# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Little Journey at The Inn with Gerald Mead: Roycroft + WNY Contemporaries
- **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 04 Feb, 2026 at 06:00 pm – Wed, 04 Feb, 2026 at 07:00 pm
- **Event Description**: The 2026 Roycroft Little Journey Speaker Series begins Wednesday, February 4 with noted Western New York art collector Dr. Gerald Mead, and his presentation on past and present Roycroft artists and their contemporaries, drawn from artworks from his extensive collection of works by Western New York artists. 

Mead will contextualize the work of Roycroft artists including painters Alexis Fournier, Eleanor Douglas, Sandor Landeau and Tom Kegler; printmakers Samuel Warner, Kathleen West, Dorothy Markert and Tom Bojanowski; paper artist Suzanne Mair; and photographer Ernest Rawleigh with work by their WNY contemporaries of note including painters Frank Penfold, Raphael Beck, Burr Nichols, Bruce Kurland and Thomas Aquinas Daly; printmakers Norman Kent, Frank Eckmair, and Barbara Rowe; paper artists Kari Achatz and Jozef Bajus; and photographers Clara Sipprell, Edward Sides and Howard Beach, among others. 

Dr. Gerald Mead is an artist, arts writer and independent curator who is a leading authority on Western New York art. He has lectured at Cambridge University and Chautauqua Institution, and recently retired from a 35-year career as a curator at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center and lecturer at Buffalo State University. Among the exhibitions he curated was “Roycroft Desktop," originating at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center and traveling to six venues across the United States as part of the Roycroft Movement’s 100th anniversary in 1995. 

Over the course of 40 years, Gerald has also assembled a personal collection of over 2,000 artworks by artists associated with WNY and shared works from that collection through over 70 thematic exhibitions at college galleries and other venues. He’s lent artworks for exhibitions at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Arnot Art Museum, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Castellani Art Museum, CEPA Gallery, and the University of London and is now working on making planned gifts of artworks from his collection to numerous institutions. 

Dr. Mead is a member of the Roycrofters at Large RALA50 Anniversary and Archive committee, working to celebrate the founding of the Roycroft Renaissance movement in 1976, and his presentation is a formal opening of the programming here in WNY. 

Mead's presentation will begin at 6 p.m. in the Roycroft Chapel.

As always, Little Journeys evenings begin with a relaxed cocktail hour at 4:30 pm in the Library Bar before attendees to the lecture will move to the Roycroft Chapel for the presentation beginning at 6pm.  Those who wish to dine following the lecture will receive 10% off of their dinner at The Roycroft Inn that evening beginning at 7:15 p.m. by mentioning Little Journeys when making a reservation (we strongly encourage).

Little Journey presentations are offered at no cost, but require advance registration. Tickets are needed for entry to The Chapel at 6 pm. Reserve your party's tickets on ralaweb.com.

Active RALA Patrons and Members who cannot attend in person will have the option to join via member livestream.

Membership opportunities and tickets for the 2025 Goodie Box Fundraiser will be available at the evening’s event prior to and immediately following the meeting and presentation. This event will mark the final local opportunity to purchase opportunities for the 2025 Goodie Box Fundraiser before the national drawing on February 22 in Asheville, North Caroline, at the National Arts & Crafts Conference. This year’s Goodie Box, RALA’s annual fundraising initiative, is valued at over $9,000 and includes marked work by over 20 Roycroft Masters and Artisans.  The centerpiece of the 2025 Goodie is by Master Ceramicist Gerald Smith.

____________________________

RALA’s Little Journeys connects Roycroft Artisans with the community by offering artist talks, demonstrations and lectures in the Masters’ mediums that educate and create opportunities for collectors and members of the Roycroft community to connect with the modern Roycroft artists, and serves as a homage to Elbert Hubbard’s original Little Journeys, small trips to artists of note that shared intimate glimpses behind their process and lives. For years, this series was an important part of RALA’s presence on South Grove, and offered “show and tell” by Masters and Artisans, Artisan Forums and visiting nationally known speakers.  After resurrecting this series, in February 2024, RALA is proud to celebrate a new year of “Little Journeys 2.0” in formal sponsorship and collaboration with the series’ birthplace, The Roycroft Inn. 

The 2026 Little Journeys will take place on April 1, June 3, August 5, October 7, and December 2, 2026. 

Information on the Roycrofters-at-Large events and membership options can be found online at www.ralaweb.com. Follow the Roycrofters-At Large Association’s social media pages at Facebook and instagram, @roycroftartisans, for updates and information.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/east-aurora/little-journey-at-the-inn-with-gerald-mead-roycroft-wny-contemporaries/200029599686625
- **Event Categories**: art, nonprofit, exhibitions, business, workshops, meetups, fine-arts, literary-art, photography, virtual, parties, it, entertainment, conferences, charities, drawing-painting
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 30

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: https://www.ralaweb.com/?utm_source=AllEvents.in&utm_medium=event-discovery-platform&utm_campaign=east+aurora-events

## Event venue details

- **city**: East Aurora
- **state**: NY
- **country**: United States
- **location**: The Roycroft Inn
- **lat**: 42.76695241
- **long**: -78.61753844
- **full address**: The Roycroft Inn, 26 S Grove St, East Aurora, NY 14052-2326, United States

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 2
- **organizer**: Roycrofters At Large Association (RALA) (https://allevents.in/org/roycrofters-at-large-association-rala/23251905)

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: banner
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events4/banners/c9d48f382a0597406958fd8b56e424ef720b1d583257fbd978cd070832fbfe98-rimg-w1200-h600-dcececea-gmir?v=1769793985
- **Alt text**: thumbnail
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events4/banners/d70230bb4657647b94d62de28eef800788e4d275bf948aece694a70562a9d1f5-rimg-w300-h300-dcecece9-gmir?v=1769793985

## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Wed, 04 Feb, 2026 at 06:00 pm
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** The Roycroft Inn, 26 S Grove St, East Aurora, NY 14052-2326, United States
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** Roycrofters At Large Association (RALA)
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
  - **A:** art, nonprofit, exhibitions, business, workshops, meetups, fine-arts, literary-art, photography, virtual, parties, it, entertainment, conferences, charities, drawing-painting
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Little Journey at The Inn with Gerald Mead: Roycroft + WNY Contemporaries ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

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