Former NAPA site on Main Street will be base for big art initiative in Medina

‘It will be turning Medina into an even bigger cultural destination than it already is.’

Photos by Tom Rivers: The former NAPAA Auto Parts building on Main Street in Medina will be headquarters for the Medina Triennial art initiative that starts this fall with next year the focus of the program, which is expected to feature 50 artists at about a dozen sites in Medina.

MEDINA – The Medina Triennial, a big art initiative planned for 2026, is expected to bring 50,000 visitors to the community next summer when the project features about 35 artists at 12 different locations in Medina.

Organizers met with the Medina Village Board on Monday, updating the board on plans for the initiative.

The former NAPA Auto Parts building at 345 North Main St. will serve as the base for the Medina Triennial, a festival of contemporary art. That building will host many art events on the first floor and is planning to open for its first event this September.

It is the first of the 12 sites to be announced that will display art for the Triennial. The sites will be both indoors and outdoors in Medina.

The former NAPA site will serve as office and “hub” for the Triennial, Village Board members were told by Kari Conte, co-artistic director for the Triennial. The University at Buffalo Department of Architecture is designing the Triennial office.

Conte is an independent curator and writer based in New York City. She is co-artistic director for the Triennial with Karin Laansoo, founding director of the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center and artistic director of Kai Art Center in Tallinn, Estonia. Laansoo splits her time between Tallinn and Rochester, New York.

The Triennial was initiated by the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation as part of a broader effort to revitalize the canal. The goal is to do the event every three years.

Federico Rosario, left, is the community engagement & programs coordinator for the Medina Triennial. Ekrem Serdar is associate curator for the arts initiative that will feature about 50 artists next year in Medina.

Conte, speaking with the board by speaker phone, said sponsors are welcome to be part of the effort that is expected to draw people to Medina from around the state and country, with some international visitors as well.

“It will be turning Medina into an even bigger cultural destination than it already is,” Conte said.

The Triennial’s steering committee includes leadership from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Rochester Institute of Technology, Burchfield Penney Art Center, the Corning Museum of Glass and the University at Buffalo.

“This will be the first site specific project of this kind in the region,” Conte said. “We’re really excited and honored to bring this to Medina.”

Medina offers a “dynamic natural environment and industrial history.” Artists will create pieces that respond to Western New York’s communities and ecosystems.

Some of the artists will be visiting Medina in August and they prepare for their works. The project will feature local, national and international artists.

Two of the staff for the Triennial met in person with the Village Board on Monday. Federico Rosario, a Medina graduate, is the community engagement & programs coordinator for the Medina Triennial. Ekrem Serdar is associate curator for the arts initiative.

Brian Stratton, canal commissioner, issued this statement about the Triennial: “As we commemorate the Erie Canal Bicentennial this year, our team has been deeply engaged in strategizing new ways to invest in more canal-side communities. The Medina Triennial project represents an extraordinary opportunity for cultural enrichment, and we are proud to support the creative vision of the curatorial team in their vision at this transformative moment.”

For more on the Triennial, click here.