Off Center M&T Second Friday at K Art

This June, M&T Second Friday is moving Off Center! Join us at the Burchfield Penney Off Center Gallery at K Art, 808 Main Street in Buffalo, for a special evening celebrating art and community.

The Burchfield Penney's Elmwood Ave building will be closed on the second Friday of June due to our annual Gala, but we didn't want to miss a month with you. Thanks to the generous support of M&T Bank, admission is free as usual, and all are welcome.

Spend the evening enjoying live music from a featured solo performer, an all-ages hands-on art activity, and light snacks.

And if you can't make Friday, Off Center Gallery at K Art will also be open Saturday & Sunday, June 13 & 14th, from 1 to 5 pm. Admission is always free.

EXHIBITION ON VIEW

Kindred: Works from the Burchfield Penney and Seneca Iroquois National Museum Collections

Kindred highlights storytelling and the transfer of traditions across generations — foundational elements of Indigenous culture. Featuring selected works from both the Burchfield Penney and the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum (SINM) collections, the exhibition explores how artists preserve, reinterpret, and evolve cultural practices through their creative work.

Live Music 

Joseph Mahfoud

5:30pm - 8pm 

Joseph Mahfoud is a solo nylon string guitarist who has amassed a wide repertoire which juxtaposes historical masterpiece compositions against virtuoso arrangements of popular artists such as Queen, Sting, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin. A concert with Mahfoud includes commentary on pertinent highlights of the evening repertoire.  Consider this an event best served with wine.

The nylon string guitar has a unique lyrical voice allowing the player great control of the entire register which at times will sound like two guitars at once. Mahfoud’s painstakingly unique and detailed arrangements capture the essence of the great rock classics.  While his interpretations of the classical masterpieces feature his gift of phrasing.

Mahfoud graduated co-top of the music department from the Buffalo Performing Arts School and holds a New York State regents diploma in music.  Mahfoud is a cum laude UB graduate (University at Buffalo) with degrees in classical guitar, music education, and a NYS teaching certification.  He has studied with Andres Segovia protege, Clare Callahan at the Cincinnati Conservatory, Joanne Castelanni at UB, and Jeremy Sparks at Villa Maria. Joseph has directed state championship choruses and founded the largest guitar program in New York State at Tapestry Charter Schools. 

Mahfoud is a dedicated working musician performing several hundred gigs a year. Upon entering the Buffalo music scene professionally in 1981, Joseph has earned a living playing for: Crash Cadillac and the T-Street Cruisers, the Hurricanes Blues Band, Buffalo icon Lance Diamond, and national jazz legend Gap Mangione.  Mahfoud was the co-owner of Kenmore Music, the co-founder and lead vocalist of JJ Swing.  Musical director for Universal Grill, and founder of About Face Band. Band leader for a Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute called the Stevie Project. Joseph recorded the 2003 “Full Circle” album with the Pappy Johns Band winning four Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Their festival tour included: Multiple Indian Reservations across the continent, The Chicago Blues Festival, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Iowa, the Toronto Maple Fest, the Montreal Jazz and Blues Fest.  In 2015, Mahfoud was voted Buffalo’s Best Blues Guitarist. In 2018, Joseph and vocalist Faron Johns were invited to perform the World Indigenous Peoples Conference in Toronto. 

Joseph has recorded 10 cd's, and was the executive producer, guitarist/vocalist of Appleby-Reinhardt-Mahfoud which released "Echoes in Time" to international reviews. Mahfoud was the founding coordinator of the 2015 and 2016 Reinhardt Drum Days Festival - paying homage to their legendary drummer Ted Reinhardt who was lost in a plane crash.  Mahfoud is currently the director of The Steely Project which is an 11 piece tribute to the music of Steely Dan. The project performs in Buffalo every year on Black Friday and features the most demanded and skilled musicians in the State.

ABOUT BURCHFIELD PENNEY OFF CENTER

Burchfield Penney Off Center is a new initiative designed to build cultural partnerships and bring collaboratively designed exhibitions directly into Western New York communities. By meeting people where they are, Off Center advances the museum’s vision: a Western New York where everyone is inspired to explore, enjoy, and create art. As the inaugural exhibition at Burchfield Penney Off Center at K Art, Kindred celebrates both institutions’ respective commitment to celebrating, amplifying, and supporting Indigenous artists and introducing their work to new audiences. This collaboration is made possible with generous support from the City of Buffalo, M&T Bank, and David Kimelberg.