341 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14202

Phone: (716) 854-1694; Fax: (716) 854-1696

A. To provide a center for contemporary art.

B. To recognize and serve a vital community artistic presence which is global in its outlook, challenging in its ideas, pluralistic in its concerns, and diverse in its expression. Hallwalls' twofold mission is to serve artists by supporting the creation and presentation of new work in the visual, media, performing, and literary arts, and to serve the public by making these works available to audiences. We are dedicated in particular to work by artists which challenges and extends the traditional boundaries of the various art forms, and which is critically engaged with current issues in the arts and--through the arts--in society. Finally, we believe that the right of freedom of expression for artists, and for free access to their works by interested individuals, must be protected as a fundamental and necessary condition of our mission.

Hallwalls was founded on Buffalo's West Side in late 1974 by a group of young visual artists (some of them still just students at the time)—including Diane Bertolo, Charles Clough, Nancy Dwyer, Robert Longo, Cindy Sherman, and Michael Zwack—who carved an exhibition space out of the walls of the hall outside their studios in a former icehouse. From the beginning, their interest was in exhibiting new work by local artists (including, at first, their own) and providing opportunities for exchange between them and artists in other cities, by inviting visiting artists to give talks or create installations, and by organizing exchange shows with similar spaces springing up in other cities. Their focus was always interdisciplinary as well as outward looking, featuring not only visual artists, but also musicians, writers, filmmakers, and video and performance artists. Hallwalls soon established itself as an influential force for innovation within the community as well as nationally, and stretched its then minimal resources by joining forces with other cultural institutions—both larger and smaller—on collaborative projects.

All of these founding principles and artistic strategies continue to guide the organization today. But in the ensuing three decades, Hallwalls necessarily enlarged not only its reputation in the field, but its outreach within the community, embracing wider and more diverse publics. Hallwalls' programs grew in distinctly different directions, depending on their curators' interests and the needs of the disciplines and communities they served, always unified, however, by Hallwalls' mission to bring the newest and most challenging work in the contemporary arts to the interested public, whether in painting and sculpture, conceptual art, experimental film, video art and activism, documentary film, performance, fiction, jazz, new music, or any number of other art forms that make up Hallwalls' eclectic programming mix.

After a spurt of growth in the late 1980s, public arts funding at all levels of government was cut drastically, accompanied by attacks on artists' free speech. Hallwalls—like all organizations nationwide—was forced to cut back, both its overall budget and its staff size, while simultaneously embracing a new additional role as a fearless advocate for artistic freedom as well as innovation. The downward trend in public funding plateaued somewhat toward century's end, but has plummeted even more steeply since 2000. But by making more cuts, joining forces with other organizations to share resources (as well as advocating for restored funding), and increasing both earned revenue and fundraising efforts, Hallwalls has managed to survive and carry on its mission. The quality and quantity of our programming is undiminished, and we actually have more members by far and many more people coming through our doors than in the late '80s and very early '90s when our annual budget was larger. People are constantly astonished at the volume, range, and influence of our programming in so many different disciplines, especially with such a small core staff and on such a relatively modest budget.

Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center was founded in a West Side icehouse in 1974 by a group of young artists (including Charles Clough, Nancy Dwyer, Robert Longo and Cindy Sherman) as a place where artists could develop new work and where the work of contemporary artists working in all media could be exhibited.

Over the past three decades, Hallwalls has evolved into the region’s largest multi-disciplinary arts center, one of the most active and programmatically diverse members of the national network of artists’ organizations. Hallwalls visual arts, video, film, performance, music, and literature programs have presented the work of over 7,000 artists from around the world. In 1996, Hallwalls published Consider the Alternatives, a 280 page book exploring Hallwalls’ history through the eyes of artists, staff, and audience members.

From the beginning, Hallwalls has presented the work of emerging and under-represented artists in Western New York and throughout the United States and Canada, with an emphasis on supporting experimentation and new projects. Hallwalls is equally committed to presenting the work of nationally recognized artists who have not had the opportunity to present their work to Buffalo-area audiences. While the scope of Hallwalls programming is international, many of its services are tailored to meet the particular needs of artists in Western New York.

Hallwalls is a member of the National Association of Artists Organizations (NAAO) and the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC).

Hallwalls provides on-site insurance through the Gallery Association (Hamilton, NY). All artists who are invited to present their work are paid a professional fee for their services. Transportation of artwork is arranged by mutual agreement between the artist and Hallwalls Visual Arts Curator.

Hallwalls reviews proposals on an ongoing basis. All proposals are reviewed for possible inclusion in solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, and residencies. Proposals that are not returned within a three months may be kept on file for up to a year for further review. Hallwalls artists’ files are open to all local and visiting curators. Hallwalls maintains a separate file of regional artists, the Western New York Slide File.

A STANDARD PROPOSAL PACKAGE SHOULD INCLUDE:
20 slides (or prints, or a cd-rom, and/or video/dvd)
curriculum vita
artist’s statement
reviews, publications, where applicable
self-addressed, stamped envelope

Forward submissions to:
John Massier, Visual Arts Curator
Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
341 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
tel 716.854.1694 fax 716.854.1696
john [at] hallwalls [dot] org