Letter From the Director
Winter / Spring 2004

It is with great pleasure that we announce the enormous success of our first ever gala fundraiser, held on November 1. The event raised $30,000 net for the Castellani Art Museum’s educational programming, thanks to the generosity of so many donors and a wonderful committee of volunteers. The fall of 2003 also saw record numbers of schoolchildren visit the museum for the “Leo Lionni: A Passion for Creativity” and “Narrative Paintings from India” exhibitions (495 in the first nine days of Lionni). Now we move into the winter season of new exhibitions and programs for our visitors. Highlights include a show of Jean-Michel Basquiat early portrait photographs, accompanied by significant works in the permanent collection by African American artists. Well-known Buffalo artist Ellen Steinfeld shows her most recent works in sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media, while in the TopSpin Gallery, Rochester artist Nancy Jurs exhibits her new “Armor Series.” Starting February 29, in our Sculpture Court, will be a special show of Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and Ukrainian artistic traditions that celebrate the coming of spring! We invite you to enjoy these exhibitions and an entire roster of programs and events outlined in the calendar section of this newsletter. Note that we continue the new style of printing on newsprint – blue for winter, but not for blahs. Come visit our shows, our museum shop, and our new wireless cyber café!

Laurene Buckley, Ph.D., Director