James G. Pappas (b. 1937)

During his undergraduate years at the University at Buffalo, James Pappas conceptualized in his thesis a center for inner-city youth to explore creativity and self-expression, marking the impetus behind the eventual Langston Hughes Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. Pappas’s drive, innovation and commitment to social justice would inspire and energize the co-founders of the center; it would also be reflected in his influential role in establishing the Black Studies Department at the University at Buffalo, as well as his abstract expressionist style in his artworks. Inspired by the improvisation of jazz music, Pappas’s practice employs techniques of experimentation and deconstruction, reflecting an intuitive rhythm and harmony. His prolific artistic output is celebrated in the exhibitionJames G Pappas: Relative to Music.