Youth Media Artist Exhibition “RUIN’D” Opening
An Exhibition on Failed Systems
Media contact: martina@squeaky.org

BUFFALO, NY — Youth media artists from Squeaky Wheel’s new advanced track educational program Saturday Cafe’s first exhibition RUIN’D opens on July 12th. In this student-led exhibition, six young media artists explore the systems that have failed them and ask how we can actively engage with them to change the world.

RUIN’D opening reception will be at Squeaky Wheel (617 Main St.) on Friday, July 12th, 2019 from 5–8 pm. An artist talk will take place at 6:30 pm. Free and open to the public.

RUIN’D features video and mixed-media installations by Breanna Roberts, Dominique Scruggs, Jolie Criscione, Matt Dearmyer, Raymarri Hugh, and Zaire Goodman that address a range of societal issues from active shooter drills in school, to corporate morality, from the failure of language, to genocide of Darfuri people in Sudan. These works lead viewers into thinking about various perspectives on issues that impact them and their futures. The theme for the exhibition was reached through collaborative design led by the students. Members each took on the task of exploring different social and cultural systems that they see failing the world around them.

“RUIN’D is about failed systems. My piece, Ediconeg (Genocide spelled backward) focuses on the government system and how it has failed its people. It’s about what is currently happening in Sudan. The government is allowing the military to take total control over its people. Ediconeg reflects on the violence used against the Darfuri people in Sudan to make them submissive. I hope my piece will bring awareness to this ongoing tragedy,” says Saturday Cafe media artist Breanna Roberts.

“I am very proud of the level of dedication and depth of conviction that these young makers have put into this inaugural exhibition,” says Kevin Kline, Director of Education at Squeaky Wheel. “This is a youth-led, conceived and created an exhibition that showcases the ambitious talent of our kids.”

Saturday Cafe comprises students from Squeaky Wheel’s core community-based programs West Side Studios, Buffalo Youth Media Institute, and Tech Art for Girls. It’s an advanced track experimental youth media education project that provides student media artist with challenging and engaging professional development and learning opportunities. This collaborative educational experience is student-centered and co-created with the program’s primary media mentors. Roberts continued, saying that the program, “Saturday Cafe means a lot to me. I love the community at Squeaky Wheel because it provides me a safe environment to express my creativity.” The RUIN’D exhibition continues Squeaky Wheel’s tradition of bringing young media makers together to create, experiment, share ideas and develop new strategies to engage their communities and use their voices to shape the future.

Squeaky Wheel Educational Programming is made possible in part by the generous support of Adobe’s TakingITGlobal Equity and Access, M&T Charitable Foundation, First Niagara Foundation, Josephine Goodyear Foundation, Cameron & Jane Baird Foundation, Children’s Foundation of Erie County, Marks Family Foundation, Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, Best Buy Foundation, Erie County Cultural Funding, City of Buffalo, National Endowment for the Arts, and New York State Council on the Arts.

 

Banner still: Real Life Boogeymen, Jolie Criscione, 2019