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Leave your wallet at home this week at Albright-Knox

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is offering a week of free admission starting Thursday through April 5.

It marks the return of Erie County Free Week. The county provides a substantial subsidy to the Albright-Knox on an annual basis to the Albright-Knox. However, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the event is no extra cost for the county.

"Even if you don't necessarily understand what you're looking at, you can sit there and realize that this was something that someone tried to put together and either create a vision for themselves that they wanted to get through their artwork or not," Poloncarz said.
 

Poloncarz said he sees school groups attending more often than parents. He hopes spring break will play a part in getting more families to attend the gallery.

Gallery Director of Education and Community Engagement Jennifer Foley said a lot of people in Buffalo don’t know what a treasure they have here.

"We're internationally known for this collection and I think people aren't always aware how amazing this collection is and what a jewel it is to have in Buffalo," said Foley. "So this week really gives people the opportunity to come and try it out. No risk. It's free, and you can come on in and check out what we have."

Foley said sometimes people are a little intimidated to visit art museums, but she hopes the incentive of no cost will attract some new visitors.

"While there are some works of art that are maybe a little bit more serious as far as what their content is, there's also a lot of works in here that are meant to be playful, that the artist designed to be something to have humor in it, that you can laugh about," she said.

Special exhibitions on display for the week include "We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women 1965-85," "Matisse and the Art of Jazz" and "Picturing Niagara."

Nick Lippa leads our Arts & Culture Coverage, and is also the lead reporter for the station's Mental Health Initiative, profiling the struggles and triumphs of those who battle mental health issues and the related stigma that can come from it.
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