Aitina Fareed-Cooke and Get Fokus’d Productions, “Tales from the Porch, Part IV: Art is a Language”, June 28 – August 3, 2024

Aitina Fareed-Cooke originally developed the Tales from the Porch project in 2019 as an opportunity to tell stories and amplify the voices of members of the Buffalo, NY community. In 2024, the Tales from the Porch project will focus on five artists with ties to Buffalo Arts Studio.

Curated by Aitina Fareed-Cooke, Tales from the Porch IV; Art is a Language is an exploration of visual, performing and literary arts through a documentary film, multimedia arts exhibition, and live performance series. The film will be screened at Villa Maria College and features artists Julia Bottoms, Bob Fleming, George Hughes, Phyllis Thompson, and Muhammad Zaman, all of whom share a deep connection with Buffalo Arts Studio. Buffalo Arts Studio will present the multimedia exhibition Tales from the Porch IV; Art is a Language, which will include work by each of the artists in conversation with Fareed-Cooke’s photography and poetry.

“We all have our porches. Our platforms from which we share our stories. Our lives. From these porches, we learn perspectives. We learn of the varying commonalities and complexities that exist, human to human. As we exchange these tales, we share our hopes, fears, and dreams. Together we discover the beautiful weight of reality, which is that we are all human. Different, yet the same.” —Aitina Fareed-Cooke