Triennial counts 30,000 visitors for art initiative over 3 months

‘All That Sustains Us’ concludes today in Medina

Photos by Tom Rivers: This group is on a bird-watching expedition on June 7 on the Glenside Avenue canal bridge, looking towards the wooded area along the Erie Canal towpath. The Triennial hosted several workshops and expeditions in the past three months exploring the environment, ecology and sustainability. The exhibitions have an overall theme of “All That Sustains Us.”

MEDINA – The Medina Triennial concludes today after three months as a showcase of art installations from 39 artists at 10 locations in Medina.

Most of the works are located in the former Medina High School. The $2 million initiative has been funded by the New York Power Authority, the Canal Corp. and other sponsors. There is no admission charge.

About 30,000 people have come to Medina to see the Triennial in the three months. Attendance has grown, especially in August. On Saturday, more than 500 people stopped by the Medina Triennial Hub, the welcome center that also includes two of the art installations.

Organizers are pleased with the response from the public, many glowing reviews in art publications and the funding support. Kari Conte, co-director of the Triennial, said she fully expects there will be a second triennial in three years – 2029.

Kari Conte, co-curator and artistic director of the Triennial, introduces Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens at Rotary Park on June 7. The two artists created a whimsical toolshed that highlights how birds use tools. They will be back today for another discussion at Rotary Park from 2 to 3 p.m.

Medina has felt the increase in visitors, said Jim Hancock, the Medina Tourism Committee chairman. He helps staff the Visitor Center at Rotary Park.

“We have people stop by Visitor Center asking about the Triennial,” Hancock said. “Our visitors are way up. There have been a lot more people in town than in years past. It’s just been busy.”

Federico Rosario, the community engagement and programs coordinator for the Triennial, said there was a noticeable jump in visitors after an Aug. 1 article in the Buffalo News that encouraged people to see the Triennial and its exhibition of artists from 21 countries.

He said about 35 to 40 percent of the visitors had never been to Medina before. Some visitors have come back more than once to fully experience the Triennial.

Most of the visitors make a day trip from Buffalo, Rochester and Toronto.

“Word of mouth has been the most powerful way people are learning about the Triennial,” Rosario said.

The former Sacred Heart Church site in Medina features an installation, “Exhibit” by Mary Mattingly. Rooted in a living sculpture: a multi-tiered shelving unit of glass jars and terrariums containing edible plants adapted to a changing climate. Mattingly also created the popular floating garden on a barge that is moored in the Canal Basin.

Sacred Heart Church hosts works from four artists or collectives including a palm tree constructed from 540 handmade soap bars cast from recycled cooking oil. This was created by FIBRA, an all-women collective – Lucia Monge, Gianine Tabja, and Gabriela Flores del Pozo – from Lima, Peru.

An exhibit of trophies repurposed to pay homage to working people is in the gym of the old high school. Jean Shin, an artist who works out of New York City and the Hudson Valley, has given a new purpose to more than 400 trophies on display at the old high school. Instead of celebrating athletic achievements, Shin now has the trophies to highlight everyday professions: caregivers, food service employees, postal carriers, sanitary workers and others whose labor is often unappreciated.

This group gathers for food and conversation at the Triennial Hub on Saturday. This is the office and welcome area for the Hub. It is located in the former NAPA Auto Parts building at 345 Main St. This site had more than 500 visitors on Saturday.

People on Sunday check out the exhibits inside the historic Medina High School, where many of the art exhibits are located. In back artist Aki Inomata entitles this piece as “How to Carve a Sculpture.” Based in Tokyo, Inomata traveled to five zoos in Japan providing material for beavers to create these gnawed-wood sculptures. The smaller sculptures were made by beavers and the bigger ones were machine-carved versions on a larger scale.

‘A wonderful experience for us in Medina’

By Ginny Kropf, Correspondent

Photo by Scott Robinson: Roux, 5-year-old son of Scott Robinson and his wife Alix Gilman, is fascinated by a painting of the late Niagara Falls artist Jay Carrier. The painting is in Room 102, with several other artists’ work in the historic Medina High School.

MEDINA – As the inaugural Medina Triennial approaches its last day, residents and visitors are reminded they have one more chance to view this first-time extravagant venture, which began the first week in June.

“Over the past three months, we have watched visitors from near and far come to experience artworks by 39 artists and collectives across 10 sites throughout the village,” said Kari Conte, creative director. “The response from both critics and visitors has been beyond anything we could have imagined.”

The Triennial’s primary indoor sites, Medina High School and Sacred Heart Church, are free and fully accessible. Conte shared that the high school now has a platform lift to the second floor, and accessible parking is available behind the building.

Twenty-eight of the 39 artists’ works are exhibited on the first and second floors of the high school, while James Beckett’s “A Good Wall” occupies the southeast corner of the front lawn.

Recently, Scott Robinson and his wife Alix Gilman took their 5-year-old son Roux to view the exhibits. Much to their surprise, many of the exhibits fascinated the young child. At Medina High School, he stood staring at Jay Carrier’s painting. They couldn’t tear him away from an ecological video, Robinson said.

“Roux joined me at the hospital for the artist’s overview, and to my shock he stood the entire time so ‘he could pay attention.’ Then on Sunday, we finally walked the old high school. Hours after we got home Roux asked Alix if we could do something for the people who lost their homes (referring to the exhibit of keys of people who have lost homes in Palestine.) He’s currently trying to figure out a way to build homes, invite the people over to ours or buy them food.”

Robinson is director of marketing at Medina Memorial Hospital, where one artist’s exhibit is available for viewing, half outside and the other side in a covered walkway.

“Over the last couple of months, I’ve been able to see firsthand the impact of the Medina Triennial,” Robinson said. “Everyday I watch as patients, visitors, team members and out-of-town guests view the installation at Medina Memorial Hospital. The response has been great. Questions are asked, opinions are shared and there is excitement that the hospital was able to participate. For a building that’s been part of the community for 101 years, it’s great to be able to take part in this exciting time. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak to many of the first-time visitors to our village. I bartend at the Shirt Factory once a week, and there hasn’t been a day over the summer where someone doesn’t set their Triennial book on the bar and invite a conversation about Medina – something I love talking about. There’s no question this has further put Medina on the map.

“On a personal note, we’ve made this a family adventure,” Robinson continued. “Our 5-year-old has participated in the butterfly release, he attended the presentation at the high school and we’ve all walked around the old Medina High School and Triennial Hub.”

During their recent trip to the historic Medina High School, Robinson said Roux never stopped asking questions, even after they returned home.

“Art is meant to be enjoyed, it’s meant to drive conversation, and it’s meant to share emotions,” Robinson said. “What we never realized was that our child would be so impacted by some of the installations he experienced. One of my fondest memories of this summer will be the moments we spent at the Medina Triennial sites.”

Jeanne Crane, a former nurse at Medina Memorial Hospital, said she has visited the display at the hospital and the barge in the Canal Basin.

“This has been a wonderful experience for us in Medina, especially for people who are unable to travel,” Crane said. “Many talented artists have exposed us to a world we do not see in our small community. It was well-publicized and many visitors have come and spent money in our community. This has been a wonderful event. Thank you to the organizers.”

Cora Goyette of Medina volunteered as one of the guides for the Triennial. Visiting the sites on one its last days, she said, “It’s quintessentially Medina.”