Last year, two Erie County legislators sponsored the Erie County Public Art bill. It was signed into law by the county executive.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Local artists have been struggling. Many are simply small business owners.
Last year, two Erie County legislators sponsored the Erie County Public Art bill.
It was signed into law by the county executive.
The law requires 1 percent of the cost of capital building projects be set aside so local artists can have county funds allocated to countywide artistic beautification projects. It is to allow local artists to bid on county contracts the same way other small business owners are able to.
Local artist Edreys Wajed said “we are entrepreneurs, yes, artists should be looked at as entrepreneurs and as professionals.”
Princessa Figueroa Williams, owner of Princesses Studio and Art Gallery in North Buffalo, is the first Latina female millennial-owned art gallery in Western New York.
“Funding local artists like myself ensures that art in our community is not neglected and that we are given an opportunity to create and share our work with the public, where we have a positive impact on our local economy by stimulating growth, creating jobs,” she said.
Artist LeRoi Johnson said, “I’ve been to many places around the world, and I think Buffalo can compete. There’s been a great explosion of artists here and culture and it can only happen with the partnership and that’s the partnership of the government. And with the artist and with the organization such as the Burchfield Penney, the AKG and the other organizations in town, Buffalo Art Studio and the rest.”
