Old chairs get new life-- a cradle to grave exhibition Open Call

Open Call: April 1 – August 1, 2026  (or while supplies last)                

Drop-off deadline: August 10, 2026

All are welcome to attend an Opening Reception of the One and Many Chairs exhibition on Thursday, September 3, 2026, 5-8PM in the Lower Gallery, Center for the Arts Room B45

What Artists?

Any person with inspiration to chop/carve/coat/reconstitute one of these chairs into something new, is invited to apply. 50% or more of the chair should be re-used. 

Quantity limited! Ideally, we might see Art, Architecture, Engineering, Library Science, and more majors, juxtaposed together with educators, local artists, and builders, through this opportunity. Half of the available chairs (20) are being reserved for Department of Art students. UB students from all other disciplines, faculty and staff, and community members, are encouraged to submit a request form and participate (see Call details link above). 

Taking inspiration from conceptual approaches to chairs-- such as that by artists Joseph Kosuth, Hugh Hayden, and more; chair remake projects the likes of organizations in Pittsburgh (famous for their “parking chairs”); and the UB School of Architecture and Planning, who recently used upcycled materials to completely outfit the new Medina Triennial Hub with furniture-- this Open Call aims to engage makers across disciplines and the community, to transform one chair, into many, multifaceted new creations. 

What chairs?

In the Summer of 2024 the UB Libraries slated dozens of old study chairs from the Lockwood Library on North Campus. Most had cracked or torn imitation leather, a wobbly leg, or a missing screw, and more than a fair share with some wads of ancient gum under the edges. They were stacked up in a corner of the library basement, and according to the copy paper signage taped to them, slated for discard. The chairs have been well-loved, and the Libraries, always dedicated to creating a welcoming and engaging space for study, were refreshing their space. But it was more than passerby Art Resource Manager, Whitney Kehl Chamberlain, from the Department of Art, could bare, to ignore the way these seemingly well-made and aesthetically pleasing chairs were about to be abandoned. 

An inquiry with the student assistant at the Lockwood Information Service Desk, led to an email thread with the User Services Librarian and staff Strategist, and then Todd Nibbe, the Libraries Facilities Operations Supervisor, was looped into the mix. The request for the Department of Art to adopt some of the chairs was met with a very encouraging response from Todd: "We would LOVE to give you as many of the older wood and vinyl chairs from the Lockwood basement as you'd like. I was arranging a pickup shortly but I didn't have an exact date."  — Music to Whitney's ears. Within a few weeks student assistants from both units were helping cart over more than 60 chairs from the Library to a storage area in the Center for the Arts (CFA). Todd remarked "I'm so happy they get another life.", and Whitney was excited to see what usage the chairs could be applied to, though immediate plans were not established.

In the nearly two years since this exchange, the Department of Art has placed many of the Lockwood Library study chairs in classrooms and graduate studios, that needed some additional furniture. But the rest of the chairs have been sitting in a non-climate controlled storage area, and the wood and vinyl are starting to show signs of wear from  the moisture and temperature. Not to mention, storage space in the CFA is a hot commodity, and Whitney and colleagues knew that the chairs couldn’t and shouldn’t stay in the closet where they ended up, long term. How about a new way to make use of the chairs, and explore the creative possibilities of their materiality?

Why recycled materials?

Students and instructors at the University at Buffalo have a long history of being “thrifty” when it comes to artmaking and design. With a pervasive low-waste mindset, things like the “Cradle to Grave” exhibition series presented by the Department of Art in the 2000s and 2010s (with old computer monitors, keyboards, machines and slides.), and “take an item, leave an item” shelves have established a habit of recycling materials. The Department’s Print Media Technician, Jeff Sherven, reflecting on the old cradle to grave shows explains how “we had all this stuff that people were hoarding, that was just sitting on a shelf even though it was obsolete, so we gathered it up, had people pick it up, and some of the students found really clever ways to rework the materials available to them. It was about upcycling, and reuse.”   

Get curious – Get creative – Get connected – Get a chair?