who i am. what i do. what i like.


What am I Doing Right Now:
In June 2017, I left my long time home of Buffalo, NY and purchased a 5 acre property with a small house in Landers, CA- not too far from Joshua Tree National Park. I have fulfilled my dreams of becoming a desert rat, being creative and enjoying the sunshine. I meant to chill out a bit in this move but of course I quickly become involved with the local arts community.

As a result I've been working freelance and consulting by handling various administrative tasks and installing art with multiple artists and arts organizations including with Blake Baxter Studio Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency, BoxoPROJECTS and the Yucca Valley Visual & Performing Arts Center. I have also been volunteering at High Desert Test Sites. Who knew in the desert I would find more arts & non-profit work than I did in the city of Buffalo?

For more structure here's my outdated resume: RESUME

Things I Did at One Time:

I started a new project called "chainedchains" where I share pics of outside the box versions of mass produced commercial architecture. These are special code compliant & locally adaptable chains created because not every big box is the same. My main motivation is that I am bored and have come across these sights since moving to California. Also I grew up lower middle class with all it's American cultural branding and retail based reward systems so I still get a thrill out of my yearly trip to the Pizza Hut lunch buffet.

I made these patches You can have one for $5 just paypal me @aimeebuyea-at-gmail.com and write your address in the message box.

From 2009-20017 I lead a group of volunteers to open and manage an alternative all-ages arts venue in Buffalo called Sugar City. Here is a great interview from Off Beat Cinema where I talk about our goals and mission. In 2013 we were recipients of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation SEED grant and I had the honor the visit Rauschenberg's home in Captive. Fl to meet and learn with other SEED grant winers. One of the biggest achievement of Sugar City was taking over the NFTA subway on October 12, 2013 as part of UB Art Gallery's exhibition "My Future Ex." Check out Candace Camuglia's documentation of "Ride the Metro Round & Round"

In 2016 I become living legacy artist at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, NY

For a short time I joined the Queen City Music Lottery and played with Beast Coast

From 2014-2017 I worked as Project Coordinator and right hand woman at Eleven Twenty Projects. Eleven Twenty Projects was founded in 2013, a modern and contemporary arts initiative, located on Buffalo's Main Street adjacent to the medical campus. The goal is to intermix art, history, and material culture with a diverse approach and independent vision. To date the gallery has hosted 13 exhibitions by a wide range of regional artists. As project coordinator I assisted the commercial gallery owner in all tasks related to exhibitions including: installation, media relations, marketing, event planning, artist services and art sales.

From 2014-2016 I had the pleasure of designing and coordinating The Craft Council to decorate Torn Space Theater's Annual Halloween Fundraiser "Prom of the Dead". A lot of the decor was handmade. Click here are some photos of our magic!

In 2015 I formed Brass Pro and the Waterfront Revivalists a party band with a marching problem, a moving pep band, a walking rock band, a homage to the second line, a dancing mobile musical party. . We have played curtain up, the Pride Parade, anniversary parties, Torn Space Productions and Buffalo Infringement Festival.

In 2014 I curated an art exhibit for Block Club Magazine. The theme was BORDERS, literally and figuratively. Articles in this issue deal with borders as: boundaries, demarcation, social contracts, geography, separation, prejudice, and containment. I stuck to these notions when selecting artists and works to showcase. I also attempted to cross the border of who is defined as an "artist" and highlight creative people, not just recognized local "artists." Works from: Candace Camuglia, Joel Brenden, Lukia Costello, Pat Kewley, Emily Churco, Nick Torsell, Conroy & Brown's Impractical Cartography, Carolyn Tennant, UVB76, Dylan England, Rachelle Toarmino, Emma Laque, MJB Corporation and Stephen Schmitt. Here are some photos from the opening: here.

In 2014 I also took part in the One Region Forward's Citizen's Planning School as a Champion for Change! Here is an awesome video about my new project, The Neighborhood Fund, a micro-grant organization, that I never got off the ground before leaving Buffalo.

I make videos & films.

Once I turned my friends into vampires.

Once upon a time ago I got my toes wet with curating and started a DIY attic art show called not the usual suspects in 2006-2007