BUFFALO, N.Y. — A first of its kind gallery is opening in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood.

K-Art will be the first and only Native American-owned art gallery to completely dedicate their whole space to featuring Native American Contemporary artists.

"If you are looking for contemporary Native art, you can find it in a few museums. But it's very hard to find it in a commercial art gallery if you're a collector,” said Dave Kimelberg, founder and owner. “Some Native artists are represented by some galleries, but they are on the margins."

That’s why Kimelberg, who is an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, decided to open K-Art.

Lawyer by day and art connoisseur by night, this gallery is a passion project for Kimelberg. He wanted to create a space that puts contemporary Native American artists in the spotlight.

"I'm just really excited to bring it to Buffalo and to elevate the profile of contemporary Native artists and their work,” he said. “We are hoping this helps bring that genre of artwork to the mainstream and elevate it in the art market in general."

The first exhibition is called More Than A Trace: Native American and First Nations Contemporary Art.

This collection features 11 artists from across the country, locally, and Canada. 

"It comes from artists that really don't have a voice otherwise and this brings a different perspective, a Native perspective in a contemporary setting," said Kimelberg. "And I think it's important and when you look at this art it can be an emotional experience and you can get a lot out of it."

They are celebrating the grand opening with a virtual event Friday night over zoom, beginning at 6:30 p.m. People will have the chance to virtually tour the gallery, hear from artists and more. The link for that can be found here. 

Starting Tuesday, people can book private appointments. This is because of COVID-19.

Along with art, this space will also be home to something called K Haus. The upstairs portion of the gallery will be dedicated as a work space to tech startups in the Buffalo area.