5TH ANNUAL WRITING WITH LIGHT STUDENT ART EXHIBITION
Opening Reception, Friday, September 14th


Just Buffalo Literary Center and CEPA Gallery are pleased to announce The 5th Annual Writing With Light Student Exhibition begins Friday, September 14th, with an opening reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Market Arcade Building, 617 Main Street, Buffalo. Free & open to the public. Refreshments will be served; the artwork will be on view until September 30th. Featuring selected works from CEPA Gallery and Just Buffalo's education programs from 2011-2012, Writing With Light demonstrates how imagination can be ignited through photography and creative writing.

Writing With Light reaches 2,500 students in grades 1-12 across the region every year, and its emphasis on intensive one-on-one contact between teaching artists and students yields powerful creative results. The exhibit will display work from Writing With Light’s core in- school project Picturing Poetry, and it’s after-school program Reclaiming Buffalo, which was funded through a prestigious National Endowment for the Arts grant. Students of all ages from across Western New York worked with professional writers and photographers, learning to express their young voices through word and image.



Discovery


Teachers recognize and appreciate the value of art education of the caliber provided by Just Buffalo and CEPA Gallery teaching artists. "The [Writing With Light] program always refreshes and refocuses my teaching. It reminds me that we are writing for ourselves, and for a greater audience. It 'allows' me to give writing a more prominent place in my schedule - which might otherwise remain focused on programmed lessons from our reading series." - Kate Willoughby, 3rd grade teacher, Frederick Law Olmsted, P.S. 64. "This program far surpassed my expectations. It was the best program that I have participated in my more than 20 years in education. . .”

"The level of professionalism and talent from everyone at JBLC and the CEPA Gallery was extraordinary. Our 4th and 5th grade students got to experience something that they will take with them for life." - Jane Byrnes, Reading Coach, Hillery Park Elementary, P.S. 27.

"I am always amazed at the creative ideas that are brought into the classroom by the Writing with Light Program. This program brings out the artist in all the student. Every year [Just Buffalo Teaching Artists] not only meet my expectations [but] exceed them. . . The impact of this experience cannot be measured. [Students] have been given wings to fly as they put pen in hand. A seed has been planted, their growth is limitless. They have produced work and shared it with our community. My students were able to stand proud and confident after their presentation." – N. Lonergan, 4th grade teacher, Frederick Law Olmsted, P.S. 64.

Anyone who walks through CEPA Gallery's spaces in The Market Arcade Building will be as amazed as Mrs. Lonergan by the pieces hanging in this Student Exhibition; truly it is an art show that is not to be missed. As this participant points out, “Photography can help you see the world clearly.” 6th grade student, D’Youville Porter Campus School #3.

Also in the show will be selections from Just Buffalo’s in-school Writer Residencies and Bookmaking programs, CEPA Gallery’s Summer Photography Camps, as well as a featured project from CEPA Gallery’s adult arts education program that will showcase work produced by clients of Autistic Family Services. Student work created in Writing With Light Arts Education programs has been displayed at City Hall as well as prominently on bus shelters throughout Buffalo, and the exhibition at The Market Arcade Building is an incredible opportunity to enjoy a professional display of the creativity of Western New York's young literary artists. “I learned that I could express my thoughts and ideas with writing, as easily as I can make up a story. The best part of the Writing With Light program was not only learning more about photography and writing but putting them together and making something amazing. . .

"If you like photography and writing and expressing yourself, this is the place to go.” - 8th grade student, Bennett Park Montessori. For anyone interested in supporting these student writers and photographer, The 5th Annual Writing With Light Student Exhibition is absolutely "the place to go."