Staff

Laura McGough is an arts administrator, curator and art historian. Over the past 30 years she has been employed at arts organizations in the US and Canada in a range of administrative and curatorial positions. During her tenue as video curator at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, McGough coordinated the video screenings and festival programming and managed the organization’s video residency program and cable access television program. As the Program Director at the newly established Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran, she developed arts programming, including gallery exhibitions, public art projects and a guest curator program.  In her capacity as an Independent Curator and Arts Consultant, McGough has curated film, video, web-based, visual arts and performance events for museums, festivals and arts organizations in US, Canada, Europe and Australia and developed board training, strategic plans and program evaluation for a range of nonprofit organizations. From 2000-2003, she served as the Multidisciplinary and Presenting Specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts where she managed a diverse portfolio that included artist communities, performing arts centers, alternative art centers and technology-based arts projects. More recently, as the Director at The Herter Art Gallery at UMass Amherst, McGough oversaw the presentation of visual arts programming and related events for a campus-wide community. McGough has received funding for curatorial and related research projects from NYSCA, the DC Commission on the Arts, The British, Council, and the Canada Council, and has served as a peer reviewer on numerous state and national grant panels. Laura McGough holds a PhD from the Department of Media Studies at the University at Buffalo and an M.A. from New York University. Born and raised in Jamestown, McGough is a Western New York native.

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Rosemary has a BFA in Fine Arts with a concentration in Printmaking from the University at Buffalo. Starting as a Book Arts Intern, Rosemary quickly fell in love with the place and is grateful to continue to be a part of such a vibrant and quirky community art space. At Book Arts, Rosemary leads our team of Teaching Artists, coordinating with educators, artists and the community to teach learners of all ages the curiosities of all things print & paper. You’ll most likely find her in a printers apron behind piles of paper on her desk. Some of her favorite things include: using a pica ruler, being around old & printy-things, and taking walks and looking at houses.

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Demyia Browning is originally from Las Vegas, NV and attended the College of Southern Nevada as a theatre major. An active member of the artistic community in WNY, after being referred to and reading about Book Arts’ mission statement and history, Demyia wanted nothing more than to join the team. As programs assistant, they help with class planning, promotion and communications, material preparation, and hands-on in-person instructional assistance at each class. Passionate about music, you can find them performing around town under the name Demyia or Spud.

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Santiago first came to Buffalo about 2 years ago. His first time exploring the city by himself he found Book Arts through the Summer of Bookfest, a series of days in which he made a handy book, printed on a shirt, and bought a useful tote bag. Although hardly an artist himself, he enjoys any type of hands-on work and was keen on seeing if he could volunteer there. He takes joy in being part of the workshop process and seeing the various creative wonders of his community made here.  He is currently enrolled at ECC and can often be found volunteering at other amazing spots in Western New York.

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