The Freedom Wall

A few days ago I was driving to a meeting in the City of Buffalo, when something caught my eye. I literally slammed on the brakes of my car (making sure no was behind me first) and stared in awe. I saw four artists working on stunning, large public mural. I didn’t want to be late for my meeting so I sped off, but then quickly returned afterwards.

I was seeing first-hand, the creation of “The Freedom Wall” – 28 portraits of “notable civil rights leaders from America’s past and present.” The wall is part of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Public Art Initiative. Not wanting to disrupt the artists, I complemented them on their amazing project. However, I shouldn’t have felt bad about bothering the artists, because a TV news station was there interviewing one of them, amongst a continuous stream of onlookers and well-wishers. I was so lucky to capture some of these portraits half-completed, or in some instances, just a pencil sketch. It was truly a wonderful experience to serendipitously come across these work-in-progress. “The Freedom Wall” is expected to be completed in the next week or so and make its debut with a public celebration in September.