Venice Through the Eyes of Buffalo

An exhibition

Interpreting Kigali, Rwanda cover shows a woman with her head turned away looking at a city in the distance.

Published October 24, 2018 This content is archived.

"Venice: Through the Eyes of Buffalo" is an exhibition on a summer 2018 workshop in Venice, Italy, led by urban planning professor Kerry Traynor and PhD student Camden Miller. The exhibition was curated by Traynor, Miller along with MArch student Lemma Al-Ghanem. Presenting artifacts, images and findings from students' weeklong exploration of the urban fabric of Venice, the exhibition reveals the effects of tourism on the historic, cultural and physical landscapes of Venice.

The historic city of Venice, much like the city of Buffalo, has seen a declining population from a peak in 1951 of 174,808 to approximately 55,000 in 2018. Unlike Buffalo, Venice is innundated with an average of 143,450 people per day in the historic city, including tourists. However, jobs have disappeared to the mainland and tourists now outnumber residents. There is much to be learned from the impact of this transient population on the historic city of Venice, its built environment, natural environment, permanent residents, and city services provided. A city once rich with native Venitians, historic local shops, cafes, resident services, and homes now caters to tourists.

The exhibition and installation in Hayes Hall. Photos by Camden Miller