Two Alumnae, Retired Faculty Member Featured in Free Buffalo AKG Event

Two Buffalo State alumnae-Aitina Fareed-Cooke, '12, '16, and Julia Bottoms, '12, '16-and Phyllis Thompson, retired lecturer of art education, will participate in a screening and panel discussion of Tales from the Porch IV: Art Is a Language, on Friday, September 6, in the Buffalo AKG Art Museum's Stanford and Judith Lipsey Auditorium.

Fareed-Cooke originally developed the Tales from the Porch project in 2019 as an opportunity to tell the stories and amplify the voices of members of the Buffalo community. The 2024 installment explores the visual, performing, and literary arts and showcases a blend of her photography and poetry, complemented by artwork from Bottoms, Thompson, Bob Fleming, George Afedzi Hughes, and Muhammad Zaman, all of whom share strong ties to Buffalo Arts Studio, a collective art studio that provides arts education, affordable studio space, and influential exposure for local visual artists.

The event is free and open to the public and is presented as part of M&T First Fridays, sponsored by M&T Bank. The film screening will take place from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.; the panel discussion follows from 7:15 to 7:45 p.m.

Image courtesy of the artists.