Events

This weekend, the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts will celebrate its 16th year by inviting more than 170 artists and 70 performers to a six block stretch of Elmwood Avenue between West Ferry Street and St. James Place. “We wanted to create an event, with the help of thousands of co-creators that helped to bring out the best in all of us,” says festival chairman, Joe DiPasquale. In anticipation of the festival, which runs this Saturday, August 29 through Sunday, August 30, we picked a handful of must-see artists.

Craig LaRotonda Artist Craig LaRotonda’s work is very recognizable. His highly stylized work has appeared on the covers and in the pages of several notable magazines including the New York Times, LA Weekly, Las Vegas Weekly, and he even did the cover art for the very first issue of The Public.

Nicole Johnson Williamsville’s Nicole Johnson has some of the strangest and creepiest art you’ll find at the art festival this year. Her “mealy monster land” collection includes gholish human spiders and psychotic bunny rabbits with bulging eyes protruding from their grotesque faces. Her monsters are probably the most fun and playful sculpture art you’ll find on Elmwood this weekend.

Jacquelyn Galas The art of Jacquelyn Galas celebrates Buffalo’s opulent architecture in a new way. Her etched prints personify Western New York’s iconic structures, bringing them to life with exaggerated linework and playful perspectives. Her subjects include the Darwin Martin House, North Park Theatre, the Grand Island bridges, and many more landmarks that are re-examined through her use of black oil and paper.

Jesse Lége The only artist on this list who doesn’t hail from Buffalo, Jesse Lége, is also the only non visual artist too. Lége, a member of the Cajun Music Hall of Fame, will bring his perfected brand of Cajun dance hall music from his home state of Louisiana to the festival’s dance tent. His full mastery of his accordion and voice will be on display at 5pm on Saturday.

Chuck Tingley Another member of The Public cover artist club, Check Tingley’s art is indentifiable by his bold yet ethereal human figures. He’s a practiced street artist—you may have seen some of his work on brick walls around town, including on the side of Main (St)udios downtown—but at the festival he’ll display his layered paint and pencil works.