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AK Public Art Spotlight: White Bicycle's We Are Here

November 26, 2018

White Bicycle's We Are Here, 2018, at 1260 Hertel Avenue in Buffalo. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

Buffalo-based graphic design firm White Bicycle’s mural We Are Here is a dynamic take on a map of this North Buffalo neighborhood, roughly bordered in this rendering by Taunton Place and Linden, Elmwood, and Parker Avenues.

Map of the area around We Are Here. The mural is located at 1260 Hertel Avenue, near the corner of Commonwealth Avenue.

At a distance, the word “we” subtly emerges in shades of yellow and orange. This symbolic gesture suggests a vision of community based in equal parts shared and distinct identities, a space where we honor our common values even as we celebrate what makes us different. It is these connections that build the character, strength, and resiliency of our region. The composition also harkens to the designs of the Roycroft community based in East Aurora, southeast of the city, in the early twentieth century and the stained glass common to churches throughout Buffalo.