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Medina Triennial Inc

Medina Triennial Inc fosters artistic dialogue and community engagement through contemporary art exhibitions and programs, showcasing diverse perspectives and promoting cultural sustainability in Medina and beyond.

The Medina Triennial is a new contemporary art triennial&mdash;rooted in place, shaped by community, resonant with global ideas, and free for all. As the first initiative of its kind in the region, the inaugural Triennial will bring together 39 artists and collectives from across the globe to realize a town-wide exhibition and public programs that are both expansive in scale and grounded in the local context. Artist-led and community-centered, the Triennial reimagines how contemporary art can live in&mdash;and grow from&mdash;rural environments. Taking place every three years, it supports long-term research, site-responsive commissions, and collaborations that position small-town geographies as vital sites of cultural and critical imagination.

Free Daily Admission

In this closing session, we will return the passports that participants completed over the summer, and reflect together on their favorite works from the Triennial and on their own creations made through the Youth Program. A hands-on activity follows, inviting kids and young adults to create self-portraits and written descriptions that capture who they are as artists, and who they hope to become. Advance registration is encouraged. Register here.

Reflection: Who We Are and What We’ve Learned

In this workshop, kids and young adults will discover and discuss the works of Mary Mattingly and Michael Wang, presented in the exhibition. Together, they will explore where food comes from, and how simple acts of care for our communities can help us build healthier habits. A hands-on activity follows, inviting participants to plant seeds of their own.&nbsp;

Nourishing Connection: A Workshop on Food and Where it Comes From

Join WNY-based writer Erin Dorney for a walking workshop where participants respond in writing to four works of art at the Medina Triennial. Everyone&rsquo;s view is unique, and this workshop is a chance to slow down and notice what stands out to you. We&rsquo;ll meet at the Medina Triennial Hub for a short introduction, walk together and take notes at each artwork, then return to the Hub for optional sharing in a welcoming, low-pressure setting. You don&#39;t have to be a &ldquo;writer&rdquo; to participate. Anyone interested in engaging more deeply with art is welcome. Participation is free but sign-up is required. Please bring your favorite notebook and pen. We&rsquo;ll provide clipboards and extra paper when needed.&nbsp; Erin Dorney (b. 1984, Rochester, NY) grew up in Kendall, just 24 miles from Medina. Her writing draws on found text and repurposed language to explore what we notice and uncover in the world around us. She has led workshops at Fleisher Art Memorial, Yale University, and the Pennsylvania College of Art &amp; Design, and her work has been exhibited at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and the Susquehanna Art Museum. She is the author of two poetry collections and numerous zines.

Writing About Art: A Walking Workshop with Erin Dorney

For two centuries, the Erie Canal has carried goods and labor through Western New York. Running alongside it, the towpath has served as the canal&rsquo;s working edge&mdash;a place from which the waterway was used, tended, and kept open. This free public program returns to that path on foot. Presented by the Medina Triennial in collaboration with CALL / City as Living Laboratory and artist Mary Miss, the program follows the Erie Canalway Trail from Middleport to Medina. In the spirit of CALL / WALKS, it approaches the canal corridor as a living laboratory. Walking becomes a method for reading the landscape through movement, observation, and conversation. Rather than a conventional tour, the walk unfolds through a series of guided stops and open questions. Participants will consider the canal as a piece of public infrastructure that has depended upon continuous upkeep for two centuries. Along the route, invited artists and specialists will explore the relationships among water, soil, food, architecture, habitat, and the labor required to sustain the corridor. Mary Miss and Olivia Georgia of CALL will lead the walk alongside invited contributors Nick Henshue, a University at Buffalo professor specializing in soil ecology and regional habitats; Ira Sanford Geffner, also a professor at the University at Buffalo, whose work focuses on ecology and natural history; and Zuzanna Drozdz, a landscape designer whose practice treats beauty, nourishment, and ecological integrity as inseparable. The program begins at the Medina Triennial Hub at 10 AM, then travels by shuttle to Middleport. The walk will conclude in Medina near Floating Garden (2026), Mary Mattingly&rsquo;s barge-based commission for the Triennial. Following a free lunch, participants will gather at the Medina Triennial Hub for a public conversation led by Mary Miss and Olivia Georgia, reflecting on the day&rsquo;s observations and inviting participants to contribute their own impressions of the canal corridor. 10:00 AM: Meet at the Medina Triennial Hub, 345 Main Street, for orientation, coffee, and light refreshments.10:15 AM: Provided shuttles depart for Middleport.10:30 AM&ndash;12:45 PM: Towpath walk from Middleport to Medina (approximately 4.7 miles). Bring water and a hat, and wear comfortable shoes. We will walk slowly.12:45&ndash;1:15 PM: Lunch at the Hub, provided by the Medina Triennial.1:15&ndash;2:00 PM: Presentation by Mary Miss and Olivia Georgia, followed by a group discussion with the walk leaders. Zuzanna Drozdz is a Landscape Project Manager with Ecos Cooperative, where she designs private and public spaces for connection and reciprocity with the flora and fauna of WNY. She holds an M.L.A. and a B.S. in Product Design, and has spent nearly a decade on public and institutional landscape projects across the Northeast. She was previously the Research Coordinator for the Hotspot Cities Project, which examined the conflict and potential for symbiosis between urbanization and biodiversity. Sanford Geffner is a Naturalist and Field Ecologist with a B.S. in Outdoor Education and a M.Ed. in Environmental Education. He is the Coordinator for the Environmental Studies/Sustainability Programs in the Department of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo. He is also the Founder/Director of Earth Spirit Educational Services, Inc., a not-for-profit environmental education organization. His interests are focused on field and natural history, holistic health, nature and religion, and environmental history. Olivia Georgia is Executive Director emeritus of City as Living Laboratory, founded by Mary Miss. CALL works with artists, scientists, and residents of urban communities to create sustainable solutions to climate change, equity, and health issues. Georgia served as Executive Director of Meredith Monk&rsquo;s House Foundation, Executive Director of Bronx Museum of the Arts and Maryland Art Place, Director of Visual Arts for the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, and Assistant Director of the Washington Project for the Arts. Georgia has organized over 30 exhibitions and produced numerous performance series. Dr. Nick Henshue has a B.S. in Environmental Education, Master&rsquo;s in Biology, and Ph.D. in Ecology. He currently looks for ways to utilize earthworm ecology together with Restoration and Soil Ecology to improve habitats in Western New York. Additionally, he is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo. Nick&rsquo;s research interests include restoration and urban ecology, earthworms, science outreach, and helping teachers teach amazing science. Mary Miss is an artist who is founder of City as Living Laboratory (CALL). Her work has reshaped the boundaries between sculpture, architecture, landscape design, and ecology by articulating a vision of the public sphere where it is possible for an artists to have an essential role. She has developed projects as diverse as creating a demonstration wetland in the center of Des Moines, Iowa to envisioning Broadway as the new &lsquo;green&rsquo; corridor of NYC.

Towpath as "Living Laboratory": A Walk from Middleport to Medina

In this workshop, kids and young adults will discover and discuss the works of James Beckett, Harun Farocki, and artist collective FIBRA, presented in the exhibition. Together, they will consider what it means to build rather than destroy, and how creativity can help to reimagine and restore what deforestation has taken from our shared environment. A hands-on activity follows, inviting participants to construct a structure of their own from recycled materials.

Future Forests: A Youth Workshop on Sustainability and Repurposed Materials

Collective Memory: A Workshop on the Art of Storytelling Medina Triennial Hub, 345 Main Street, MedinaAugust 16, 2 PM (ages 5&ndash;10) / 3 PM (ages 11&ndash;18) In this workshop, kids and young adults will discover and discuss the works of Futurefarmers and Gregory Halpern, presented in the exhibition. Together, they will explore how one place can hold many stories and many truths, depending on whose perspective is taken into account. A hands-on drawing activity follows, inviting participants to share their own stories with the group.&nbsp;

Collective Memory: A Workshop on the Art of Storytelling

Join us for a special day trip on July 18th from Buffalo to the Medina Triennial. A round-trip bus will depart from The Richardson Hotel, bringing visitors directly to the Medina Triennial Hub for an afternoon of exhibitions, tours, and a special reception. Schedule:11:30 AM Check-in and pickup at The Richardson Hotel 444 Forest Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14213 11:40 AM Bus departs from The Richardson Hotel 12:30 PM Arrival at the Medina Triennial Hub 345 North Main Street, Medina, NY 14103 2:00 PM Guided tour of the Historic Medina High School site 5:00 PM Special reception at the Triennial Hub 6:00 PM Bus departs from the Medina Triennial Hub to The Richardson Hotel The Medina Triennial is free and open to the public. Your donation helps make transportation and special programs like this possible. Suggested donation: $20

Buffalo Bus Trip: Tour and Reception at the Medina Triennial

The Medina Triennial Press and Professional Preview offers you an early viewing of the inaugural edition of All That Sustains Us, curated by Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo. Your registration admits two guests.&nbsp; Schedule12:00&ndash;6:00 pmExhibition sites open, for a map please see here: medinatriennial.org/sites 2:00 pmCuratorial tour at the Medina Triennial Hub, 345 Main Street 3:00 pmOpen rehearsal of Faithfully Recording, by Lina Lapelytė at the Medina Railroad Museum Grounds, 530 West Avenue 4:00 pmCuratorial tour with selected artists at the Historic Medina High School, 324 Catherine Street Thank you again for registering. We are excited to share the Triennial with you.