Hallwalls at The Church

Finally! After years of driving by the Asbury Church on Delaware Avenue; watching what seemed like s-l-o-w progress (only because we were so impatient), we finally attended the first opening at the new Hallwalls.
The artist is Suzy Lake. She gave a great artist talk right after our members meeting, which I personally found rather inspiring. And in the gallery, her photographs; a retrospective, looked fabulous on the walls. What I could see, anyway- the place was so packed. I just hope we have half that crowd at the Members show in July.....
The space itself was so sleek, after seeing the ancient side of the church when you enter. As great as a clean looking gallery space can be, it was comforting to see rough walls and stained glass peeking through. Though I have only seen pictures of the Sanctuary transformed into performance space, The Church seems a premiere success! Hallwalls and Righteous Babe/ Ani DiFranco deserve a huge round of applause from the Buffalo Arts community. One of the best things I saw tonight was walking down the stairs as we were leaving the building. It was the view of Delaware Avenue through the rose colored glasses that being in the church for the first time gave me. That view showed me a robust art scene in the City of Buffalo.