This weekend Beyond/In Western New York, a collaborative contemporary art exhibition, opens its second edition in 12 museums and galleries in and around Buffalo, NY. It is a true biennale in the sense that it began with nearly a thousand submissions vetted by Anna Kaplan, a curator at the area's premier contemporary art museum, the Albright-Knox Gallery, followed by exhaustive studio visits by a team of local curators who narrowed the field down to the 50 artists being presented this year.

While Buffalo might not be on the short list of can't miss art destinations, it has a sterling reputation in art circles. The Albright-Knox, for example, is one of the premier venues for contemporary art today and is one of the oldest public art institutions in the country.

At the nearby University of Buffalo campus is the Anderson Gallery. Founded by the son of Martha Jackson, one of New York City's most adventurous mid-century gallerists, the Anderson forms the backbone of UB's renowned museum and curatorial studies program. Just a few miles away, at Buffalo State College, is the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. Home to the work and archive of visionary painter Charles E. Burchfield, the museum will move into a new building designed by Gwathmey Siegel Architects next year.

Art from left to right by: Richard Price, Michael Snow, Katherine Ruppert-Daza, Roberley Bell, Carianne Hendrickson. Courtesy of Beyond/In Western New York.

Beyond/In WNY will present work in all media, from painting, sculpture, installation, and photography to film, video, and performance art. And the region's largest ever art exhibition has a comprehensive website that enable visitors to preview the work and plan their gallery hopping.

The Biennale launches this weekend with nonstop openings Friday through Sunday, organized in navigable zones. For example, venues in downtown Buffalo open on Friday, followed on Saturday by venues in Niagara Falls and Tonawanda. Openings on Sunday bring art lovers back to town, to the Albright-Knox and Burchfield-Penney. And the show goes on, ending at CEPA Gallery on December 21, with other venues closing on various dates prior.

The artists of Beyond/In Western New York are: Lois Andison, Jeremy Bailey, Chris Barr, Sylvie Bélanger, Roberley Bell, Amanda Besl, Tammy Renée Brackett, Dorothea Braemer, Yvonne Buchanan, Jay Carrier, Lyn Carter, Xiaowen Chen, David Clayton, Shayne Dark, Kara Daving, Jax Deluca, John Drummer, Brendan Fernandes, A.J. Fries, Laura Garofalo & Omar Khan, Hans Gindlesberger, Carrianne Hendrickson, Artemis Herber, Ani Hoover, Bryan Hopkins, Kristan Horton, Jill Johnston-Price, Jason Lee, Deirdre Logue, Simone Mantellassi, Allyson Mitchell, Nathan Naetzker, Paul Nicholson, Sarah Paul, Julie Perini, Richard Price, Osvaldo Ramirez Castillo, Wilka Roig, Stephanie Rothenberg, Kathryn Ruppert-Daza, Diane Schaefer, Katie Sehr, Michael Snow, R.M. Vaughan, Alfonso Volo, Kurt Von Voetsch, Paul Walde, Adam Weekley, Kate Wilson, Jacqueline Welch.