Did you know we film the anchor segment of the Rise Report in front of a green screen in CEPA Gallery’s studios? Their basement gallery has exhibitions, a dark room, cameras for rent, a photo and video studio, even iMacs to rent to get your projects edited. The place is TRULY built to benefit the community, not just people with means. Go check it out sometime.
And if you do have the means, then support CEPA with them so that our community’s artists can thrive.
CEPA Gallery: Contemporary Photography & Visual Arts Center invites you to attend its 15th Biennial Auction on Saturday, June 26, from 6-9 p.m. Hosted virtually and in-person, the event will auction over 50 original works in support of the center’s exhibitions and educational programming. Items for purchase include works from internationally renowned photographers, such as Carrie Mae Weems, Cindy Sherman, Ellen Carey, Robert Mapplethorpe, Duane Michals and David Levinthal, as well as by prominent Western New York talent.
“We promise a fun event, however you join us, with plenty of fine art and photography to inspire all art enthusiasts,” Véronique Côté, Executive Director of CEPA Gallery, said. A Quebec native, Côté recently joined CEPA from Pérez Art Museum in Miami, where she led the Museum Management Internship and Leadership program. She completed her MFA at SUNY Buffalo and returns with an affinity for Buffalo and its art scene. Côté also holds an MA in Museum Studies from Harvard University and a BIA from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi.
The live event will take place at the historic Market Arcade Building, located at 617 Main St. in Buffalo. Remote attendees can purchase single or group tickets and will receive a refreshment package in order to receive the same hospitality they would experience in person. The number of tickets for the socially distanced and masked in-person event is limited.
An in-person event ticket, including food and drink, is $150. Bidding will be done by phone. A virtual ticket, including food and drink, is $150. Guests may pick up their charcuterie box and wine at CEPA Gallery or arrange for delivery. 10-person virtual auction party packages are available for $100—only $10 per ticket—and the package includes a Buffalo-themed gift box. A single virtual ticket is $20.21 and allows for home streaming of the event and bidding on artwork from your smartphone. All tickets purchased in 2020 will be honored as well.
A free preview exhibition on Saturday, June 12, from 12-4 p.m., will open with a brunch reception at CEPA. All artwork up for auction will be available for viewing in the galleries or online. Online bidding opens at noon that day and closes the day after the auction, June 27. The winning bids will be awarded when the “buy now” price is met or at 5 p.m. on June 27. All bidding requires a smartphone whether you are bidding early, in-person, or virtually.
“We are sincerely grateful for the community support we have received for this event and we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the donating artists and our sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible,” said Côté.
Carrie Mae Weems is the event’s Honorary Artist Chair, Sam and Anne Savarin are the event’s Auction Chairs and Savarino Companies is the supporting sponsor.
About CEPA Gallery: Originally incorporated as the Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Arts to serve as a community darkroom and exhibition space, CEPA Gallery was founded during the Alternative Space Movement in May 1974 by recent graduates of the University of Buffalo. Located in Buffalo’s historic Market Arcade Complex, CEPA Gallery is a contemporary photography and visual arts center with impact in both local and national communities. With three galleries of changing exhibits and events, multimedia public art installations, arts education programs, and an open-access darkroom and digital photo lab, CEPA creates a vibrant presence in the heart of downtown Buffalo.
