The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA) was founded in June 2018 with a mission to break down the barriers between the art world and the rest of the world and to make lives better through practical engagements with contemporary art. Co-founded by curator Emily Ebba Reynolds and artist and Buffalo native Nando Alvarez-Perez, BICA emerged out of a desire to reframe contemporary art around issues of regional community, creating a plurality of art worlds, and reconceiving art as a practical tool which can be used to reshape the world around it.