Old Lockwood chairs find new life in exhibition

The Department of Art is inviting UB students, faculty, staff and community members to take part in “One and Many Chairs,” a fall 2026 exhibition that challenges participants to transform retired Lockwood Library study chairs into new works of art.

The idea for the project was sparked in 2024, when UB Libraries slated dozens of worn Lockwood study chairs for disposal. Many showed cracked imitation leather, wobbly legs, missing screws and other signs of heavy use. The chairs were stacked in the Lockwood basement and marked for disposal until Whitney Kehl Chamberlain, art resource manager for the Department of Art, intervened and arranged for them to be moved to the Center for the Arts.

More than 60 chairs were eventually relocated. Many were put to use in classrooms and graduate studios, while the rest sat in storage for nearly two years — weathered by temperature and moisture — until the department began imagining new possibilities for them. 

“I’ve had this idea in my back pocket since we got the chairs,” says Chamberlain. “We could do some art projects with them, since we weren’t going to need them all for refreshing furniture in our spaces.”

The open call draws inspiration from conceptual approaches to chairs, including works by Joseph Kosuth and Hugh Hayden, as well as recent upcycling efforts across campus, such as the School of Architecture and Planning’s furnishing of the New Medina Triennial Hub.

UB students and faculty have a long history of resourcefulness in art and design, Chamberlain notes, and the “chairs” exhibition builds on that tradition and reflects UB’s broader culture of reuse, along with ongoing low-waste practices across the Department of Art. She cites several examples of this culture, including the “Cradle to Grave” exhibition series from the 2000s and 2010s, which repurposed materials such as old computer monitors, keyboards, machinery and slides, as well as “take an item, leave an item” shelves that have helped reinforce a strong habit of recycling and reuse.

“I have a habit of looking for a deal or free stuff,” Chamberlain says. “I've noticed this pattern at UB, where if you keep your eyes open and aren’t afraid to ask for something, sometimes a door opens.”

Those interested in participating in the exhibit can request a chair beginning April 1 using this form. If accepted, a pick-up time can be scheduled with the art resource manager at the Center for the Arts. The last day to request and pick up a chair is Aug. 1, or while supplies last. Chairs should be returned for the exhibit by Aug. 10.

The call is open to all artists; there is no entry fee. A limited quantity of 40 chairs will be issued — 20 chairs will be reserved for UB students enrolled in an art class in 2026, with the remaining chairs open to other students, faculty, staff and community members on a first-come, first-served basis. All completed works will be included in the exhibition, which will open Aug. 24. The ceremony will be held Sept. 3, at 5 p.m. in the Department of Art’s Lower Art Gallery, located in room B45 of UB’s Center for the Arts.

Chamberlain hopes to see a wide range of participants.

“I think we’ll get some architecture and sustainability, and obviously art students interested,” she says. “But it’d be cool to have other folks step up to the call who aren’t spending the majority of their time designing things and thinking about recycling and reducing waste.”