Save the Boobies. Wine Rack. Perky Posies. Screw Cancer.
These are only a few of the names of the bras making a statement in the Center for the Arts.
Each year, UB staff and members of the community design brassieres to be displayed in the CFA from Sept. 29 through Nov. 2. The "creative brassieres" will be auctioned to raise money for the American Cancer Society for Breast Cancer Research. The innovatively designed bras are put in display cases and are visible to anyone who walks through the CFA.
These works of art have grabbed the attention of many students.
"It is really cool and impressive to see how far people will go to get the message across," said Kristin Przybyla, a sophomore communication major. "It's a funnier, less serious way to raise awareness about this cause. I think that if the display was also in the Student Union it would be able to reach more students."
Many staff members like Samantha Calabrese, undergraduate academic adviser of the School of Management, are involved with the design and creation of the bras.
"Creating the bras is a fun way to get the message across," Calabrese said. "We went off the idea that bras support us, but we want to literally show support by creating these bras, auctioning them off and raising money for the cause."
Calabrese made three different bras this year to raise money: Wine Rack, Screw Cancer and Hugs and Cures. She enlisted the help of her mother, her roommate and her roommate's mother to help her create the bras.
Getting together to design the bras was a bonding experience and Calabrese hopes to make the artful bra creations an annual event with her friends and family.
Mary Camille Schwindler, assistant registrar for degree audit, wants to implement Pink Week with Greek Life. She hopes to get more students involved with the Artful Bras Against Cancer
"I'm hoping something can be done during Pink Week where students and groups can buy a bra for five dollars and design a bra," Schwindler said. "I am more than happy to get people involved because the more people we get involved the more people become aware of it."
After all the bras are created, they are put up for display in the CFA and online, where anyone can place a bid to purchase one of the bras of his or her choice. The bids start at a minimum of $25. This nation-wide fundraiser takes place all over the country.
"It's a way to get people to forget about the serious aspect of the cause for a moment and to enjoy the creative aspect of it," Calabrese said.
Since UB first became involved with this fundraiser four years ago, close to $3,000 has been raised and donated to the American Cancer Society. The display has improved each year because the bras become more eye-catching and more creatively produced, according to Calabrese.
"Each year you try to outdo yourself from the year before," Calabrese said. "My friends and I have a little friendly competition with who can come up with the most creative ideas."
However, one thing that remains the same each year is the message these bras are trying to get across. Though the fundraiser is of a light and silly note, the intensity and importance of the message remains strong.
"If there were two things I'd want to tell everyone, it's to get a mammogram and to do self examinations," Schwindler said. "If you don't want to do it, I'm sure your partner won't mind - they're the only person that will know what your breasts feel like normally."
The UB Artful Bras Against Cancer bidding takes place online at wings.buffalo.edu/org/artfulbra, and the auction closes on Nov. 10.
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