Santiago de Chile: Water cannons chase crowd. A caustic liquid was mixed with the water to irritate the skin and lungs. Water cannons were strategically used to target street medics and the Red Cross. PHOTO: Langelle/GJEP

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                             July 9, 2020
 
Buffalo, NY – The ¡Buen Vivir! Gallery for Contemporary Art is permanently closing its physical gallery in Buffalo. The COVID-19 pandemic is precipitating this action as the gallery, known for its cutting edge social and cultural mission, will move its final exhibit on-line. A live virtual exhibit opening of Chile: Peoples’ Uprising / An Exhibition of Images from the Front Lines is now scheduled for July 30.
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Buffalo Spree’s Associate Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Licata said of the gallery’s impact, “Buffalo’s activist community has risen up over the past few years, for many reasons. During that same time, Buen Vivir has served as an important outlet for the essential documentation of activism, both here in WNY and throughout the world. Especially in the field of environmental activism, Buen Vivir has helped the voices of resistance to be heard. Its closing is a loss.” Buffalo Spree is an award-winning magazine in Western New York, now in its 51st year of publishing.
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Chile: Peoples’ Uprising, previously scheduled to open April 3, was postponed due to the pandemic. A live virtual opening is now planned for Thursday, July 30, starting at 1 p.m. Eastern, noon Central, 11 a.m. MST, 10 a.m. PST, 13:00 Chile.
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The virtual opening will feature photos and videos shot in November and December of 2019 in the ongoing peoples’ uprising in Chile. From Santiago to the streets of Temuco to Indigenous Mapuche land occupations in stolen Mapuche territory, the gallery’s founders Anne Petermann and Orin Langelle were in Chile during the uprising from mid-November to mid-December.
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Joining Langelle and Petermann in the virtual opening will be Chilean activist Alejandra Parra from Red de Acción por los Derechos Ambientales (RADA) in Chile, along with Biofuelwatch’s Gary Hughes based in California. The four formed the documentary team co-sponsored by Global Justice Ecology Project and Biofuelwatch.
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The gallery, sponsored by Global Justice Ecology Project and run by activist photojournalist Orin Langelle, opened on October 3, 2014 with Climate Change: Places, Faces and Protest. It was followed by twelve other exhibits including Pittsburgh’s #notwhitecollective, NYC artist Cassandra, Communications Equipment Seized by FBI Released 14 Years Later (Returned Objects: A Multimedia Art Installation) and The End of the Game – The Last Word from Paradise, Revisited.
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Photographer Langelle will continue to showcase his work online https://photolangelle.org.
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People wishing to take part in the virtual exhibit opening, please register here.
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Contact: Theresa Church, Global Justice Ecology Project, +1.716.931.5833  theresa2@globaljusticeecology.org.