The annual summer art event PLAY/GROUND announced that it will be held August 6-15, 2021 at four key locations in Buffalo. PLAY/GROUND is calling for artists for its annual event, which is sponsored by M&T Bank and organized by BICA (The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art) and Resource:Art.
“We are excited to share our vision for this year’s art PLAY/GROUND, which will connect downtown Buffalo and the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood through art,” said Emily Tucker, director of Resource:Art. “Our goal for this year is to bring diverse communities together to reflect on unique perspectives, heal and grow together as one strong Western New York community. Our selection of this year’s venues is intentional, and we hope to engage new artists and new communities to create a shared experience that is engaging and accessible for all visitors.”
2021 PLAY/GROUND will be a Buffalo-based public art extravaganza spanning 10 days. From August 6-15, 2021, public art installations will be on display within a 10-mile radius that connects downtown Buffalo with the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood and at four main locations: Central Terminal, Broadway Market, Matt Urban Center and Canalside. This is the second iteration of a socially-distant PLAY/GROUND. In 2020, PLAY/GROUND was spread over 11 different sites that stretched from Graycliff to Artpark, with 22 projects and participating artists from as far away as San Francisco, California.
By focusing the 2021 event on Broadway Fillmore and at the Central Terminal, PLAY/GROUND dovetails with the Central Terminal’s goals to increase programmatic and physical connections with the surrounding community and to activate the site with diverse events and attendees. PLAY/GROUND will work in tandem with Central Terminal staff to build a creativity hub for the overall event, a memorable space for the enjoyment of art that is suitable for all ages.
“PLAY/GROUND is a wonderful opportunity for art to display its ability to heal, to connect and to open avenues for wonder and creativity,” said Nancy Brock, vice president and program director of The M&T Charitable Foundation. “We at M&T Bank are grateful to participate in this very accessible, interactive public art program that will connect residents of the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhoods and beyond.”
PLAY/GROUND aims to maximize participation with the communities that reside in and around the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood and the three-mile stretch to Canalside, including Explore & More Children’s Museum and other waterfront attractions.
Broadway-Fillmore is the perfect epicenter for this event; a neighborhood that is welcoming, hopeful and striving, despite demographics that represent hardship. The event will highlight and form partnerships with local businesses and drive new revenue streams from event visitors.
COVID-19 guidelines not only continue to be followed by PLAY/GROUND, but are also a driving force behind this year’s event. As the entirety of the festival will be contained within a 10-mile radius, attendees are encouraged to walk and bike between displays, to promote health and wellness while enjoying and exploring creativity. Together with Go Bike Buffalo and Buffalo Bike Tours, PLAY/GROUND will have several ways for participants to be ready to cycle between the installations safely.
Public art proposals will be accepted beginning Friday, May 7th, on the PLAY/GROUND website, through June 4, 2021. Two Zoom information sessions for artists will be held in May, with more information forthcoming.
The PLAY/GROUND team consists of Emily Reynolds and Nando Alvarez-Perez, from The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA), and Elisabeth Samuels and Emily Tucker from the art consultancy Resource:Art. Founded in 2018, PLAY/GROUND began as a weekend-long art experience at a former Medina, NY high school.
Please contact Emily Tucker for more information via phone: 716.553.8483 or email: dreamteam@artplaygroundny.com.
