Cross-Disciplinary Performances to Enhance Buffalo State’s Presence at Music is Art Festival

The Music is Art Festival has served as a showcase for Western New York talent and a celebration of the region's artistic community since its founding by Goo Goo Dolls bassist and Buffalo native Robby Takac in 2003. This year will be no different; the festival on Saturday, September 21, promises a diverse mix of music, art installations, live performances, and interactive experiences.

Faculty, staff, and students from the Buffalo State Art and Design Department will have a bright orange tent at the festival in the Lakeside Lawn area of the Outer Harbor from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There the department will host a visual arts "happening" (a term that originated in the 1950s) in which artists will use cross-disciplinary performances, events, and artistic displays to engage audiences. The Buffalo State tent will provide artistic demonstrations, displayed artwork, and interactive arts activities, as well as information about the department's many Art and Design programs.

A photography exhibition titled The Art of Rock and Roll has been on view in Buffalo State's Margaret Eschner Bacon Gallery since September 5, 2024. The exhibition, a nod to the Music is Art Festival, features work by Bob Collignon, Eric Jensen, Curtis Kreutter, and Michael Mulley. The exhibition closes September 20.

Earlier this summer, Candace P. Masters, Buffalo State associate professor and chair of the Art and Design department, met with Takac and the Music is Art team to outline Buffalo State's involvement.

"We chose to go ahead with a strong presence of the Buffalo State Art and Design Department at the Music is Art Festival despite the change in location," Masters said, referencing the festival's move from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum campus to Buffalo's Outer Harbor. "This event and partnership with MiA is a perfect fit, with participants and guests all having common creative interests and passions and the merging of music and art as complementary forms of human expression."

"I thank Robby Takac, Music is Art, and all our other community partners, along with our Buffalo State staff who worked to make this possible," said Buffalo State University Interim President Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D.

The Music is Art 2024 festival takes place from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Saturday. For more information, including participation and attendance guidelines, please visit the Music is Art website.

Pictured: Buffalo State Art and Design faculty and students share their enthusiasm for the Music is Art Festival outside the recent photography exhibition, The Art of Rock and Roll.