UHAA Public Art 

Sculpture Gardens and art for public places

 

Public arts initiatives will be offered periodically for the inside and outside of buildings, parks and other public spaces.  The University Heights Arts Association will link artists in our district with public art opportunities presented here.  Whether you are an artist looking for public art opportunities, or a business or non-profit  in need of art for your public space, contact us.

Sculpture Gardens

The University Heights Arts Association converted an overgrown lot behind St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of Buffalo into a sculpture garden during the spring and

summer months of 2015. Plans for the lot began in February and necessitated the removal of two trees. The trunk of a large tree was converted into the only permanent sculpture in the garden.

 

Students from local colleges assisted with removing debris and overgrowth from the lot. UHAA members worked throughout the spring and summer to complete the garden. Sculptor Lawrence Kinney custom-designed and hand-crafted a small stage/deck, ten cement platforms for sculpture, and a custom gate/fence which encloses the garden and provides “wall” space for two-dimensional art.

 

Programming

 

The UHAA-St. Andrew Sculpture Garden was unveiled on July 11, 2015 with an artist’s reception. Events throughout the garden’s first season included the second annual UHAA! Festival, Samuel P. Capen Garden Walk, several poetry readings and two acoustic musical performances.

 

Moving Forward

The UHAA-St. Andrew Sculpture Garden will expand during 2016 to include two-dimensional art on the

garden walls plus two murals. Each of two invitational exhibitions are planned for the season featuring the

work of eight area sculptors and three muralists. A series of poetry readings will also take place. Plans for a second garden are underway at another vacant lot in Western New York.

 

Evolving Murals

Additional public art to be unveiled in 2016 include the

Evolving Mural Program. Murals will be attached to surfaces that allow them to be exhibited for a period of time before shifting to alternative locations, sold or returned to the artists. In some instances, murals will be divided into sections that evolve.