Valeria Cray-Dihaan

Valeria Cray-Dihaan is a Living Legacy Artist at the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

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Valeria Cray-Dihaan is an artist, activist, businessperson, and educator based in Buffalo, N.Y. She was born in West Palm Beach, Florida and holds a BFA from the University of Buffalo and an MFA from Pratt Institute in New York City. She studied and taught art with the Nahua, descendants of Aztecs in Mexico., where she assisted with the construction of new schools. Her work as a sculptor incorporates such media as ceramics, metal, textiles, plexiglass, and wood. In 1995, Cray-Dihaan founded the community-based organization 50 Women with a Vision, and she has long been active in efforts to revitalize the East Side of Buffalo. Examples of her public art projects include a painted tile mural for Buffalo's Apollo Theatre and exterior doors for the Merriweather Library, both located on Jefferson Avenue. She owns the East Wind hair salon. She is married to Sylvester Dihaan and has a son, Hiram, who is also a visual artist. 

Biography courtesy of The Public.

Click here to read a profile of Valeria Cray-Dihaan on the Uncrowned Community Builders site focusing on her work as a community leader, and click here for a profile on the 50 Women with a Vision site highlighting her artistic career.