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The Fine Arts

One thing, among many, that surprises visitors to Buffalo is the depth and breadth of the art scene. With internationally renowned galleries like the Albright-Knox and the newly renovated Burchfield Penney Art Center, this city is definitely “on the map,” having been called a “rising giant” this year by AmericanStyle magazine and voted the number one mid-sized city (number one!) in its annual Top 25 Arts Destinations readers’ poll.

Amy Taravella (photo by Rose Mattrey)

While the Albright-Knox, Burchfield Penney, Hallwalls, and CEPA may be the biggest names in the national arena, let’s not forget that Buffalo is home to more than 50 private and public art galleries. There are handfuls of art openings each weekend, and our galleries both big and small keep an exciting and contemporary rotation from both local, national, and international artists. And of course, “art” can mean many different things. Our painters, sculptors, writers, actors, dancers, and “genre-defying artists” (our admittedly hackneyed term) are well known and have quite a following, considering the amount of votes we counted for individual artists.

And consider the popularity of street festivals like the Allentown Art Festival and the Elmwood Festival of the Arts (RIP Artvoice Street Festival. Maybe we’ll see you again sometime…) which draw thousands of people each year. And the relatively new Infringement Festival is also on the horizon, that week-and-a-half long hodgepodge of weird, truly “genre-defying” art and performance that spans neighborhoods and venues.

No matter the temperature, with those events to look forward to, it’s certain to be a good summer.

k. o’day

Finalists are listed in no particular order. Winners to be announced April 26, 6-9pm, at Town Ballroom


Best Actors/Actresss

Loraine O’Donnell
Mary Kate O’Connell
Matt Witten
Vincent O’Neill
Brian Riggs

Best Theater Companies

Road Less Traveled
Irish Classical Theatre
Buffalo United Artists
Kavinoky Theater
Ujima Theater

Best Cinemas

Regal Elmwood
The Amherst
The Screening Room
The North Park
The Market Arcade

Best Cultural Assets

Shea’s Performing Arts Center
Burchfield Penney Arts Center
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Casteallani Art Museum
Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Best Under-the-radar Art Spaces

Sugar City
Alt Theatre
464 Gallery
Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
Nobody’s Gallery

Best Supporters of the Arts

Robbie Takac
M&T Bank
Oishei Foundation
Ani DiFranco
Artvoice

Best Dance Companies

Neglia Ballet
Rince Na Tiarna
Configuration Dance
Lehrer Dance
Pick of the Crop

Best Dancers

Shane Fry
Nadia Ibrahim
Fiona Dargan
Michele Gigante
Amy Taravella

Best Genre-defying Artists

Nickel City Girls Design
Ecelectic Improv Company
Mary Kate O’Connell
Jesse Horst
Kim Kadri Hurst

Best Painters

AJ Fries
Peter Fowler
Dorothy Fitzgerald
Chuck Tingley
James Hickey

Best Photographers

Clark Dever
Matt Buckley
Joe Cascio
Luke Copping
Jim Bush

Best Poets

Josh Smith
Gabrielle Bouliane, RIP
Celia White
Jeremy Horst
Lisa Forrest

Best Sculptors

Julie Silver
Larry Griffis
David Derner
Mark Tollner
Scott Bye

Best Spoken-word Artists

Alex Mead
Pat Cain
Josh Smith
Verneice Turner
Janna Willoughby

Best Standup Comics

Rob Lederman
Greg Bausch
Josh Potter
Kristen Becker
Peter Cumbo

Best Video/Film Artists

Jax DeLuca
Brian Milbrand
Marc Odien
Josh Klinger
John Paget

Best Writers

Jeremy Horst
Jon Elston
Gary Earl Ross
Mark Goldman
Joyce Carol Oates

...and the nominees are:
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NomineesThe Fine Arts
People PowerOur Fair City

The 2010 Best of Buffalo Winners List

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