Jump Start Program
Our program provides exceptional art instruction, professional development, portfolio preparation, and exhibiting experience to students. The only cost is for our classes, however if a student’s family identifies as low income, these too are free. The rest of the programming, including individual mentorship, high grade art supplies, and Professional Development Days are provided at no cost to all our students. We ask for a high level of commitment from students, families, staff and our educators.
A variety of Saturday classes are offered and are taught by qualified artists, professors, and K-12 art teachers, all of whom have demonstrated the willingness and ability to meaningfully connect with young people from diverse backgrounds. Classes are offered from beginning through advanced levels in drawing, painting, ceramics, mixed media and more. We have 4, 8-week sessions per year.
Volunteer opportunities and Professional Development Days take place throughout the year. Professional Development Days may include classes offered only to Jump Start students, visits to various artists and art related professions and tours of museums and galleries.
Jump Start is a dynamic program that empowers youth to explore their interests in art, prepares them for college entry, and provides supportive networks.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Who is eligible? Students 13-18 years old.
- What does it cost? The only cost for the program is for classes. If a student’s family is low-income or has a current circumstance where the cost of art classes would be a financial burden, classes are free.
- Where are classes held? Classes are held at Buffalo Arts Studio. We are located on the 5th floor of Tri-Main Center, 2495 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214
- How do I apply to Jump Start? Fill out the following: Jump Start Form. Afterward please contact our Education Director, Jayne Hughes, at education@buffaloartsstudio.org for more information, or to schedule a tour. Enroll anytime.
Buffalo Arts Studio’s Jump Start program features the following components:
- Advanced Classes – Coursework includes drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and digital media.
- Inspiring Field Trips and Professional Development Days – Students visit a variety of museums, galleries, and art spaces, while also interacting with artists and arts professionals to learn about careers in the visual and creative arts.
- Portfolio Preparation – Instructors and the Education Director help students create, collect and present high-quality work, including an artist statement, in a polished, professional, and meaningful way.
- Individual Support – Arts and education professionals guide students through their artistic development, college and internships applications, and throughout the college experience.
Major education & Jump Start support is provided by: Bring Art Buffalo, Children’s Foundation of Erie County, the City of Buffalo, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Erie County Cultural Funding, Garman Family Foundation, Josephine Goodyear, Marks Family Foundation, Simple Gifts Fund, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the New York State Legislature.
Madeline Bartley Gambacorta
Mixed Media Instructor
Madeline Bartley Gambacorta was born in Louisville, Kentucky and attended Murray State University where she received her B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing. She earned her M.F.A. in studio arts from Syracuse University’s College of Visual Performing Arts. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows including exhibitions at the Hand Held Gallery (Melbourne, Australia), Walnut Ink Projects (Michigan City, IN), The Rogue Space (New York, NY), and the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach, CA).
website: madelinebartley.com
Jan Dylewski
Mixed Media Instructor
Jan Dylewski is an art teacher in the Buffalo Public School district. She received her Bachelor of Art degree from S.U.N.Y Fredonia, and her master’s degree from Buffalo State College. Using both her sculptural background and love of mixed media, her work is sprinkled with whimsy, bold colors and a sparkle of joy. She believes in the intuitive nature of materials and strives to help her students develop their inner voice.madelinebartley.com
website: https://www.jdylewski.com/
Clarimar Galarza
Youth Ceramics Instructor
Clarimar Galarza is a high school art teacher in Buffalo New York. She attended Buffalo State College where she received a BFA in Art Education with a concentration in Ceramics and Painting. Her work consists of functional ceramics with a focus on surface design.
Nicole Galuszka
Youth Drawing Instructor
Nicole Galuszka is a mixed media artist, designer and illustrator based in Buffalo, NY. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Communication Design (Minor: Art History) from Pratt Institute. With six years in educational technology as a visual designer and illustrator, her creative journey bridges art and design, utilizing digital as well as physical media.
Bree Gilliam
Painting Instructor
Bree Gilliam is a figurative painter from Buffalo, NY. She attended SUNY Buffalo State College where she received a B.F.A. in painting and a minor in art therapy. In her work, she addresses social issues and the experiences that people face daily. She uses bold symbolism and expressive brushwork to provoke emotion from her audience in an attempt to spark introspection and conversation. She believes that conversations are the first step to creating solutions to the problems in the world.
website: www.breegilliam.com
Shanel Kerekes
Painting Instructor
Shanel Kerekes is a painter from Buffalo, New York. As a graduate of Villa Maria College, she majored in Integrated Arts and obtained a BFA degree in 2019. Photorealism is the style that she continuously aspires to achieve in her work. Kerekes was exposed to a culturally diverse environment early in life, which later instilled a fascination with individuality, preestablished societal standards, and the ever-changing dynamic between the two. By having the position of being a woman in today's world, Kerekes uses the tribulations that they are commonly confronted with and attempts to build a visual representation of the many obstacles women may face within their lifetime which can include objectification, sexualization, and exploitation.
website: www.shanelkerekesart.com
Bethany Krull
Pottery Instructor
Bethany Krull has been working in clay for over twenty-five years, having received her BFA from the State University College at Buffalo and her MFA from the School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her practice is expansive and has led her to the exploration of many other materials that often make their way into the work, which is rooted in formal aesthetics, love of nature and the fears and desires around the ways in which our species impacts the environment and other creatures. She loves to teach in both community and academic settings, and she maintains an active home studio and exhibits nationally and internationally.
website: www.bethanykrull.com
Brianne Nightingale
Drawing Instructor
Brianne Nightingale earned her B.F.A in Art Education at Daemen University and her M.S.Ed in Art Education at Buffalo State University. She is currently an art educator in the Ken-Ton school district. Her work explores traditional drawing and painting with a focus on photorealism.
Laike Palermo
Drawing and Painting Instructor
Andrea Pawarski
Ceramics Instructor
eAndrea Pawarski is a ceramic studio artist at the Buffalo Arts Studio and elementary art teacher at the Charter School of Inquiry. She earned a BFA in Art Education and Ceramics from Syracuse University and a MA in Multidisciplinary Studies from SUNY Buffalo State College. Her ceramic work is inspired by geological formations and can be found on her website or Etsy account.
website: andreapawarski.com
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/AndreaPawarskiClay
Darcie Rosinski
Pottery Instructor
Darcie Rosinski is a Buffalo-based artist who primarily focuses on clay. After graduating from Buffalo State College in 2015, she has continued to develop a collection of work and is the maker behind potsbydjr—decorative porcelain pottery, functional art that can be used everyday. She finds inspiration from the natural world, the spiritual world, and everything in between.
website: djrhandmadegoods.com
Deborah Stewart
Ceramic Instructor
Deborah Stewart is a sculptor primarily working in clay. She has in the past been a biologist, modern dancer and choreographer, and studio potter. She has a BFA in Ceramics and an MFA in Visual Art/Sculpture. She has taught Ceramics and Three-dimensional Design in a variety of WNY colleges. Her work has been exhibited locally and nationally, and is in several public and private collections.
website: DebStewartClay
Laura Valkwitch
Painting Instructor
Laura Valkwitch is a multimedia artist with a focus on oil painting. She studied fine art at Niagara County Community College and recently finished a residency at Hunt Gallery in Buffalo, NY.
website: lauravalkwitch.com
Contact Us
Buffalo Arts Studio
Tri-Main Center
2495 Main Street, Suite 500
Buffalo, NY 14214
info@buffaloartsstudio.org
(716) 833-4450
