Jump Start Students, Deeply Rooted

October 23 – November 20, 2026

Buffalo Arts Studio collaborated with the WNY Foundation and Journey’s End Refugee Services to bring a cohort of our Jump Start youth program students (ages 13–18) to a local urban farm to learn about the food system in Buffalo. Our goal was to help our students understand the work, impact, and importance of urban agriculture, and to see how this fits into their greater communities.

Buffalo Arts Studio worked with Journey’s End Refugee Service’s Brewster St. Farm. We ran a two-session project in which our Jump Start students learned about the farm and created drawings for an exhibition celebrating the WNY Foundation’s 75th Anniversary. 

During the first session, our students spent a day receiving a tour of the space, learning about how the farm operates as part of the larger Buffalo food system, and writing reflections on their understanding of the farm’s impact. They then created live drawings of the farm. The second session was held at Buffalo Arts Studio, where students refined their drawings and reflections, discussed what they learned, and prepared the finished pieces for exhibition.

The final drawings will be displayed alongside the students’ written reflections on the impact of Brewster St. Farm. They will be hung in the Tri-Main Center, in the hallway between Buffalo Arts Studio and Journey’s End. This exhibition is a part of our October 2026 M&T Fourth Friday and will also be included in  the 2027’s Jump Start Biennial Exhibition.