From all the new things here I bet viewing art is the top priority on your list, right?  No?  To the freshmen and other newbies that have came here I suggest giving it a shot. The exhibit is high quality, took years to produce and will give you more than just an experience viewing nice pictures, with notices on the walls to find how some were made, and why most of the photographs have a man, standing alone, with an orange cap in them.

The grand opening was back on September 11th where I watched over a dozen people help themselves to melted sherbet juice, and an assortment of cookies, in formal dresses to dress shirts, all engaged in pleasant conversation.  The art gallery here has some kind of following!  Its pleasantly surprising, and caught me off guard.  The exhibits focus on various faculty artists.  I’m not surprised the last, and perhaps the largest, showing was the photos from a professor Joe Z.  Adviser to the photography club and traveling artist.  He was able to tell me about the photos that came from Tonowanda to Okinawa.  This project started two years ago when he asked for the funds to be able to travel, and since then  has brought the grand opening in the paper, and been taking artists statements for this.  He has been doing this since 1988, and the quality of work is something that I can’t deny, even as a noobile art critic, is incredible.  He invites any and all who have an interest in the arts to join the photography club, even if photography or art is not the profession they’re seeking, including me.  You may have missed the drinks and cookies but this is only the first act.

I bet you’re wondering then, ” Well I missed the event.  What now?”.  Joe plans no new art exhibits in the near distant future but when I asked how could anybody get involved with art on campus, or in the area, he told me a few places to stop by.  The first is the Goart.org, which is held by the Genesee-Orleans regional arts council.  You can donate on the page or involve yourself with any of their activities locally.  The place has a gallery posted up, but you need to schedule an appointment from 9-4 from Monday to Friday.  It’s a bit classy.  If that doesn’t hit anything, how about art Fridays?  Look up first Fridays for Rochester and Buffalo on the almighty google.  Every first friday of the month some art shows and activities are held at local galleries at each city.  The best part is that it’s free.  The last is the Allen Street Art Festival where there is sure to be food, crafts and good time, that is though when it actually shows.  The festival is a yearly event so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Even though I’ve only been here for little over three weeks, I can tell the people here are kind and dedicated to their arts and crafts (forgive the pun).  In all seriousness though, show up sometime to the Roz Steiner gallery or anything else around here.  It really is a rare gem on campus and as Joe said ” It’s really nice to see young people here.”