Buffalo History Museum
1 Museum Court
Buffalo, NY 14216

The Buffalo-based arts space Hallwalls was first conceived as a “project” in the fertile imaginations of its young and ambitious cofounders, artists Charles Clough and Robert Longo, in 1974. Soon it was expanded by the talents and energies of a loose collective of twenty to thirty young Western New York artists—women and men—who joined forces with Clough and Longo to make Hallwalls a reality. In the fifty years since, spanning all or part of six decades, through three major relocations (700 Main Street in 1980, Tri-Main Center in 1994, and the former Asbury Delaware Methodist Church back downtown on Delaware Avenue in 2006), Hallwalls has presented over 6,500 events and exhibitions featuring the work of well over 8,000 artists, musicians, other performing artists, filmmakers, media artists, and writers. Hallwalls has never stopped being a hotbed of contemporary cultural activity for local audiences, a resource and launching pad for “area artists” (including university and college art students and faculty), a presenter of artists from all over the world, and a major influence on the art world nationally and internationally.

During this time, the collection, exhibitions, leadership, and young curatorial staff of the Albright-Knox (now the Buffalo AKG) were sources of inspiration, professional encouragement, and, before long, two-way collaborations on a series of multivenue contemporary art exhibitions.

5 X 10: 50 Years of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 1975–2025, includes objects, artifacts, publications, photographs, videos, and archival documents showcasing all periods of Hallwalls’ history. This includes not only the celebrated first five years, but all ten of the five-year periods since, focusing on representative significant programming, artworld activism, notable artists, and groundbreaking curatorial contributions of each period, in visual art, video art, performance art, music, and writing.

Artifacts in this exhibition have been drawn from Hallwalls’ own extensive archives, the priceless Hallwalls archive within the vast archives of Buffalo AKG Art Museum (Gabrielle Carlo, Archivist), the personal archives of Hallwalls artists (especially Charles Clough and Joan Linder), ReUse Action (Kevin Hayes, Director, keeper of the Jackie Felix mural), and the Philadelphia-based West Collection (which granted us permission to reproduce this section from Joan Linder’s The Pink).

While an extensive exhibition is on view at the Buffalo History Museum from now until March 30, 2025, the Buffalo AKG is proud to present work from its archives that shows a history of collaboration. Visit the Wilson Town Square in the Knox Building to see the installation. Admission to the Knox Building is always free.