Akasya Crosier, a local artist and UB alumni, has been growing in Buffalo’s fast art scene. She grew up in Rochester, NY and has lived in Buffalo since 2013. She considers it home. Over the past football season, Akasya has created one-of-a-kind graphic design pieces featuring the beloved Buffalo Bills. These graphics range from Josh Allen wearing 2000s low-rise Juicy sweats to Sabrina Carpenter offering football plays. Needless to say, there is something for everyone. This year, she has been participating in the Hunt Residency program, a program that provides emerging artists with the opportunity to collaborate and exhibit work through Hunt Gallery platforms.
Askya’s art background is in fine arts. She began studying for a bachelor's in art at UB when she fell in love with graphic design, Askasya explained;
“Lately, I haven't been sharing that much painting stuff, but I am doing it at the same time…I started taking graphic design classes, and then I was like, this is super fun. I feel like it relieved an itch that was different from art.”
This allowed her to “marry my interests for communication in a creative way”
Graphic design became an outlet for Akasya. She was able to push her creative limits and improve her professional skills. The Buffalo Bills are more than a football team, they are an integral part of society in Buffalo. Askaya explains how the Bills bring our community together:
“Living here as a young adult, it's just kind of the one thing that seems to tie everyone together no matter what. Talking about the Bills is another way of talking about the weather. There's so much love and passion for it that I was like, okay, this is cool. Beyond the actual sport, I think the sense of community is super fun.”
Askaya’s upbringing around the game gave her a sense of community that she now gets to advance herself. Askasya’s designs blew up when she created her well-known ‘Juicy Josh’ graphic. The 2000s-style Josh Allen is draped in a Juicy sweat-set. She quickly realized there was a demographic that was fruitlessly seeking the more fun side of football apparel.
“I think it started with the Juicy Josh design, to be honest with you. I had other Buffalo-themed designs, but something about that one blew up in a way that I didn't really expect since it started off as a silly thing.”
Asakya recognized her own struggle to find merchandise better suited to a female audience and decided to fill the gap in the market.
“Even as a budding fan, I was going on to sports sites and trying to find cute merch or official Bills merch. The official Bills merch is, like, kind of, again, ugly and, like, male-centric. While the things for women are, like, tank tops that go really in at the waist, v-neck…it just kind of made sense to go that way, especially as someone who loves to see women driving, as a small business owner who is also a woman. It just made sense.”
Unfortunately, the season ended a little short this year. However, this is not stopping Akasya from making new content. She plans on taking a break from Bills-related merchandise and focusing on her other designs. Askaya has created Bills designs featuring celebrities like Miley Cyrus, fictional characters like Regina George and Lizzy McGuire, and so much more.
“I hate to say this, but when the season ended, it was a bittersweet moment for me because as much as I'm a Bills fan, I am also a visual artist who likes making things that are not sports-related sometimes. In the off-season, I do a lot of art festival shows.”
Akasya’s Buffalo Bills and other designs can be found online on her Instagram, Etsy, and website. Fans looking to showcase their Bills pride in a unique way can discover more about Akasya’s work and purchase her designs at the following:
- Instagram: @Akasyac
- Etsy: @Akasyaccrosier
- Website: www.akasyacrosier.com
The arts desk can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Johnson / Wikimedia Commons
