Irena Woszczak and Maureen E. Gleason Featured in Exhibition: Finding Refuge in Buffalo

Finding Refuge in Buffalo: A photo/essay collection celebrating Buffalo’s immigrant and refugee community by Jody K. Biehl and Brendan Bannon

Opening Reception: Friday, June 28th, 2019, 5:30-8pm
Exhibition On View: June 28 – July 20, 2019
Exhibition Hours: by appointment
Argus Gallery: 1896 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14207

Buffalo, NY - Argus Gallery is pleased to host Finding Refuge in Buffalo a celebration of Buffalo’s history as an immigration and refugee hub. The exhibition is a photo and essay collection by University at Buffalo’s Director of Journalism, Jody K. Biehl, and internationally recognized photographer Brendan Bannon that touches on questions of home, belonging, culture, and what it means to be American. The project features 24 portraits and profiles of people from 13 different countries and stories that span multiple generations. From Italian, Polish and Irish Immigrants in the 1900s to Burmese, Bhutanese and Congolese today, the exhibit looks at how immigration continues to reshape our city. It makes a national issue local, personal.

Everyone whose family came to Buffalo from elsewhere has a story. As part of the project, Biehl and Bannon are creating a digital database of immigration stories. On June 28th, there will be staff on site to record stories and guests are encouraged to bring family photos and share family stories and discuss relevant heritage links. These will be recorded and will be a part of the project’s community archive.

The Exhibition runs from June 28th through July 20th and is open by appointment. Please contact Jody K. Biehl at jkbiehl@buffalo.edu to make an appointment. Finding Refuge in Buffalo is funded by NY Humanities, Community Arts Initiative, and the University at Buffalo’s Experiential Learning Network.

ABOUT THE CREATORS:
Jody K. Biehl is Director of the University at Buffalo’s Journalism Program and a faculty member in the English department. Prior to her work in Buffalo, she lived in Berlin, Germany, where she was an editor at Der Spiegel International. Before joining Der Spiegel, Biehl worked as a European correspondent for The San Francisco Chronicle and as a free-lance correspondent for USA TODAY and the Boston Globe. In 2017, Biehl published, “Right Here, Right Now, The Buffalo Anthology,” an edited collection of stories about the region.

Brendan Bannon has created and led photography education projects with refugee youth for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees and the International Rescue Committee in Yemen, Namibia, Jordan and Lebanon. Bannon’s workshops offer young people living in refugee camps an opportunity to explore and explain their lives. Bannon’s process has been featured by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, the PBS Newshour, the New York Times and American Photo magazine and has shown at Museum of Modern Art. Bannon is regularly commissioned by the U.N., The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Daily Telegraph, among others. Bannon’s photography is shown around the world in galleries and museums. He has served as an artist in residence at Bakersfield College, Saint Bonaventure, Hilbert College and Stetson College and has lectured at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and at the International Center of Photography’s school.

ABOUT ARGUS GALLERY:
Situated on Niagara Street in lower Black Rock, Argus Gallery supports the arts through exhibition and seeks to provide opportunities for discourse and critical engagement in contemporary art within Buffalo and Western New York.