Workshops in Medina today and Saturday look at future of canal

Press Release, NYS Canal Corporation

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Medina Triennial Hub at 345 North Main St. will host workshops and discussions about the Erie Canal today and on Saturday.

MEDINA – The Medina Triennial Hub at 345 North Main St. will host a module dedicated to the Erie Canal today and on Saturday.

This module offers an opportunity to explore the canal through the lenses of Resilience, Care and Stewardship and Cultural Programming.

• “The Canal System: Lessons in Water Scarcity and Public Management” will be presented by Brian Platt and Scott Rybarczyk, with Todd Bensley at Medina High School from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This series invites students to explore the New York State Canal system as a living structure that depends on careful water management and public responsibility. Led by New York Power Authority/New York State Canal Corporation engineers Brian Platt and Scott Rybarczyk, the classes will look at how canal water is allocated and what happens when water becomes scarce.

Through demonstration and discussion students will learn how decisions about shared resources can be made, what trade-offs are involved and how civic engagement plays a direct role in shaping the resilience of public infrastructure.

• “Reimagining the Erie Canal for its Third Century” will be moderated by Shannon Mattern today from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and will feature Rebecca Hughes, Deputy Director of Canals; Dave Mellen, Regional Manager and SVP of Canals; Gabrielle Barone, VP of Business Development for the Orleans EDA; and Charles Torres from the Ralph Wilson Foundation.

This session explores the challenges of maintaining and repositioning the canal as it enters its third century of operation. Framed within a broader dialogue on strategic infrastructure stewardship, it welcomes external guests in a forward-looking conversation on maintenance and long-term care.

Meet-and-Greet at 4 p.m. offers a chance to meet the curators, artists, panelists and NYPA experts at the Hub.

• “Cultural Perspectives” will be the focus of a discussion on Saturday from 12.30 p.m. to 2 p.m. This will feature Angelyn Chandler, VP Planning New York Power Authority; Natalie Stetson, Executive Director at the Erie Canal Museum; and invited artists: Sarah Cameron Sunde, Judit German-Heins, Clara Riedlinger and Alon Koppell.

In this session the Erie Canal’s artists in residence (2024 and 2025) will share their reflections on the canal’s legacy and the evolving relationship between infrastructure and cultural identity.

• Workshop: “Bodies of Water/Bodies in Water” with artist Sarah Cameron Sunde on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.

2025 AIR artist invites the people of Medina to gather at the edge of the Erie Canal to explore their relationship with water, place and time through their bodies. This workshop will be slow, spacious, and centered on attunement – both to the natural rhythms of the canal and to each other.

Together, artist and participants will practice noticing, listening, and responding to the water as a collaborator and witness, using movement, writing, and dialogue.