Welcome to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Or, at least from Jalen Law’s viewpoint, the early stages of it.
The first, of course, was dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. Life became more technological in the second with the invention of the automobile and modern lightbulb. The computer and Internet made the world digital in the third.
But now comes No. 4, the next phase of digitization: automation, artificial intelligence, augmented reality.
“And, I have to admit, that I’m here for the ride,” Jalen says.
Half artist, half businessman, extra half educator (because there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day for everything he’s immersed in), Jalen’s process of learning how to harness this new way to live, work and create started with gaining the necessary skills to push the envelope.
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“I’ve been fortunate to be around people who are smarter than me—wiser than me—when it comes to what that can look like,” he says. “I’m excited to be able to see what more can be done with those different forms of technology with artwork.”
Buffalo born and raised, Jalen is the executive director at The Jalen Law Collection—an idea that began his sophomore year of college when he decided to take more control of his artistic passion and destiny that started at the age of 2.
Since graduating from the University at Buffalo in 2016, his path has expanded into many different directions, but in particular into creating murals. Sometimes, they meld technology and digital arts.
His first was a City of Buffalo initiative that honored essential workers during the pandemic. In 2021 came a mural at the NFTA Transportation Center on Portage Road in Niagara Falls. The scan of a QR code allows viewers to interact with the piece.
Jalen completed this mural at the Amherst Police training facility on Bailey Avenue in summer 2023. The artwork becomes animated and provides an immersive in-person experience with the help of an app.
And in July of last year, Jalen completed a 1,500-square-foot mural at the Amherst Police training facility on Bailey Avenue. “The Future is Amherst”—with its immersive augmented reality experience—aims to inspire the next generation of children to define their dreams.
“Whether that artwork has any significant meaning or not, it’s not so much about that,” he says, “but it’s about how the viewer relates to it, and relates to it in such a way without the filter of their observation being swayed one way or another.”
While large-scale murals place Jalen in the public eye, it’s the educational side of his practice that brings him the most inspiration.
About eight years ago, he developed a program under the mentorship of the former president of Yale University that teaches youth how to develop their social and emotional intelligence through art, music and writing.
Jalen talks of the young girl who used to have fist fights with her mother to resolve conflicts. But at the end of the 10-week program, those violent incidents calmed down significantly. All because of something as simple as being able to pick up a pencil to constructively express feelings or thoughts in the moment.
“It’s an intricate way for people to express the deeper levels of their psyche,” he says. “And in that process where you’re able to essentially give somebody an opportunity to save themselves and all you’re doing is pointing them in the right direction of where they should probably go down in order to get to that important transformation, there’s nothing like that.”
Jalen works with local young people at the Collaborative Center for Social Innovation’s summer program, helping them connect with nature through art and science.
This summer, Jalen’s an instructor with the Collaborative Center for Social Innovation’s summer program that connects youth with nature through science, art and sustainability. He’s also helping a youth baseball program with social, emotional and mental training while preparing for his next solo exhibition that will be on display at the Curtiss Jacobs Gallery in Harlem within the next year.
And “the last most important piece,” he says, is a playground project that will infuse STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) curriculum into play.
“Art is almost like water,” Jalen says. “Water has a tendency to flow and filter through multiple different materials ... and I’ve been fortunate to be able to identify using art and creativity as a fluid solution towards everyday problems that may be seen or recognized as (requiring) more critical thinking or more mathematical or logical thinking in order to be a solution within society. Or more specifically, be a solution within the Buffalo market.”
People with less ambitious goals have left Western New York to chase their hopes and dreams. So what’s keeping Jalen in his hometown?
Loyalty, commitment, responsibility, accountability. Traits and characteristics that have been instilled in him by previous generations of his family.
“And how I choose to express that is regardless of the direction that I go—whether I stay in the City of Buffalo or whether I take the road of traveling to a larger market for more opportunities—that I would make time and prioritize time and space to give back to the city that has put me in a position to be successful,” Jalen says. “I’m always going to be consistent in that mission and giving back.”
Spaces to grow
Jalen Law finds himself telling this to people all the time: Once you’re able to identify the one thing (or a couple of things) that you’re willing to give your all, don’t be afraid to be the hero of your own story. Don’t be afraid to deal with the challenges that may come. Develop the skills that are necessary for you to win.
“It may not win within the timeframe of what and how you would want it to look like,” he says, “but that willingness, steadfastness and commitment are going to be three things that would be very important for anyone’s journey.”
Post-college, Jalen’s journey included Saturdays spent at Locust Street Art, which allowed him the space and time to find his way, his style and his voice.
“The instructors there really helped me cultivate that, and it snowballed my career from that point on,” he says. “So I will always have a personal affinity and appreciation for Locust Street Art.”
Here are three accessible art organizations, suggested by Jalen himself, that can set people of all ages and skill levels on a path to becoming their own hero.
In-school and out-of-school programming that inspires, expands learning and strengthens the community through engagement with the arts.
A studio space on Main Street in East Buffalo that also offers meaningful arts access and education for the entire community.
Community-supported free studio arts classes, low-cost specialized workshops and custom services for the Fruit Belt community and beyond.
