SOCIAL & DIGITAL
As an arts critic and digital editor at The Buffalo News, I created many interactive projects and social media initiatives, including galleries, interactive maps, quizzes and Instagram stories. A few examples are below.
As an obsessive fan of Buffalo's public art, keeping tabs on the latest murals was a difficult but rewarding task. This interactive map, designed to help readers navigate the city's growing collection of murals, was one of many attempts to stay on top of the trend.
INSTAGRAM STORIES
In dozens of Instagram stories, I translated the work of The Buffalo News excellent print journalists into a visual medium using visual storytelling and motion graphics. Highlights: A story on a Buffalo slumlord, a look at a Buffalo cultural destination and a long-running series on abuses in local nursing homes.
As a cultural critic, I'm always looking for ways to tie the visual and performing arts to other cultural interests, including food, education, recreation and sports. In this widely shared Twitter stream, I used the art review form to critique a surreal 2015 game between the Buffalo Sabres the Arizona Coyotes. It was linked on Yahoo Sports, Sports Illustrated and among hockey fans who rarely read about the arts.
Digging through The Buffalo News' photo archives was one of my favorite pastimes. Among the galleries I put together was this chronological look at the Love Canal environmental disaster in Niagara Falls and its aftermath.
Buffalo's identity is deeply tied to the steel industry, and this gallery looks back at the full lifespan of the city's biggest and most storied steel plant, now a burned out shell at the edge of Lake Erie.
VISUAL TOOLS
Though many examples have disappeared after site rebuilds, I frequently made use of storytelling tools from NPR Visuals, Google and KnightLab, including its elegant visual slider, interactive timeline and story map feature.
FACEBOOK LIVE TOURS
As part of a feature called "5 Cool Things," I launched a series of live video tours of Buffalo buildings. They included Buffalo's City Hall, Frank Lloyd Wright's Graycliff Estate and Silo City and the University at Buffalo Medical School. I also often documented art exhibitions in this way, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's 2015 Picasso show.