ArtsBeat

Artist Tom Holt near one of his murals outside of Squeaky Wheel (Robert Kirkham/The Buffalo News)

Sometimes we seek out art. We go to museums, we look at works of art in books, we listen to it, watch it, absorb it.

And then there is art that is placed strategically to gracefully surprise, to add beauty - a sculpture in the center of a traffic circle, let's say, or a photograph on a drab office building wall.

In Buffalo, we are rich with so much creativity and exciting works showing up in our world class museums, in small galleries, and yes - on our streets. Some of these works - murals - tend to go mostly unstudied.

But there are pockets of remarkable murals in Western New York - both inside and outside of our buildings. In today's Spotlight section, we take a look at these huge works of art, which range from commissioned pieces in official buildings to street art and works on a school wall that include an educational game.

Reporter Jane Kwiatkowski takes us on a small tour of them, through the eyes of their creators, the talented people who paint these interesting works that just may have the widest audience in town.

Do you have a favorite mural? Tell us which of Buffalo's murals mean the most to you, and why. And, which ones did we miss?