Buffalo, NY – The Albright-Knox is proud to present The Presence of Absence, the 2021 AK Teens: Future Curators exhibition. Each year, the AK Teens: Future Curators program enables local students to organize an exhibition of artwork created by their peers. This year, 18 students from the Western New York area and Ontario, Canada, came together to create an exhibition that focuses on the difficulties of staying connected during a time when isolation is mandatory. 

The Presence of Absence spans two gallery spaces: the Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology and the Western New York Book Arts Center. A virtual version of the exhibition will also be available on the Albright-Knox’s website. It includes 70 works from nearly 300 entries submitted by high-school artists from 18 different schools. The AK Teens: Future Curators program is made possible by the generous support of KeyBank in partnership with the First Niagara Foundation. 

The Presence of Absence reflects people’s alienation from one another, the universe, and even themselves. The exhibition examines our collective experience of isolation, exploring the manifestations of this human issue and reflecting on the past year. “We hope that the exhibition inspires solutions to being disconnected.  Not only does it concentrate on the negative aspects of absence in our everyday lives, but it also highlights more optimistic connections,” Future Curators Amnna Attia, Gretchen Gwitt, and Annelise Wall say. Future Curator Isabelle Conde adds, “We are hoping to demonstrate that it is okay to admit when one is struggling and that there is always room for growth.”

The 2021 Future Curators team consists of eighteen students in grades eleven and twelve: Amnna Attia (Etobicoke School of the Arts), Isabella Conde (Lewiston-Porter High School), Mychajlo Deneka (West Seneca West High School), Rhiannon Furey (Lewiston-Porter High School), Gretchen Gwitt (Nichols School), Mackenzey Holmes (Pioneer High School), Abigail Janowski (Amherst High School), Allison Janowski (Amherst High School), Zoe Kowalski (Grand Island Senior High School, Future Curators Mentor), Alexandra Lee (Lewiston-Porter High School), Tristan Madden (Nichols School, Future Curators Mentor), Catherine McDonnell (West Seneca West High School), Katelyn Michaels (Nichols School), Madison Stoklosa (St. Mary’s High School), Annelise Wall (Nardin Academy), Christopher Weitz (West Seneca West High School), Sarah Wisniewski (Niagara Falls High School), and Bradley Zubek (West Seneca West High School).

Beginning in January 2021, this creative team of young aspiring art professionals has been learning what goes on behind the scenes at the Albright-Knox. The program allows students to use the museum’s collection and current exhibitions to begin thinking about art from the mindset of a curator.

The exhibition will be on view in the gallery space at the Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology (located at 1221 Main Street in Buffalo) from Friday, April 30, to Friday, May 21, 2021, and in the gallery space at the Western New York Book Arts Center (located at 468 Washington Street in Buffalo) from Friday, April 30, to Saturday, May 22, 2021. A virtual exhibition closing celebration will take place on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 5–6 pm. 

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