New mural unveiled at Erie County health clinic in Buffalo's East Side

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A colorful, new public art installation was unveiled Tuesday morning on the walls of the Jesse Nash Health Center in Buffalo. It is a community-guided, vibrant polytab mural, the first art installation to be placed directly on the walls of an Erie County facility.

The mural, the work of Philadelphia-based artist Ben Volta with the support of local artist liaison Edreys Wajed, was directly informed by the location, the site of the county-run health clinic at 608 William Street on Buffalo’s East Side, and by classroom workshops with students from Harriet Ross Tubman School (BPS 31) just north of the mural site.

Volta and Wajed, along with AKG staff, worked with students to inform designs and print the work on polytab for public paint days.

"Polytab is a nonwoven fabric and we had a design that was put together by Edreys, a digital design that could be printed on that material. It comes to us in 5x5 foot sections," explains Aaron Ott, Curator of Public Art at the Buffalo AKG.

"We use that to host community paint days, that way students as young as you see here at the YMCA and senior citizens painting with us, anybody of all stripes, all talents can paint with us and get their hand directly on the production of the mural and then our talented team gets it put it up on that wall. So it's a great way to get a number of hands involved and active with the way that we assemble [the art] and make that community."

This project was funded by the county through the Erie County's Public Art Initiative, which began in 2013 with the county's partnership with the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.

"We've seen dozens of projects springing up across all of our community that are directly part of the Public Art initiative, and many others that were not part of the the AKG, Erie County Public Art Initiative that have come on their own. But one thing we had not seen was truly an installation, a painting, a mural, an exhibit, on an Erie County Building. That's what we're here to celebrate today," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

Erie County officials note that not only does investing in the local art beautify our neighborhoods and empower the residents within, this particular mural will bring attention to the services within the health center.

"I spoke to a young lady who lives here across the street, she said she had never noticed this place before, so that just shows the power of what's been done here," said Lawrence Dupree, Erie County's newest legislator, who took the seat after Howard Johnson's recent resignation.

"Public art plays an important role in the cultural and the social fabric of our community. It can transform ordinary spaces, like a county health center, into something extraordinary."