Artists working on projects at Medina Triennial
Arts initiative expected to bring 50,000 visitors from June 6 to Sept. 7
Photos by Ginny Kropf: Quincey Miracle, co-artistic director of the Triennial, works on a model of the Erie Canal, titled “Diversion”, in the Triennial Hub headquarters, located in the former NAPA building at the foot of Main Street. When complete, it will be filled with filtered water from the canal.
MEDINA – There’s been a buzz in the air around Medina for the past year, and it centers around what is being called “The Medina Triennial,” which the nation’s premier art publications Art in America and ARTnews have featured as one of the best art events to visit in the country this summer.
In the fall of 2025, the Triennial was announced and the former NAPA building on North Main Street was identified as the Medina Triennial Hub. Headquartered there is Federico Rosario, community engagement and program coordinator for the Triennial, and in the back space is a giant project in the works called “Diversion.” It is a replica of the Erie Canal with filtered water from the canal, in which people may walk.
Sculptors Tim Noble and Trevor Gross from the University of Buffalo are collaborating with James Beckett on this exhibit on digital quarrying on the lawn of Mustang City (former Medina High School).
In spite of many articles on the Triennial, many people are still asking, “Just what is this Triennial?”
Basically, it is an initiative of the New York Power Authority and Canal Corporation who was looking for a way to re-imagine the canal by creating a contemporary arts event with a triennial structure which would tie in with the canal’s 200th anniversary, according to Lielle Berman, Sustainability Project Manager at the New York Power Authority.
The inaugural 2026 Triennial is titled “All that Sustains Us,” and features more than 100 artworks across 10 sites in Medina, curated by Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo. Sites include Rotary Park, State Street Park, Mustang City (the old Medina High School), Medina Railroad Museum, Triennial Hub (former NAPA Auto Parts), floating barge in the Erie Canal basin, YMCA, Sacred Heart Church, Medina Memorial Hospital and Medina Theater.
At its core, the Triennial asks, “What essential efforts and commitments are required to sustain life in our fractured world?”
Of course, “triennial” means three, and the Medina Triennial, the first of its kind in the United States in a small town, will return every three years for two more times. Previous triennials in the nation were held in Boston, New Orleans and St. Louis.
One question on everyone’s mind is, “Why was Medina chosen?”
Berman’s answer was, “Medina is the widest part of the canal’s 363 miles. It has the only aqueduct, Medina Falls and the culvert. This is a very rich spot,” she said. “Medina is going through a renaissance, with culinary arts and community events.”
Conte explained the curatorial approach grew from close attention to Medina’s landscape and material culture – its historic sandstone, canal infrastructure and agricultural traditions. She added her experience with the village has been extraordinary.
The event is drawing international interest. Thirty-nine artists from around the world were invited to participate in Medina’s Triennial, and only two declined.
“That is incredible,” Conte said.
While several participating artists are from across the globe, some are from Western New York, Toronto and Detroit. A participating artist from Ireland is showing her work in America for the first time.
Some of the Triennial’s highlights are Mary Mattingly’s “Floating Garden,” a barge-based living artwork in the canal; James Beckett, who is working on “digital quarrying” of Medina sandstone; Selva Aparicio, whose residency is in collaboration with Medina Railroad Museum; and Michael Wang, who is researching maple sap production in the region.
Working at the Railroad Museum is Lina Lapelyte, who recently won the Golden Lion Award, the highest prize given in the Venice Biennale. Her workers are constructing a Medina sandstone walkway and singing while they work. Their performances at 2 p.m. on Saturdays are tentatively scheduled to air on Medina’s downtown speakers.
“So much of this is behind the scenes,” Conte said. “The artists are coming to Medina because they want to show their work here. This is first and foremost about art.”
At Medina High School, Beckett’s project is dominating the front lawn. There, he is collaborating with Tim Noble and Trevor Gross from the University of Buffalo in building a sculptural wall, using limestone slabs sandwiched with a top layer of Medina sandstone. All the material is reclaimed building pieces from across Western New York, Noble said. Its total weight is in excess of 60,000 pounds.
The Triennial officially opens to the public on June 6 and will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Regular hours throughout the summer will be from noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays to Sept. 7. Programs, maps and other information on the Triennial will be available to visitors at the Triennial Hub on North Main Street.
Mary Mattingly walks away from the barge in the canal basin, which she is transforming into a floating garden.
