Artist Carson Waterman, a cultural icon of the Seneca Nation, will be featured as the centerpiece of the Laine Immersion Arts Exhibition at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts’ 30th anniversary season launch.

The event at St. Bonaventure University will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, marking the official opening of the Quick Center’s 2025–2026 Exhibition and Performing Arts Season.

The event will feature the premiere of the Laine Immersion Arts Exhibition, which honors Indigenous culture through Waterman’s powerful digital work, blending traditional Haudenosaunee themes with contemporary artistic expression.

All five of the Quick Center’s galleries — Front, Kenney, Dresser, Beltz, and Laine — will reopen Sunday with fresh exhibitions that reflect the Center’s enduring commitment to artistic excellence, education, and cultural connection. The event is free and open to the public, with a light reception during the celebration.

A member of the Snipe Clan, Waterman has been a leading figure in the Seneca cultural arts community since 1975 when he joined the staff of the Seneca Iroquois National Museum on the Allegany Reservation in Salamanca. There, he served as exhibit designer, illustrator, and artist, helping shape the museum’s visual and cultural storytelling.

Waterman’s passion for art began during his youth at the Thomas Indian School (formerly the Thomas Asylum for Orphan and Destitute Indian Children) on the Cattaraugus Reservation. A graduate of Gowanda High School, he later studied at the Cooper School of Art in Cleveland.

Following his graduation, Waterman was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served with the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. After seven months on the battlefield, he was reassigned to the division’s Public Information Office, where he created illustrations for military publications.

Upon returning from Vietnam in 1970, Waterman spent four years teaching art at the Cleveland Museum of Art before returning to his roots in Salamanca. Since 1988, he has been self-employed as an artist, working from his gallery on the Allegany Reservation.

His public artworks are visible throughout the region, including installations at the Delavan–Canisius College subway station and Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo, the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino, and the rest areas on Interstate 86 at the Allegheny River and Chautauqua Lake. His pieces also appear in numerous community centers, nursing homes, and fire halls.

Waterman received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the university in May at its 165^th Commencement ceremony.

______________

About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #8 for value and #19 overall by U.S. News and World Report (2025).