Community Canvases, the public art outfit that is ‘going to town’ painting objects of un-interest in our commercial neighborhoods, will be heading to the University District this Saturday. You may have noticed (it’s hard not too) myriad works of art springing up from Riverside to the Elmwood Village.
Last Saturday and Sunday Artist Elaine O’Toole and Jim Montour of Community Canvases painted a Franz Marc style mural at The Barkyard dog park at LaSalle Park (see images).
According to Alexander W. Cornwell, President of Community Canvases, “The theme incorporate a variety of dogs. The Barkyard is excited to be funding the project. Joseph Lonzi, President of Barkyard, and Jay “Micropark” McCarthy, Vice President of Barkyard and North District school board member, have worked with us to make this project come to fruition.
“I am excited as vice president of the Barkyard and a board member of Community Canvases,” said Micropark Jay. “To see this project which will improve upon the existing structure with an exciting artistic element. I’m very excited about this mural project. It represents an added feature to the Barkyard that helps to improve the park and gives people another reason to bring their dogs to the waterfront.”
With the painting project at the dog park behind us, we can look forward to seeing a new splash of color in the University District over the weekend. If you live in the neighborhood, head on over to Main Street and meet and greet the artists who will be putting in long hours, as others have already done throughout the city. The University Heights public art initiative is part of a community partnership with the University Heights Tool Library, University Collaborative and the University Heights Block Club. The Tool Library was awarded a Keep America Beautiful Grant, that will allow some artists to continue painting throughout the week. Aaron Krolikowski, Manager at the University Heights Tool Library, shared, “The University Heights community was fortunate to receive a grant from Keep America Beautiful that allowed us to not only track the graffiti found throughout the neighborhood, but also identify creative ways to turn unsightly graffiti into a community asset. We hope this project and partnership with Community Canvases can turn into a larger public art initiative that can benefit all of University District.”
“We are so thrilled that street art is becoming so accepted by Buffalonians,” said Jim Montour of Community Canvases. “With this project, we hope to show the University Heights community that the best approach to graffiti abatement is art itself, while adding to the unique flavor of University Heights.”
Artists involved with the paint event include Elyssa Harper, OGRE, Chuck Tingley, Vintago, Elaine O’Toole and Daddy’s Garage.