BUFFALO, NY — The Buffalo AKG Art Museum opened a new exhibit Before and After Again, honoring the lives lost on May 14th, 2022, when 10 of our friends and neighbors were shot and killed at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue.
The exhibit is made up of several works from local artists Julia Bottoms, Tiffany Gaines and Jillian Hanesworth.
"I am hoping that this [exhibit] shows people the humanity in the community members we lost. They are not 10 moments of silence. They are not May 14th, 2022, that's not it, that's not all they are," said Poet Jillian Hanesworth.
From still life paintings that hint at the red lining policies that segregated the East and West sides; to portraits showing the holes left behind by the loss of the Jefferson 10, nearly two years ago.
"I hope the power of art and creative expression to process our emotions and process our grief, feel empowered to use their own creativity and their own voices to speak up against the systems that allowed this tragedy to occur in the first place," said Tiffany Gaines, a writer who has her work displayed inside the M&T Gallery.
The three artists sat down and interviewed the families of the Jefferson 10 to get a deeper understanding of who we lost that day.
"What made them love those family members so much? What were the things that really stood out? Those small moments of what made them laugh, a story that you remember, and all of those moments collected together and make a life," said Julia Bottoms, artist.
Before and After is free of charge and on view at Buffalo AKG’s M&T Bank Gallery from March 8 to September 30, 2024.
