Poetically Speaking
Poetically Speaking, a mini poetic visual series produced and directed by Buffalo Poet Laureate Aitina Fareed-Cooke, will host a special screening event on Friday, April 10, 2026, from 5:30–7:30 PM at the Burchfield Penney Art Center (1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY). The collaborative series features cinematography by Alex Rojé Felix (Earthbound Films) and Luqman Muhammad (22Reform), with photography by Kalvin Booker (Through His Lens Photography).
This exclusive event brings Buffalo’s vibrant literary scene to the big screen, featuring a collection of visual poetry pieces and interviews with local writers who are shaping the city’s creative landscape. Audiences will experience the artistry of Buffalo’s poets through moving visuals, intimate storytelling, and reflections on heritage, identity, and community.
Following the screening, Aitina Fareed-Cooke will moderate a panel discussion with several featured poets, offering deeper insight into their creative journeys and the inspiration behind Poetically Speaking. The conversation will explore how poetry, visual media, and community engagement intersect to amplify Buffalo’s past and present voices.
Poetically Speaking shines a spotlight on Buffalo’s evolving literary legacy with the aim to honor tradition while inspiring new generations to express, connect, and create.
Vision & Verse - Workshop
An interactive community celebration of Black History through art & prose with food and music at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.
The Creative Problem Solvers Series: Poet Tree of Light
3rd–5th graders design messages of encouragement for families in need, with perspective and empathy prompts. Winter essentials are provided to families in need.
The Creative Problem Solvers series allows 3rd-5th graders the opportunity to become creative problem solvers! Participants will use the creative arts to solve problems while developing Critical Thinking, Innovation,Collaboration, Planning, Reflection & Presentation skills.
Tales from the Porch: Expanding Perspectives @BuffaloAKG
Celebrating One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama—Polyblocks, Paper & Prose
FREE
Digital Media Studio, Knox Building
In celebration of One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama, enjoy a Kusama-inspired building experience that offers a cohesive, family-friendly experience centered on three hands-on building stations.
Polyblock Station: 3:30–4:30 pm
Using Legos, build repeatable, poly-block worlds inspired by Kusama’s motifs, inspired by works on view.
Paper Station: 5–6 pm
Create with paper, crafting circle-based forms and patterns that evoke polka dots, circles, and immersive circular architectures, culminating in a circle-focused paper book.
Prose Station: 6:30–7:30 pm
Add words at the Prose Station to interpret images and build, producing short captions, micro-poems, or reflections inspired by Aitina Fareed-Cooke’s Kusama-inspired photography; these lines can be assembled into a collaborative poem or a series of micro-entries shared with the group.
Across all three stations, participants will practice critical thinking, collaboration, and imaginative storytelling while engaging with themes of repetition, pattern, and immersive perception found in Kusama’s work. Younger participants receive scaffolded prompts to translate art into tangible forms, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for all ages.
This is part of an ongoing activation called Tales from the Porch: Expanding Perspectives at the AKG.
Teachers are Writers
In this creative writing workshop we will provide space for school teachers and educators to explore their own creative work and writing practice, with space for discussion and exploration.
This workshop is FREE and aimed at teachers. BPS teachers can register on PGS; non-BPS teachers register by emailing Molly Eldridge at MEldridge@buffaloschools.org
The Creative Problem Solvers Series: Tower of Gratitude
3rd–5th graders engage in creative problem solving, collaboration, and growth mindset through LEGO, Magna-Tiles, and storytelling activities.
The Creative Problem Solvers series allows 3rd-5th graders the opportunity to become creative problem solvers! Participants will use the creative arts to solve problems while developing Critical Thinking, Innovation,Collaboration, Planning, Reflection & Presentation skills.
Post Production Diversity Initiative Program (Application Open)
Get Fokus’d Productions & The Creative Arts Strategist are in collaboration with Buffalo State University and their Post Production Diversity Initiative.
PPDI is a one-year program that prepares 22 participants from diverse backgrounds for entry-level careers in video editing and audio mixing in the highly competitive music, video, and media industries.
Aitina Fareed-Cooke is in support of their marketing efforts and providing Creative Portfolio workshops.
Applications for the Post Production Diversity Initiative (PPDI) 2025-2026 are now open! Apply now!!
*Applications due by Monday, September 15th at midnight
Photos by: Kalvin Booker / Through His Lens Photography - in collaboration with Get Fokus’d Productions
Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer
In collaboration with:
Buffalo State University
Avid
Motion Picture Editors Guild, I.A.T.S.E. Local 700
Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center
Get Fokus’d Productions
GCR audio
