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News TN_540x360px - Scott Bieler Child Advocacy Center
Erie County’s Child Advocacy Center (CAC), a place where children and families impacted by abuse receive support and care, opened its doors to the community through an interactive art experience designed around healing, creativity, and connection.
On Saturday, June 6, 2026, BestSelf Behavioral Health, in collaboration with artist Miggie Wong, hosted a community-centered art activation at the Scott Bieler CAC in downtown Buffalo. The event invited children, families, and community members into a welcoming space where art, play, and reflection come together through hands-on creative activities inspired by Wong’s newest work, Migratory House: Franklin 556 (2026).
The work reflects place, memory, and movement as it explores the evolving spaces that support healing and community well-being. The drawing depicts one of BestSelf Behavioral Health’s former locations before its transition to a new space, reflecting on continuity, care, and the environments that shape human connection.
This collaboration builds on an ongoing relationship between Art Resource and BestSelf Behavioral Health. The organizations were first connected through their shared work with Alice Jacobs and Jerry Jacobs, including the creation of a collection of regional artists’ work for Delaware North's restaurant Patina 250. When that collection was recently refreshed, Alice and Jerry Jacobs generously donated works from the original installation to BestSelf’s Child Advocacy Center, extending the project's impact into a space of care and support.
“This project is about creating space,” said Emily Tucker, Co-Director of Art Resource. “Space for families, for creativity, and for connection. When we saw how powerfully art impacted the Advocacy Center, we knew we wanted to build something that invited the community into that experience.”
The event reflects a growing movement to integrate art and creativity into trauma-informed care environments, helping spaces feel more welcoming, human-centered, and restorative for children and families navigating difficult experiences.
Guests enjoyed a relaxed, family-friendly afternoon featuring collaborative art-making stations, interactive activities, games, bubbles, refreshments, and opportunities to engage directly with Wong’s artwork and creative process. The event encouraged conversation around healing, belonging, and the role creativity can play in community well-being. It also highlighted BestSelf Behavioral Health’s broader commitment to accessible, community-based mental health care across Western New York.
The program is supported in part by funding from the Office of Councilman Mitch Nowakowski and the Zemsky Family Foundation. These resources help ensure the event remains free, welcoming, and accessible to families across the community.
The June 6 activation was the first in a series of collaborative events, with a closing program to follow at TENfold Gallery on June 28, 2026.