“There are few things that can bring people together like community art projects can. Community art projects are more than just exercises in creativity; they’re exercises in empathy. They encourage us to embrace our differences, celebrate our commonalities, and leave something lasting for others to enjoy. Late last year, I had the privilege of attending a workshop with Alexa Wajed & Edreys Wajed, founders of Eat Off Art, on building community through art at the NY Funders Alliance NY Funders Conference in Buffalo. It was such a great excercise. Seeing how individuals from different backgrounds came together to contribute their unique perspectives and talents reminded me of a simple truth: there is no “wrong” in creativity. Art is one of the most inclusive ways to build community because it values everyone’s contributions. Whether your style is bold or subtle, abstract or realistic, your voice matters! And when we weave those voices together, the results are extraordinary—not just visually, but emotionally and socially. I’d love to hear how you build community creatively. Have you participated in a project that changed your perspective or strengthened your connections?”
Corrine Ribble (Philanthropic Leader) Executive Director of the NY Funders Alliance – From a LinkedIn Post
The Eat Off Art “Palate Cleanser” was a workshop offered during a 2-day conference for the NY Funder’s Alliance. Non Profits from all over New York State gathered at the Richardson Hotel. Each participate, upon arrival received a Journal and a Healing art and resource workbook.
This 40-60 Minute Palate Cleanser is perfect for corporate events such as retreats, business meetings, professional development days, employee appreciation events, or even as a special highlight at celebrations. The activity promotes healing, mindfulness, and creativity while fostering a sense of renewal.
Think of it as a reset button for the mind. The Palate Cleanser is a guided art session where participants step away from their usual routines to engage with creative practices that stimulate their imagination, foster relaxation, and allow them to experience art in a novel way. This session provides the opportunity to declutter mental noise, making room for clarity, focus, and inspiration.
What’s Included:
• Guided creative activities tailored to your goals.
• Art supplies and facilitation provided.
• A meaningful pause to reset and recharge.
Why Choose a Palate Cleanser?
✨ Promote mindfulness and emotional wellness.
✨ Clear mental clutter and improve focus.
✨ Spark creativity and innovative thinking.
✨ Foster team collaboration and connection.
Add this unique experience to your next corporate event!
LaSalle Equitable Transit-Oriented Development RFP Public Engagement
Your feedback is welcomed for this exciting opportunity for Buffalo!
The City of Buffalo and NFTA are collaborating on an Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) opportunity at the LaSalle Station site, which includes the NFTA-Metro Rail Station and the adjacent Park-and-Ride lot. The purpose of this project is to create ETOD that supports urban vibrancy and activation, innovative and attractive environments that foster talent attraction, intelligent technology and placemaking design, and affordable and accessible transportation.
Eat Off Art is excited to collaborate on the proposed LaSalle Crossing Equitable Transit-Oriented Development project alongside Albanese Organization, Inc., Wendel, and an incredible team of community partners!
The City of Buffalo received three incredible development proposals from local and national development teams. The LaSalle ETOD Selection -Committee began its evaluation process in the fall of 2024. As the selection process moves toward its conclusion, the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning is asking for community input on the three proposals.
Community members can learn more about the proposals from the three development teams in the presentations included on this page. We are asking community residents to provide comments in the survey form below.
In what may be the first of its kind, two College of Arts and Sciences faculty members have developed an interdisciplinary course that challenges students to reimagine justice through creativity.
Matt Kenyon, an artist and designer, and Camilo Trumper, a historian specializing in Chilean protest movements, combined their classes — Kenyon’s “Design Play” (ART425LAB) and Trumper’s “Art and Revolutionary Politics in Latin America (HIS304) — to explore the question: How can we build a just world through play?
“This is the first time, to my knowledge, that history and art students have collaborated to design video games,” says Kenyon, associate professor of art. “It’s an exciting intersection of storytelling, political critique and interactive design.”
The collaboration, sparked by their mutual interest in fostering socially engaged scholarship, was guided by Dalia Muller, associate professor of history and principal investigator of the Impossible Project, a Mozilla Foundation-funded initiative promoting antiracist pedagogy. Together, Trumper and Kenyon crafted a learning experience that challenges students to not only think critically, but also imagine radically.
“This is a unique class. I’ve never been involved in anything like this,” says Trumper, associate professor of history. “This collaboration has been incredibly generative and enlivening, providing space for new ideas and approaches to emerge. Having Matt there to bounce ideas back and forth has also been transformative for my teaching approach. I think it’s also the best class I’ve ever taught at UB in 14 years. It’s been a great experience.”
Trumper’s “Art and Revolutionary Politics in Latin America” is largely a street art class that looks at how people took to the streets to claim public space and participate in politics, both in democracy and under dictatorships.
“This topic stems from my own research interests and I’ve taught iterations of this course before, so it’s familiar to me,” Trumper says. “However, the opportunity to collaborate with Matt and his students has been transformative for me as a teacher and for our history students. That’s what I hoped would happen, and it’s borne out in really interesting ways.”
The winning group, Eye-Ris, presents their game “Quazr” to the judges. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
Workshops, lectures and hands-on sessions bring together students from diverse disciplines, including history, art and design. These undergraduate and graduate students form interdisciplinary teams, blending their expertise to craft games that engage with real-world issues.
Kenyon says that at the heart of the course is the idea of “deep play,” where students explore justice-oriented themes through interactive games.
“We have a very rich, mixed class of skills and abilities, and the whole semester started off with the question of how we can build a more just world through play. This kind of imagination is a radical gesture,” Kenyon says. “It asks students to move beyond critique and start imagining what might seem impossible. Through art and design, they can manifest these ideas in tangible ways.”
Kenyon emphasizes the importance of cultivating “critical imaginary” — the ability to envision radical possibilities and bring them to life. This approach combines traditional elements like readings and lectures with unconventional methods such as interactive gameplay and collaborative storytelling. The result is a curriculum that balances analytical rigor with creative freedom.
Juno Hunter, a senior studying theatre performance, was pleasantly surprised by the class.
“I was aware of the collaboration with the game design class, but I was expecting more of a traditional art history class,” Hunter says. “Once I was presented with the reality of the class — that being a largely discussion-based and community-oriented experience — I let myself get excited. I’ve always functioned better in nontraditional class environments, so I felt really safe to throw myself into the discussion and research.”
Trumper notes feedback from students has been informal but overwhelmingly positive, and he’s discovered that the structure and space the class provides allows for students to become leaders in the classroom.
The fall semester culminated in a unique opportunity: The best student project received a $5,000 grant from the Mozilla Foundation to continue development. “The grant motivates students to push boundaries,” Kenyon explains. “It’s not just about learning skills; it’s about creating something impactful.”
Students presented their games and concepts on Dec. 9 to a panel of judges consisting of local artists Alexa and Edreys Wajed, and Kenny León Adino. Ahmed Best, an actor, educator and artist, flew in from California to serve as a judge.
“They were exceptional judges for our course finale, offering their expertise in performance, storytelling and visual artistry to evaluate the students’ work. Their diverse perspectives and deep understanding of design and social justice provided invaluable insights and inspiration to the next generation of game creators,” Kenyon says.
Hunter’s group, Eye-Ris, took home the top prize for their game Quazar, which gives players an idea of what it’s like to navigate the world as a disabled entity.
“The player’s bodily autonomy is restricted and it’s intentionally frustrating for them, so they have a better understanding of what it’s like to be disabled,” Hunter says.
Kenyon and Trumper agree the course is more than an academic exercise: It’s an opportunity to shape a better future.
“By designing games that grapple with justice and possibility, they are not only reimagining the world, but also learning how to build it,” Kenyon says.
In the most simple explanation, it is our stance that once an artist completes a public work, it then rests in the admiration, ownership and protection of the community in which it’s situated. Ownership meaning, a prideful and purposeful sense of welcoming the art into their space, as it becomes a part of the culture and context of their neighborhood. Protection meaning, with the embrace of the community in ownership and warm reception to the public art, that there is unwritten suggestion and practice for visitors and immediate community members alike to respect the property and space that the art occupies.
In 2018, a mural on Bailey and Amherst that I had the opportunity of collaborating with fellow artists on was defaced by racist propaganda. Before the artists and mural funders were aware, the community took immediate action to begin tending to the art and its restoration. The mural was eventually professionally restored, as is proper protocol in such a situation, and the point of this example is that the community had enough pride in the piece to find it fit to “protect and care” for it, which extends beyond the duty of the artist initially delivering their art services to the project.
The following images of “Good Trouble,” a mural that was envisioned and funded by Councilman Mitch Nowakowski and Rebecca Castaneda of the Fillmore District and Howard Johnson, Erie County Legislator, reflect the success of how community becomes action oriented to protect and oversee public works. The mural of the late John Lewis was completed in 2021. After Buffalo sustained a heavy weather battering between December 2022 and January of 2023, a nearby tree had fallen, imposing upon the mural and walkway which the community frequents. Thanks to Tommy Gallagher, Buffalo resident and a mural enthusiast, the situation was brought to our attention via social media on Instagram.
Upon receiving messaging from Tommy, we contacted Rebecca and she was resourcefully swift in removing the tree, debris and such, restoring the area with a passable walkway and making the art visible again. This is an example of a community caring for and taking ownership of public art. Such an act does not signify any threat to the artist or strip them of copyright or ownership per se, nor should situations where community seeks out the art for memorable photo selfies and the likes. As professionals, artists must indeed protect their intellectual rights and copyrights to what they create, however, we believe there’s a thin line that can be overstepped, by either artist or community. Crediting artists after any use or application of the public art that they created should be standard. In situations where the community “uses” images of the art for personal/business gains, the relationship becomes sketchy, in the least. Just as well, when public art becomes a leveraging tool for an artist, putting themselves and personal gain before the interests or welfare of the community, a soft agreement is somewhat breached, fracturing the “public” in Public Art.
Eat Off Art will continue to do our best in making sure that lines of communication between institute, artist and community remain healthy, productive and forward-thinking for a wide sweeping sense of harmony and togetherness.
