In the News


Flower City Arts Center empowers students to share stories through photography

by Sergio Cruel | Spectrum News 1 | Nov. 12, 2024

Art can provide a powerful outlet for individuals to express their unique voices. Through mediums like painting, photography and sculpture, artists communicate personal experiences and social issues, inspiring conversation and change.


Veterans Day events in the Rochester area honor those who served for freedom

by Editor | 13 WHAM | Nov. 11, 2024

"The image is titled Chess Masters, and it kind of puts a playful image on a darker subject," said explained artist Christopher Cilento, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran. "It goes into the duality of my mind. The push and pull between darkness and light. For me, it's been a way to get all the stuff that's in my head and get it out, where I can work with it."


Veterans convey intimate, honest expressions of imagery through the Odyssey Project

by Kori Sciandra | The Daily News Batavia | Nov. 11, 2024

Through reflection and intrepidity, combat veterans participating in the Odyssey Project have created pieces of art and images that “create safety and trust through the creative process,” with the guidance of Odyssey Project Founder Brendan Bannon.


‘My, My, Tiger’s Eye’ exhibition brings graduate student artwork to the Rochester community

by Felicia Swartzenberg | RIT University News | Sept. 19, 2024

"'It is crucial for an artist to see their work in public. Looking at works-in-progress in the studio can seem myopic, and seeing the finished piece unencumbered in a gallery setting is a chance for clarity,' said [FCAC Ceramics Director Kate] Whorton. 'Art is a connection point between people, between the artist and the viewer, and the feedback from a well-received exhibit can be instructive and crucial for young artists.'”


Depth of field: Photography educator Mark J. Watts brings community into focus.

by Jessica L. Pavia | CITY | June 25, 2024

"'There's nothing like teaching,' said Watts. 'When I see that light bulb go off---and I have that oppurtunity plenty of times where people are walking in never seeing a darkroom before, and then they get it because I've helped them--- that's so rewarding for me.'"


Six CCCSD students selected for summer ceramics residency program

by Editor | Westside News | June 23, 2024

Six Churchville-Chili Senior High School ceramic artists will have the opportunity to participate in a new high school residency program through Flower City Arts Center this summer.


Social justice self-portraits take the spotlight in 'Pass Us the Mic'

by Patrick Hosken | CITY | May 24, 2024

The idea of using the human body as a canvas is often invoked with regard to tattoos and other corporeal modification. But for Rashaad Parker, a filmmaker who runs the Expanding the Field after-school program at the Flower City Arts Center, the concept allows students to explore how their work intersects with broader issues.

Flower City Arts Center hosts 17th annual Chili Cook-Off

by Taylor Mullifan | News 8 ROC | March 9, 2024

The annual cook-off gives local eateries the chance to compete for the best chili of the year!


New Exhibit at Flower City Arts Center Focuses on Culture

by Oran Spitzer | News 8 ROC | January 5, 2024

“We are individual artists in our own right, but we understand the power of community and the power of collective mindset,” said Community Relations Director Rashaad Parker of the Flower City Arts Center, who is also a founding member of the collective.


The Impact of The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative is Palpable in WNY

by Buffalo Rising | December 29, 2023

This funding, emphasizing community-led and centered arts organizations with budgets under $2 million, marked a significant step towards sustaining and enriching the region’s cultural landscape.


Monroe County proposes arts and cultural plan in alliance with city hall

by Rebecca Rafferty | CITY News | Nov. 1, 2023

Six projects were selected from more than 50 applicants, with $20,000 each going to four: [...] The Flower City Arts Center to develop an entrepreneurial focus for its Expanding the Field youth program.


Flower City Pottery Invitational makes its return; continues Sunday.

by Andie Vélez-Davis | News 8 WROC | October 13, 2023

The Flower City Pottery Invitational makes its return this weekend featuring ceramic artists from all over the country.


Renowned artists travel to Rochester for Flower City Pottery Invitational

by WHAM | 13WHAM | October 13, 2023

Renowned artists from across the country are traveling to Rochester this weekend for the Flower City Pottery Invitational.


RCSD students invite renowned ceramist for artist demo, class

by Andie Vélez-Davis | News 8 WROC | September 17, 2023

Rochester City School Young Artists of Color had a “once in a lifetime” opportunity Saturday.


Artsbloom Awards $100,000 to Rochester Artists and Art Organizations

As part of the City’s Percent for the Arts program, Mayor Malik D. Evans announced that $100,000 has been awarded to local artists and arts organizations through ArtsBloom, an initiative to fund arts education, performing arts, and temporary art programming across Rochester [...] Flower City Arts Center [was allocated] $20,000 to develop a creative entrepreneurship focus for its youth program, “Expanding the Field.


Flower City Arts Center hosts Open House for Earth Day

by Bonnie Marrocco | NBCNews10 | April 22, 2023

The focus of the Open House was to connect the public with free art opportunities and local community-based organizations with information on sustainable practices.


Kristin Rapp named as executive director at Flower City Arts Center

by Rebecca Rafferty | CITY News | March 8, 2023

In late February Kristin Rapp took the helm as the new executive director of Flower City Arts Center on Monroe Avenue, a nonprofit community arts organization with studio and gallery spaces that offers arts education and youth outreach programming.


Community Foundation announces 2022 Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative grantees

by Niagra Frontier Publications | December 19, 2022

The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo announced the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Arts & Culture Initiative awards totaling $500,000 to support more than 75 small to mid-sized arts organizations serving the eight counties of Western New York, plus Monroe County, through its inaugural 2022 competitive grants process.


Hometown Stocking Stuffers

by Berkeley Brean | CITY News | December 13, 2022

When you give the gift of membership to one of our region’s many museums, art houses, and theaters, you give year-round access to culture — and future excuses to get out of the house.


News10NBC Investigates: What is it like to be a child in the city right now?

by Berkeley Brean | News10NBC | November 17, 2022

Amiere Young is a straight-A student who loves to practice photography at the Flower City Arts Center. “It’s good to be me,” she said. “Like, I have a good, supportive family. I have good, supportive friends.”


The Flower City Arts Center -Highlighting the Life-Changing Work of ESL Community Impact Partners

by ESL | Summer 2022

If you consider yourself traditional when it comes to photography and other visual arts, Dr. Cheryl McKeiver, executive director of the Flower City Arts Center at 733 Monroe Avenue in Rochester invites you to the center for a visit. What initially started as an area for pottery work has evolved into an educational center that offers a variety of visual arts classes and programs.“The Flower City Arts Center is designed to be the center that local youth go to first before visiting larger art centers like The Guggenheim Museum in New York City,” says Dr. McKeiver. “This is where people start to pursue their interest in learning more about visual arts.” Read more.


Community Foundation awards Nearly $300,000 to 61 arts nonprofits through partnership with State Arts Council

by Concetta Durso | FingerLakes1 | July 13, 2022

Sixty-one area nonprofits and community organizations have been awarded a total of $296,730 for arts programming as a result of a new partnership between Rochester Area Community Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). Read more.


Bright Spot: Fostering Creativity

by WHAM | 13WHAM TV | May 21, 2020

Our bright spot Thursday shines on a bright future for young artists in our community. This past weekend, the Flower City Arts Center put 250 art kits together for elementary students in three Rochester city schools. The kits included almost everything they will need to work on projects their teachers are sharing through Zoom virtual lessons. The kits also included a self-addressed postcard on which the students are asked to draw, reflecting this period of isolation. They will be put on display for all to see when students are together again. Read more.


Rochester cafe wins big at Flower City Arts Center Chili Cookoff

by WHAM | 13WHAM TV | February 29, 2020

ROAM Cafe took home some big titles this weekend. The cafe won best overall and judges' choice awards Saturday night at the 16th Annual Flower City Arts Center's Chili Cookoff. Dozens of local eateries took part, handing out samples to ticket holders. 13WHAM's Michael Schwartz was a guest judge at the competition. Read more.


Flower City Arts Center offering new classes

By Messenger Post Media | Monroe County Post | December 19, 2019

The Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester, is expanding its community class selections to include sculpture, Ethiopian book structure, photogravure, jewelry and guided black-and-white darkroom printing. These classes will be offered to community members of all ages, incomes and backgrounds. Visit rochesterarts.org for information. Read more.


The experience of war through a different lens

by E.C. Salibian | Rochester Beacon | August 21, 2019

Brittany Grippi served six years in the U.S. Navy as an aviation ordnanceman, maintaining missiles and bombs aboard the USS Carl Vinson Nimitz-class supercarrier. Jennifer Wiese served as a civil affairs specialist in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command during the 2003 Iraq war. Belinda Miller describes herself as an introverted middle child, yet she’s served in both in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy. These three are among six Rochester women who took part in Eyes Front, a new photography and writing program for women combat veterans. Conducted by Flower City Arts Center in partnership with the Rochester Vet Center, the 12-week program took place this spring to empower women veterans to discover and share their stories. Out of it came the book “First Light” and an exhibition, which can be seen at Image City Photography Gallery on 722 University Ave. until Sept. 1. Read more.


Megan Joy May's practical magic

by Rebecca Rafferty | CITY Newspaper | April 9, 2019

Last Saturday evening a crowd of art devotees gathered to watch a woman give birth to herself. She emerged from behind a curtain dressed like a priestess in flowing veils, nude fishnets, and shimmering pumps, with a giant third-eye headdress strapped to her brow. The front of her stockings protruded with a volume of scarves, simulating a baby bump. Over the course of her performance she called upon the elements, ancestors, spirit guides, archangels, and ascended masters, performed a cosmic dance with a mannequin, used a blade to cut off all of her clothing, anointed herself with her own menstrual blood, and buried herself in a mound of soil. When she re-emerged, minutes later, she was ecstatic. Read more.


Flower City Arts Center exhibiting ‘Family Photographs’

by Messenger Post Media | Monroe County Post | Nov. 15, 2018

Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester, is displaying “Family Photographs,” a national juried exhibition of work by 18 artists from across the country, through Dec. 15. The history of family photographs is as long and varied as the history of photography itself. Read more.


Flower City Pottery Invitational to welcome 21 artists

by Messenger Post Media | Monroe County Post | Sept. 24, 2018

Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester, will host 21 ceramic artists from 11 states for the fourth annual Flower City Pottery Invitational on Oct. 11-14. The celebration of contemporary clay will feature an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 12, pottery exhibitions and a sale, demonstrations, workshops, and talks by the visiting artists. Read more.


Mom Starts Addiction Recovery Photo Project After Son's Overdose Death

by Maggie Ethridge | The Fix | Aug. 30, 2018

Smone Ochrym lost her 26-year-old son the same day that she had begged for him to return to treatment for his opioid addiction.
After a decade of drug abuse, recovery “was not in the cards” for Ochrym’s child. The Democrat and Chronicle interviewed Ochrym about her new photo project that includes 15 portraits and narratives of people in recovery from addiction. Read more.


Rochester’s Coolest Spaces

Rochester Business Journal | Aug. 30, 2018

You don’t have to look far to find cool spaces in Rochester. From cutting-edge office designs to cleverly repurposed buildings to quiet outdoor spots hidden amid the bustle of downtown, there is no shortage of great spaces in which to work or play. The Rochester Business Journal asked our influential and connected readers to help us pick the coolest spaces in our region. We received nearly 200 nominations spread over four categories: Consumer, Education, Events and Office. Our editors selected the top 30 based on each space’s appearance and function. On this website you will have a chance to learn a little more about those winners and what makes them one of Rochester’s Coolest Spaces. Read about Flower City Arts Center.


Losing son inspires photographer to document addiction recovery

By Robin L. Flanigan | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK | Aug. 26, 2018

Even on the morning her 26-year-old son passed away from an overdose after struggling with addiction for a decade, Simone Ochrym suggested he go back into detox and try treatment again.While recovery “just wasn’t in his cards,” Ochrym discovered something about herself, while writing his eulogy.“I was an adult when his addiction started but by the time he was done with me I was a full-fledged adult,” she explains. Read more.


Making time for the timeless

AfterTaste the magazine | issue 2 | Mar. 30, 2018

What is Flower City Arts Center and what does it provide for the community?
We are really one of the few community art centers where you can take a myriad of different classes at a very reasonable price, with parking. We've established an art community here. I think that's probably the biggest thing that people take away from taking classes here and being a part of it and being a member, is that they feel that this is a fun place to go and explore their artistic sensibilities without having to matriculate or go to a university. Read more.


ART | ‘The Vision in Me’

By Rebecca Rafferty | CITY Newspaper | Mar. 28, 2018

The Photography & Digital Arts program at Flower City Arts Center this month celebrates 20 years of its Studio 678 youth photography program with an exhibition at City Hall. Open to Wilson Foundation Academy middle school students, the 24-session after-school photography program is free to the kids and receives no funding from the Rochester City School District; it's supported by individuals, businesses, foundations, and professional associations. Read more.


Image City exhibiting ‘Through the Student Lens 18’

By Messenger Post Media | Messenger Post Media | Mar. 20, 2018

Image City Photography Gallery, 722 University Ave., Rochester, is exhibiting “Through the Student Lens 18” through April 15.

The annual exhibit showcases area high school students. Guest photographers include Rochester Area Nature Photography Meetup Group in the Neuberger Gallery and students at Wilson Foundation Academy’s Studio 678, a Genesee Center for Arts and Education program. Read more.


Exhibit of Wolodymyr Pylyshenko’s graphic prints presented in Rochester

By Jack Wolsky | The Ukrainian Weekly | Feb. 9, 2018

An exhibit at the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester, N.Y., on December 8-30, 2017, featured the prints of Wolodymyr “Mirko” Pylyshenko. This solo exhibition focused on Mr. Pylyshenko’s black-and-white graphic prints made between 1958 and 1966. Read more.


ART | Mirko Pylyshenko Retrospective

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Dec. 27, 2017

Mirko Pylyshenko taught printmaking at SUNY Brockport during the Cold War era, and for more than 60 years has served the Rochester Ukrainian community in the fields of the arts, education, religion, youth programs, and the credit union movement. Read more.


ART | 'Good Things...come in small packages'

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Nov. 15, 2017

A celebration of small ceramic work, "Good Things...come in small packages" opens at Flower City Arts Center this week, providing a great opportunity to tick some names off your gift list while supporting makers. Each piece in the show measures no more than eight inches long, high, or wide — it's a given that there will be mugs; there will also be small sculptural work. Read more.


Renowned ceramic artists tour Alfred Ceramic Art Museum

AU Press Releases | Alfred University | Nov. 14, 2017

A group of noted ceramic artists from the 2017 Flower City Pottery Invitational, which include several Alfred University faculty and alumni, toured the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum on Oct. 16. The Flower City Pottery Invitational is an annual event organized through the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester. Read more.


Community ministry allows Jennie Papkin to help Rochester

By Arlene Hisiger | Democrat & Chronicle | Nov. 12, 2017

“Rochester is where I grew up,” Jennie Papkin says. “I left, but came back, because I’m passionate about this city and am dedicated to improving it.” Her bachelor of arts in sociology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada serves her well in her current position as Cameron Community Ministries’ (CCM) executive coordinator. Read more.


No guidebooks, no masters

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Nov. 8, 2017

Experimental printmaker and photographer Rebecca Lomuto's work began to move away from traditional territory when she was studying abroad in Florence, Italy. As an undergrad at SUNY Purchase, "I was really gung-ho about being this traditional black and white analog photographer, and printing in the darkroom," she says. Read more.


Profusion of pottery at Flower City Pottery Invitational

By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | Oct. 6, 2017

Between 1,500 and 2,000 pieces of pottery — from 21 artists around the country — will be for sale at the Flower City Pottery Invitational, an annual event that celebrates the best in contemporary clay. “This isn’t like what people think of as a traditional exhibition,” says Audrey Shaughnessy, coordinator of the event being held at Flower City Arts Center, 713 Monroe Ave. “These are full bodies of work, and the artists are right there.” Read more.


Queering everything: Marval A. Rex discusses his art

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | Aug. 18, 2017

Rex's work reflects a mind that connects a lot of dots, introducing new constellations from stars that have always been there. But he's also incredibly playful and funny. Read more.


ART | 'Plastics: Our Weakness'

By Gracie Peters | City Newspaper | Aug. 16, 2017

It's so much easier to use a plastic fork and toss it than it is to labor over the kitchen sink. Flower City Arts Center artist-in-residence Arleen Thaler, a photojournalism graduate student at Empire State College, highlights this shortcoming in her show, "Plastics: Our Weakness." Read more.


Greece photographer shocked by litter turns it into art

By Caurie Putnam | Democrat & Chronicle | Aug. 15, 2017

Arleen Thaler never thought she’d find value in washed up plastic waste, but one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. While on a fishing trip with her husband this spring on Braddock Bay, the photographer spotted plastic cups, broken Frisbees, recyclable water bottles, all as she spent time on the beach, but there was nothing relaxing about what she saw. Read more.


Examples of 'Over 55' and being more creative than ever

By Pam Sherman | Democrat & Chronicle | Aug. 2, 2017

I’m embarking on a new stage of life: the “Over 55” stage. The “Over 55” category is a box we check on a form, designed by some actuary who decided that by the time you reach 55, you are now different from the rest of the young population. As in, your children up and leave you. Everything starts to hurt a little bit when you sit too long. And you suddenly feel you must watch every police procedural on CBS. Read more.


Affording the arts

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | July 19, 2017

Donald Trump's 2018 fiscal budget proposal for the federal government, which was announced in May, notably aims to slash funding for Medicaid, the EPA, food stamp programs, scientific research, and cultural agencies. Of the 66 programs up to be eliminated or cut, the ones that allocate funding for arts and culture are the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Read more.


Local filmmaker shares experience of violence

By WHAM | 13WHAM News | May 28, 2017

A local rape survivor shared her story of healing Saturday night, in hopes it would help other victims of violence. 35 years ago, Nicholle La Vann was raped and gave birth to a baby girl. Despite the traumatic experience, she went back to school where she became interested in photography and film making. Read more.


Film explores impact of when a rape results in motherhood

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | May 24, 2017

For all of our debates over the right for women to terminate unwanted pregnancies, there's less conversation about women who decide to keep children conceived through rape. Filmmaker and Flower City Arts Center Artist-In-Residence Nicholle La Vann is creating a documentary about her own assault and her broken relationship with her daughter, in the effort to continue her process of healing. By speaking out, she hopes to start important discussions and embolden other women who have had similar experiences. Read more.


Mitch Goldstein's push on Twitter, Instagram, now an exhibition

By Robin Flanigan | Demorcat & Chronicle | April 7, 2017

Megan Charland had been following graphic design artist Mitch Goldstein on Twitter, and regularly listened to the podcast he co-hosts about graphic design education and practice. When Goldstein, who teaches at Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Imaging Arts & Sciences, announced last year he was starting an Instagram account to experiment with photographic images made without a camera, she started following him there. Read more.


Flower City Arts Center welcomes Mitch Goldstein

By Cynthia Benjamin | Democrat & Chronichle | March 2017

Mitch Goldstein experiments with photograms, photographic images made without a camera. Watch the video.


The creative dissent of Stephanie Mercedes

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | March 8, 2017

When we think of individual artists, most come with the association of a specific chosen medium. A smaller number of creatives, like Argentinian-American Stephanie Mercedes, float from one material to the next, each new body of work determined by the message they want to get across. Mercedes's work includes a unique aspect: she folds law and dissent into her artistic practice. Read more.


Arts organizations rally to stop federal funding cuts

By Lori Gable | Rochester Business Journal | February 7, 2017

Local arts organizations that count on federal funding are rallying support through a social media campaign. The Flower City Arts Center, formerly the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education, is taking to Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc., LinkedIn Corp. and Instagram social media to ask people to share stories of how the National Endowment for the Arts has made a difference in their lives. It is using #myNEAstory to raise awareness of how art matters and what communities stand to lose if they lose funding. Read more.


Youth art gets boost thanks to grant

By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | January 30, 2017

The more barren and lifeless the subject, the more attractive it is to Joseph C. Wilson Foundation Academy eighth-grader Alihana Hardy, a student in the Flower City Arts Center’s Studio 678 Urban Youth Photography Project. “I like dying grass and torn-down buildings, and I know that sounds weird,” says the 13-year-old. “But photography can give things different words, you just have to give it time. Art can take something ugly and make it beautiful. You have to look deeper than the surface.” Read more.


Ceramic show highlights 'Good Things in small packages'

By Caurie Putnam | Democrat & Chronicle | December 2, 2016

Good things not only can come in small packages, but also can be small packages. To see for yourself, head to the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education now through Dec. 17 to see its exhibit "Good Things … come in small packages." Read more.


Back to darkroom basics with 'Under Safelight'

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | November 30, 2016

There's much to be said about the disappearing scientific element of making art and the stalwart enthusiasts keeping it alive. Chemistry and creativity have strolled hand-in-hand throughout human history, but just as the majority of painters stopped grinding their own minerals when they could buy any ready-made hue, most photographers' understanding of chemistry and calculations faded with the onset of digital tech. Read more.


Flower City Pottery Invitational fills the weekend

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | October 14, 2016

The second annual Flower City Pottery Invitational, hosted by the Flower City Arts Center, kicked off Thursday morning with (many sold out) classes offered by some of the exhibiting artists. The event, which last year drew nearly 1,000 visitors to the center, continues through Sunday, October 16, with an opening reception Friday, October 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and with artist demos and talks throughout the weekend. Read more.


Flower City Pottery Invitational starts Oct. 14

By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | October 7, 2016

Twenty-one premier ceramic artists from nine states and Canada are showcasing high-end, contemporary clay pieces at the Flower City Arts Center’s Flower City Pottery Invitational. The show and sale includes an artist reception, pottery exhibitions, workshops and talks. Last fall’s event drew about 1,000 people. Read more.


'Good Hair' exhibit unravels identity and politics

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | August 17, 2016

Although her primary training is in art bookmaking, recent Flower City Arts Center resident artist Amanda Chestnut has branched out to a variety of media to hit her points in her most recent body of work. Her compact show, "Good Hair," includes photographic and letterpress prints, mixed media art books, and other objects, and treads the waters of long-standing social and political conflicts that are ever-frequently shouted about in today's media and online chatter. Read more.


Artist residencies give space to focus and create

By Amanda Chestnut | Democrat & Chronicle | July 23,2016

In my career as an artist, a constant that has helped me develop my work, learn new techniques, and make connections for exhibits is artist residencies.

I am currently preparing for an exhibit that will culminate my 2015-2016 residency at Flower City Arts Center (GCAE).

Good Hair will open on Aug. 5 along with Domestic Digest by artists-in-residence Ian Park and Kelly Justice. As this residency draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on how important residencies are to artists. Read more.


College Collective show opens Friday

By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | June 14, 2016

All four gallery spaces at the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education will be dedicated to exhibits of photography, ceramics and book arts for College Collective, a national juried show featuring current college students and alumni within two years of graduation.

Fifty-five emerging artists from 42 colleges in 22 states are participating in the show, opening Friday. Read more.


Studio 678

By City of Rochester, NY .Mayor's Office | CityWise | April 6, 2016

Studio 678 Wilson Photo Club is in its 18th year and hundreds of students have taken part in the unique program that allows them to explore the community through their own eyes. Watch the video.


ART | "A Possible Result of Wanderlust"

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | March 23, 2016

Six years ago, artist Lynne Hobaica was a resident artist in the ceramics program at Flower City Arts Center's Fire House Gallery (713 Monroe Avenue). After relocating to four different cities across two continents, Hobaica is back at Flower City Arts Center as the ceramics studio manager. In her new body of work, "A Possible Result of Wanderlust," currently featured in the center's Firehouse Gallery, she reflects on her journeys and the dynamics of human relationships. Read more.


Beyond the selfie at Wilson academy

By Erica Bryant | Democrat & Chronicle | March 16, 2016

You might have seen the little man peeking around the corner at the Memorial Art Gallery. Emani Rogers, age 12, wrote a poem about him. "Little Man in a little life waiting for something good to arrive," it begins. She is part of Studio 678, the Flower City Arts Center's photography club for students at Wilson Foundation Academy. Read more.


Woman to Watch: Megan Charland

By Leah Shaw | Democrat & Chronicle | January 04, 2016

As the new communications coordinator at the Flower City Arts Center, Megan Charland is doing what she loves: inspiring the community in visual arts. Read more.


In a migrant world, images capture unexpected bonds

By Todd Clausen | Democrat & Chronicle | November 04, 2015

Through a camera lens, Ed Stone documents what life is like on many local farms. ... Stone has been capturing photographs of work life on the farms through a 13-week photography course offered at the Flower City Arts Center in Rochester. The Social Reportage course doesn’t teach photographers new skills, but instead immerses them in various experiences. Read more.


Social Reportage exhibit focuses on harvest workers

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | November 03, 2015

"Farm to Table: Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers" includes about 40 images by seven photographers, ranging from teen to retired, who participated in Thaler's third Social Reportage course. Images in the show reveal the proud faces of the harvesters, their work-worn hands, the kinds of produce they handle, the tools and machines involved in the harvest, livestock, and the orchard, farm, or farm stand environments. Read more.


Woman to Watch: Lynne Hobaica

By Leah Shaw | Democrat & Chronicle | October 19, 2015

Lynne Hobaica couldn't be happier in a career choice that has led her to Rochester. As the new ceramics studio manager at Flower City Arts Center, she teaches three classes — two drawing-related, and one wheel throwing course. She completed her residency at the center in 2011 and came back just a few months ago. Read more.


Flower City Pottery Invitational is next weekend

By Robin L. Flanigan | Democrat & Chronicle | October 3, 2015

The inaugural Flower City Pottery Invitational, coming next weekend, will give the public close, personal access to a range of work well-suited to a region organizers call a clay mecca, with its proximity to Rochester Institute of Technology's School for American Crafts, Alfred University and strong clay programs in Buffalo and Syracuse. Read more.


Flower City Pottery Invitational: A new clay exhibition and market

By Rachel DeGuzman | Democrat & Chronicle | September 24, 2015

Upstate New York cultural and educational institutions were pivotal to the emergence of the post-industrial American ceramics movement in the 20th century. Today, Rochester is still located in the center of a clay mecca with renowned ceramics programs at Alfred University and the School for American Crafts at RIT as well as strong clay programs in both Syracuse and Buffalo. With events like the launch of the upcoming Flower City Pottery Invitational (FCPI) at Genesee Center for the Arts and Education – the region strengthens its relevance to the field and industry in the 21st century. Read more.


The Show on Monroe highlights eclectic offerings

By Meaghan M. McDermott | Democrat & Chronicle | May 30, 2015

When artist Rebecca Lomuto's friends from Brooklyn visit and check out the space at the Flower City Arts Center for the Arts on Monroe Avenue, they can't hide their jealousy. Read more.


Rochester's Refugees

By Rebecca Rafferty | City Newspaper | December 31, 2014

There's a lot of talk of "two Rochesters" — cities divided by the different experiences of the haves and have-nots — but we might argue that there are as many Rochesters as there are people who live here. Some of these Rochesters remain obscure to others; while some of them expand as they come into contact with one another, swelling to include other versions. The current photo exhibit at Flower City Arts Center's Community Darkroom explores Rochester's refugee population, depicted through the earnest lenses of some citizens who seek to spotlight what is relatively invisible. Read more.


Angels for East House

By Norma Holland | 12 WHAM-TV | Dec. 9, 2014

The lives of Rochester's refugees are chronicled in a new photo exhibit at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education on Monroe Avenue. Local photographer, Arleen Hodge Thaler, led the effort along with students in her photography class. We'll also hear from the head of a local refugee organization about the challenges of those who now call Rochester home. Watch the video (part 1). Watch the video (part 2).