2017 Community

Community Takes the Stage - In celebration of the new year, we had a number of presenters this month who shared stimulating and thought-provoking “shorts” of their take on #CMmystery:

➤ Dana Saylor is a creative placemaker, specializing in creating emotional connection to historic places of community importance. She does this through unique events, her artwork and research about places, and historic preservation advocacy. She has lived in Buffalo for eight years, and continues to be inspired and motivated by the community here.

➤ Steve Johnsonis a pastor and theologian who launched a new faith community in the neighborhood North Buffalo called Anchor Church. He is a board member of the North Buffalo Organization (NBO). Steve also works for 716 Ministries (formerly Westside Ministries), a community development organization that serves the city of Buffalo. He is contributor and blogger for various Christian websites and hopes to launch his own podcast in 2017 that will explore the connections between theology, faith, and culture called, ‘Dirty Theology.’ Steve puts Sriracha on almost everything he eats.

➤ Tara Sasiadek is an artist, philosopher, and entrepreneur who lives and works in Buffalo, NY. Her current painted body of work, "The Bandaged Place," is a meditation on the healing complexities of scar tissue. Together with collaborator Marquis Burton, she creates interactive installations. The artist has studied philosophy, painting, and human development, and received her MFA in Visual Art from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a founding member and past-President of non-profit Emerging Leaders in the Arts Buffalo, which brought you City of Night, and served as Vice President to the Buffalo Society of Artists. Tara co-owns Snowy Owl Kombucha with her sister Anna Bystran. She runs Artlab, an ongoing art critique group, with fellow artist Sean Madden.