Triennial artists look to make big impact on Medina
Photos by Tom Rivers: Visitors of the Medina Triennial on Friday walk in “Reflection,” a piece created by artist Asad Raza of Buffalo. Raza made the 70-foot water channel in the former NAPA Auto Parts building at 345 Main St., which is the Hub for the Medina Triennial. Raza sought to mimic the Erie Canal and urges people to remove their shoes and walk on Reflection and feel the slow current. This is one of 39 works created by artists and featured in the Triennial, which opens today and runs through Sept. 7.
MEDINA – A major arts initiative will open today in Medina and the public is welcome to visit 39 arts installations around the village.
The Medina Triennial is free to visit, and organizers are anticipating 50,000 people will come to Medina during the Triennial’s three-month run. The project’s main sponsors include the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation. Many other sponsors also are supporting the initiative.
It will be a busy weekend of exhibitions, performances, talks, tours, and gatherings with artists, organizers and the Medina community.
Today’s schedule
• 11:30 a.m. – Ribbon-cutting ceremony with public officials, the Medina Triennial team, and artists at the front lawn of the historic Medina High School, 324 Catherine St.
• Noon to 8 p.m. – Exhibitions open at all sites with extended hours
• 1 p.m. – Guidebook launch with designers Other Means, editor Sarah Demeuse, and writer Laura Marris at Medina Triennial Hub, 345 Main St.
• 2 p.m. – Live Work: Faithfully Recording by Lina Lapelytė at Medina Railroad Museum Grounds, 530 West Ave. Faithfully Recording unfolds through a small team of people coming together to sing while constructing a sculpture from fragments of reclaimed Medina sandstone.
• 3:30 p.m. – Curatorial Tour with Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo, co-artistic directors of Medina Triennial. The tour will be at the historic Medina High School, 324 Catherine St.
• 6 p.m. – Undigging with Futurefarmers starts at the Medina Triennial Hub, 345 Main St. The Futurefarmers will start from the the exhibition space of their artwork, 48 Encounters, and then move with props in a dérive: an un-digging of the Erie Canal.
• 8 p.m. – Opening Party at Mile 303 Cantina at 416 Main Street. Celebrate the opening of the Medina Triennial with artists, organizers, and the community. RSVP is required here.
Sunday, June 7
• Noon to 6 p.m. – Exhibitions Open
• 12 p.m. – Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens talk and birdwatching at Rotary Park, 507 Main S. Ibghy and Lemmens will lead an artist talk and birdwatching session in collaboration with Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and the New York State Bluebird Society. Beginning in front of their installation, Community Toolshed for the Birds, the artists will discuss their research into how birds use tools and transmit knowledge across generations, challenging human-centered ideas of intelligence. Afterwards, participants are invited to join the artists and local experts for guided birdwatching in nearby habitats. Binoculars will be provided to participants.
• 2 p.m. – Artist AKI INOMATA and writer Lilia Rocio Taboada will have a conversation at Medina Triennial Hub, 345 Main St., about the artist’s ongoing interest in forms of collaboration across species and environments. The artist’s ongoing project How to Carve a Sculpture, a collaboration with beavers, is on view at the Historic Medina High School.
The “Reflection” piece created by Asad Raza was popular during a preview of the Medina Triennial on Friday. He created a pebbled bottom on the 70-foot-channel that uses water from the Erie Canal. The water will be pumped out and replaced each week.
“There is something intimate and real about walking in flowing water,” Raza said.
Raza, a Buffalo resident, has been in other biennials or triennials in New York City, Cleveland and Pakistan.
He urges local residents to go see all the arts installations and they will discover a deeper appreciation for Medina.
“The Triennial gives people in an area a reason to explore their own community and see it from the eyes of an artist,” he said.
Mary Mattingly greets people who are ready to explore the “Floating Garden.” She repurposed a 30-by-80-foot industrial barge into a vessel with plants, fruit trees, herbs and vegetables. The public is welcome to forage from the plants throughout the summer.
People explore the old barge that Mattingly has repurposed into one filled with plants. Mattingly said she wants people to think about the canal as a potential food way where more fruits and vegetables could be grown for the local community. Some of the plants on the barge were shared by residents of Medina, who dug them out of their yards.
Mattingly started working on site last September and spent three months in Medina. She is one of five artists working on projects in residency as part of the Triennial.
More photos will be posted soon.
