On Monday, April 17, the Burchfield Penney Art Center will be recognized at the Museum Association of New York 2023 annual conference “Finding Center: Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement” in Syracuse, New York. The Burchfield Penney Art Center is among fourteen awards this year that celebrate unique leadership, dedicated community service, transformational visitor experiences, community engagement and innovative programs that use collections to tell stories of New Yorkers.
“New York’s museums and museum professionals are reimagining and reinventing their roles within their communities, how they interpret their stories and collections, and the visitor experience,” said Natalie Stetson, Executive Director of the Erie Canal Museum and MANY Program Committee Co-Chair.
MANY’s Award of Distinction in “Engaging Communities” recognized The Burchfield Penney and the work surrounding the LEROI: Living in Color exhibition and the supporting programming. In addition, 40 local youth artists from Buffalo Center for Art and Technology (BCAT), Squeaky Wheel Film and Media Art Center (Squeaky Wheel), Just Buffalo Literary Center (Just Buffalo), and the Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) also will recipients. The exhibition and supporting programming address important conversations around themes like identity, social justice, and community.
These awards celebrate organizations that use exceptional and resourceful methods to engage their communities and build new audiences. Awards are made based on the size of an organization’s operating budget.
“This award not only highlights the impact of arts organizations throughout our city working in concert, but the leadership of the exhibition curator Tiffany Gaines, and the voices of young people,” stated Burchfield Penney Executive Director Scott Propeack.
“This work is central to our mission to offer meaningful, educational, and engaging experiences dedicated to the art and artists of Buffalo and our region.”
“We share this honor with our community partners, the instructors, and youth artists,” stated Tiffany Gaines, curator of the exhibition.
“The communal spirit present in LeRoi Johnson’s work is expanded even further with our innovative partnerships, which bring diverse voices of the next generation into the conversation. The profound and imaginative contributions of each student enrich this project and continue to inspire us to engage our community in new ways.”
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