Instituted as an experiment in 1977, In Western New York gained momentum and eventually, in 1998, replaced Western New York, with which it had alternated every other year. The last In Western New York exhibition was held in 2002.

Beyond/In Western New York 2005 will represent yet another change in the exhibition’s format. For the first time, the call for artists is extending beyond Western New York to include Central New York, Southern Ontario, Northeastern Ohio, and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Beyond/In Western New York 2005 will be an invitational exhibition that is the collective effort of a curatorial team representing a number of participating institutions, including Buffalo Arts Studio, The Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Big Orbit Gallery, Carnegie Art Center, Castellani Art Museum, CEPA Gallery, El Museo Francisco Oller Y Diego Rivera, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Langston Hughes Institute, Squeaky Wheel, UB Anderson Gallery, and the UB Art Gallery. The resulting exhibition will be a concentrated look at artists not just working and living in the eight counties of Western New York, but will include a better representation of the artistic community that makes up the Buffalo Niagara region.

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Beyond / In Western New York 2005