Buffalo Remembrance Project
Community Documentation Day
Courtesy of the collection of the Richardson Olmsted Campus
Help us honor the women once confined to the Buffalo State Asylum with the Buffalo Remembrance Project.
UB Art Galleries invites the public to contribute to a special one-day event dedicated to preserving the memory of women institutionalized at the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane between 1880 and 1974.
We encourage you to bring a personal object that belonged to a female family member who was once a patient at the asylum—a letter, comb, wallet, photograph, piece of clothing, or other meaningful memento. Objects will be photographed onsite at UB Anderson Gallery by University at Buffalo photography students.
The resulting images will be displayed in early 2026 in an exhibition at The Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo at the Richardson Olmsted Campus, the former site of the asylum. This special installation will run concurrently with Kimberly Chapman’s exhibition Eighty-Six Reasons for Asylum Admission, forming a powerful visual dialogue between personal memory, institutional history, and contemporary art.
Participants will receive a professional 8” x 10” print of their photographed object. You are not required to leave the original item behind. If available, please also bring a photograph of your loved one to include in the project.
For any questions or further information on this project, please contact Anna Wager, annawage@buffalo.edu or 716.645.6912
Program Date: November 21, 2025