Emmy award-winning Cirque du Soleil is bringing its international hit production, Dralion, to HSBC Arena in Buffalo, October 27-31. From its humble beginnings in 1984 as street performances in Montreal, Cirque du Soleil’s mission has always been to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world. With Dralion, the company fuses ancient Chinese circus traditions with Cirque’s well-known avant-garde style. The show takes on a futuristic dimension, where time is suspended and magical laws rule the land. The set, the costumes and the music are all blends of Eastern and Western cultures, creating…
Author: Wudenbachs
Fundraising for art projects is one of the toughest things to attempt in a recession. Traditional funding sources like foundations and grant makers generally have less to give and more and more applications to consider. New models for fundraising such as the online Kickstarter offer a unique way for people to pitch their projects directly to the public to enable micro-donation, and just like a long-tail model predicts, those micro-donations can add up to significant amounts. Several local projects have seen the value in this new method of fiscal tree-shaking. Just recently, the non-profit WNY Book Arts Center (WNYBAC) in…
Recently, a small beaten down building in Buffalo’s Cobblestone District was in the news because City Court granted a demolition order at the request of the owner. The story of this demo permit became the most recent preservation controversy and headline in the Buffalo area. Since the story broke the courts have stayed the demo order pending further investigation. So why all the fuss about this building?The building, dubbed the Blacksmith Shop after its most recent and long departed tenant is close to 140 years old. Buildings of this age date to near the end of Canal Era Buffalo, a time when…
This Thursday and Saturday, the WNY Book Arts Center we will be offering two unique workshops with guest instructors from Starshaped Press in Chicago. Starshaped Press is a letterpress studio committed to keeping their work as authentic to the old ways as possible, meaning that all projects are printed using hand-set antique metal and wood type. In holding to the belief that there is no digital equivalent to the inherent beauty and imperfection of type that is sometimes 100 years old, Starshaped has adopted the motto: “All Metal, All the Time (Except When it’s Wood).” This level of commitment to…
THE BASICS: The Irish Classical Theatre has revived W.S. Gilbert’s (think Gilbert and Sullivan) satirical comedy of love and money. The production, directed by Fortunato Pezzimenti, plays weekends through May 23rd. Combining Acts 2 and 3 shortens the proceedings by one intermission, but Engaged still clocks in at approximately 2¼ hours.THUMBNAIL SKETCH: The action takes place in the 1870s, in a cottage garden on the English-Scottish border, and in the drawing room of a London town house. The plot, quite convoluted, revolves around Cheviot Hill, a slick young Londoner of means, his flames, family and friends. Cheviot seems able to…
A group of West Side organizations have teamed up to create a launchpad for aspiring entrepreneurs. Called the West Side Bazaar, the vending project hopes to open in June and upon opening will feature offerings as eclectic as the cultural diversity of the area.Vendors are to be provided store booths, utilities, workshops and business mentoring in hopes of continuing to revitalize the Grant Street commercial district for local shoppers and tourists. The bazaar will contribute to vendors’ rent for the first two-plus years.The effort is also intended to provide opportunities to the growing refugee population on the West Side.Currently, the…
Young Audiences of Western New York, an arts provider for children, has created an artist residency for schools based on the local history of the Underground Railroad. The new effort has two goals. First, Young Audiences was looking to bring more African-American artists onto its roster of 150 regional and national artists, and, second, it wanted to create a program to help children understand racial and social disparities. The local history of the Underground Railroad seemed a natural fit to tie to these goals, and funding from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo allowed the 48-year-old organization to make it happen.…
“Eating your words” may be a figure of speech, but once a year, people around the world (and now in Buffalo), can literally eat their words at the International Edible Book Festival. The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event held on April 1st across the globe. This potluck dinner meets art show pushes the limits of how the word “book” is defined, uniting bibliophiles, book artists and food lovers in a celebration of the ingestion of culture and its fulfilling nourishment. Participants create edible books that are exhibited, documented and then consumed. It is also important to note…
A local man is asking Buffalonians to go from “Backstage to Backwoods” this upcoming spring and donate money as part of a fundraiser for Theatre of Youth (TOY). Toy’s Head of Design Ken Shaw, along with his dog Gracie, is planning a hike from on the Finger Lakes Trail, from the Catskill Mountains to Allegheny State Park, in order to raise money for the Theatre.Shaw plans to travel for 50 days as part of this “trip for a cause.” He and Gracie will set out on May 15th, and hike the 562-mile stretch of trail at a pace of approximately…
Image by oddsock via FlickrIt’s not everyday that an art exhibit has an actual piece produced at the opening reception. Tonight, Friday Jan 29 from 6-9pm is the official opening of the Hero Design Studio retrospective: Pulled to the Limit at the Western New York Book Arts Center (468 Washington at Mohawk). Visitors can see the exhibit, but also see the folks from Hero print the final color on a 4 color commemorative exhibit poster for this exact exhibit. They will be using the homemade press (a vacuum table that employs an actual vacuum cleaner as its motor) that printed most of…