In spring 2022, the first-ever Emergence will celebrate and showcase the work of early-career artists in Western New York.

The new Daemen University-led initiative has issued a call for work to assemble a series of juried art shows, performances, lectures, and panel discussions that will focus on young and emerging artists—within the first 10 years of their practice—who are from or living in the region.

Emergence will be organized by Daemen’s new Leadership and Entrepreneurship in the Arts (LEA) program, in collaboration with Arts Services, Inc., Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, CEPA Gallery and Crucible Art Collective.

“The focus of Emergence will be those up-and-coming artists who have already begun to make a difference in their communities,” said Bob Waterhouse, chair and associate professor of theater in the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Daemen.

“We felt the need to start something entirely new to showcase artists and connect them with each other and the wider public—especially given how the arts community has been affected and disrupted by the pandemic,” he added.

All proposals should be completed and submitted through Daemen’s online portal. Artists’ and creatives’ work must represent the following disciplines: still visual image; moving visual image; performance/interdisciplinary; and mixed media.

Emergence events will focus on contemporary issues for artistic professionals, their art practice, and working toward their professional artistic framework.

The Tower Gallery in the Haberman Gacioch Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, the Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology, and Crucible Arts Collective will be among the sites that will show selectedwork.

“We’re honored to collaborate with so many influential partners on this initiative,” said Waterhouse.