BUFFALO, N.Y. — How do you bring together classic Vegas cinema and Buffalo Bills football?
That was last week’s tall task for Buffalo artist Alex Korchynski, one of several artists working with Leftern to design weekly Bills posters on commission.
“I’m very into watching old movies like Goodfellas and Casino,” she says. “I wanted something that really popped. I knew that a glamorous casino scene could be really fun juxtaposed with a vintage football game. Just with bright lights and the colors.”
Korchynski, who works in architecture full-time, designed the “Viva Las Vegas” Bills poster on sale this week, commemorating the Bills’ first trip to Las Vegas. Leftern has sold weekly Bills posters for two seasons now, frequently selling out of stock in a matter of days.
Local artists are paid for each work, and the remaining profits are split between Leftern and Black Love Resists in the Rust, a group that advocates for social justice and empowering people of color in Buffalo.
“I was thrilled that was something Leftern wanted to support,” she says. “With the election coming up, I think that Black businesses should be supported now more than ever. I think it’s really, really great what they’re doing.”
Leftern’s ‘Gameday Series’ also gives Korchynski opportunities to work on web design, a field she wants to pursue in the future.