Arts & Culture Events Featured Visual Arts

Castellani Art Museum celebrates Women’s History Month

This month, the CAM will celebrate Women’s History Month by paying tribute to the traditions and innovations of Indigenous artists with an engaging panel discussion. We’ll also host our recurring adult and family-friendly arts and culture programs.
The CAM team is thrilled to share their new Mission, Vision, and Values statements.
Need something to do during the Easter Break? Although Niagara University will be closed during the entire Easter Break, the Castellani Art Museum will be open Thursday, April 6, Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 9. We will be closed on Easter Sunday, April 10.

ART EXPRESS Saturday, March 25 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Art Express allows children ages 6 to 12 to partake in fun-filled hands-on art making activities and gallery exploration. Each workshop includes a short talk about child-friendly museum artworks, and a guided storytime. A teaching artist works closely with participants to foster the creation of customized take-home artwork.  Cost: $10. Free for children of NU faculty, students, and staff, CAM Members, and EBT patrons. RSVP is required.
This month’s theme is Materials March. Explore and connect with different materials and textures that make art, art. Whether it’s oil or acrylic, canvas or burlap, buttons or feathers, students will engage in different artistic mediums and materials in a sensory-filled art session.  RSVP TODAY
Adult Arts & Culture Programs
CAM PUBLIC TOUR Saturday, March 4 | 1–2 p.m.
CAM Public Tours provides guests with a 45-minute pay-what-you-wish public tour of a current exhibition, followed by a 15-minute curator Q&A session. RSVP is encouraged. 
Join us for an exhibition tour of Survive, Remember, Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York. This interactive multimedia exhibition highlights the resiliency of community and culture in the face of conflict, genocide, and displacement. RSVP TODAY
CAM MEETS ARTS & CULTURE LECTURE SERIES Wednesday, March 8 | 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
CAM Meets is an engaging lecture series on art-making and cultural topics for a broad audience. Light refreshments served.  Cost: $10. Free for children of NU faculty, students, and staff, CAM Members, and EBT patrons. RSVP is required.
COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES: PRESERVING ARMENIAN HERITAGE CAM volunteer, assistant project director of Survive, Rember, Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York, and third-generation Armenian genocide survivor Dawn Sakalian discusses the rich Armenian heritage in the Buffalo-Niagara region.  RSVP TODAY
FOLKLIFE WORKSHOP Saturday, March 18 | 2–3:30 p.m.
Folklife Workshops are small, hands-on programs led by local folk artists and tradition bearers that engage participants in the diverse cultural heritage of our region. 
Wirework: Traditional Jewelry Making Wirework is currently sold out. Please email caminfo@niagara.edu to be added to the waitlist.
We’re thrilled to announce the opening of a three-day June workshop on natural dyeing techniques. Stay tuned for details!
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH DISCUSSION Tuesday, March 28 | 4–5:30 p.m.
Bear Medallion gifted to artist Violet Printup from her grandmother, which provided inspiration for her 2021 beadwork, seen below the medallion. 
Power in Making: Indigenous Tradition and Innovation As part of Niagara University’s Women’s History Month, join award-winning artists for a free discussion about how family and tradition inform their incredible works of art. Hear from Tina Mt. Pleasant (Tuscarora, Turtle Clan), a Tuscarora raised beadworker, Jodi Lynn Maracle (Kanien’kehá:ka or Mohawk), a contemporary mixed media and performance artist, and Violet Printup (Tuscarora, Bear Clan), a Niagara University student, beadworker, and dancer.
See images of their works, learn about their artistic practices and views on gender roles in the art world, and how they communicate important elements of their identities through their pieces. Enjoy light refreshments before and after the panel talk and short Q&A session. 
Space is limited. RSVP is strongly encouraged.
Program Schedule 4:00 – Refreshments, doors open 4:30 – Moderated talk and presentations 5:30 – Q&A 5:45 – Refreshments 6:30 – Reception ends
This program is made possible in part by Niagara University Academic Innovation Fund.
RSVP TODAY! 
NU THEATRE COSTUME SEWING DEMONSTRATIONS Thursdays through May 4 | 5:30–7 p.m.
Join Niagara University Theatre Costume Director and Assistant Professor of Costume Technology Lara Berich on Thursday nights at the CAM as they complete an 1830s dress project. Participants will learn how costume design functions as a part of the integral theatre production process. Upon completion, the dress is destined for the 2023 production of “Christmas Carol” at the Indiana Repertory Theatre.
This free costume-making demonstration is being held in conjunction with CAM’s Imaginary Worlds: Behind the Scenes with Niagara University Theatre exhibition on view through Aug. 13. 
* Dates and times are subject to change and exclude Easter and Spring Breaks (March 16 and April 6)
Latest News 
THE CAM ANNOUNCES NEW MISSION, VISION, & VALUES 
In July, we embarked on an initiative to redefine our mission, vision, and values, thanks to a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts/Museum Association of New York Partnership for Capacity Building.
The plan involved collaborating with Niagara University faculty and staff, internal and external stakeholders, and Buffalo-Niagara families and community cultural organizations. In January, we concluded this project. We are proud to share our new mission statement, our future vision, and the values that underpin our daily work: 
MISSION With art as the catalyst, the Castellani Art Museum brings people together to inspire dialogue, creativity, and learning. VISION The Castellani Art Museum will lead our region in learning, collaboration, and connecting art to the diverse lived experiences of our communities.
VALUES Creative: We seek inspiring ways to connect people to art and artists, fostering the exchange of new ideas and diverse perspectives. Collaborative: We strive to be an active partner that makes art accessible, relevant, and meaningful through community relationships. Person-Oriented: We support and create profound art experiences for our guests and communities. Equitable: We nurture cultural citizenship, where all people are respected and historically excluded voices and artists are uplifted.
NEW WORKS ADDED TO LIVING THROUGH WAR: WORKS FROM KHARKIV BY BELLA LOGACHOVA EXHIBITION
Five months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, on Feb. 24, 2022, the CAM opened Living Through War: Works from Kharkiv by Bella Logachova, a dynamic multimedia exhibition that depicts the artist’s firsthand account of the tragic conflict. As the war persists, Bella Logachava continues to create art that provides a realistic glimpse into the latest war developments.
In solidarity with the Ukrainian people, on Tuesday, the CAM held Ukrainian Solidarity Day: Art & Stories, where we screened Living Through War: One Year Later (embedded above), introduced six new works by Logachova, and guests lit candles and wrote notes of support to send to Ukraine.
If you haven’t experience Living Through War, we encourage you to stop by the CAM and witness Bella Logachova’s compelling work. This breathtaking exhibition is on view through June 11.
NEW CAM ARMENIAN REGIONAL FOLKLIFE EXHIBITION FEATURED IN YAHOO! NEWS
Feb. 27–Niagara University’s Castellani Art Museum is taking the time to recognize an underrepresented group in the Western New York region and what they have suffered through.
“Survive Remember Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York,” is open for viewing through May 7, educating people on what the Armenian experience is all about.
Project Director Edward Millar, the museum’s curator of folk art, said this exhibit is mainly a video installation that helps introduce people to the country of Armenia, where it is, when Armenians started coming to Niagara Falls, and how it has changed over time. READ MORE.
NIAGARA FRONTIER PUBLICATIONS: CAM’S LATEST EXHIBITIONS EXPLORE LOCAL ARMENIAN TRADITIONS, NU THEATRE’S RICH HISTORY
Castellani Art Museum (CAM) of Niagara University celebrates two powerful exhibition launches. “Survive, Remember Thrive, Armenian Traditions” in Western New York is on view from Feb. 2 to May 7, and a closing reception will be held on its final day. “Imaginary Worlds: Behind the Scenes with Niagara University Theatre” is on view from Feb. 9 to Aug. 13, and a reception will be held on Feb. 23 from 4:30–7 p.m.
“Survive Remember Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York” is an interactive exhibition highlighting the resiliency of community and culture in the face of conflict, genocide and displacement. This exhibition features a short documentary of the same title filmed by the Buffalo Documentary Project, and a 13-video short documentary series produced by the CAM featuring members of the local Armenian community. READ MORE. MUSEUM HOURS