NYPA Press Release

For Immediate Release: June 6, 2026

Contact: Jackie Schillinger | 518-281-5510 |jackie.schillinger@nypa.gov

 

NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY AND NEW YORK STATE CANAL CORPORATION ANNOUNCE GRAND OPENING OF MEDINA TRIENNIAL CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBIT ALONG ERIE CANAL

Inaugural Edition, “All that Sustains Us,” Offers New, Summerlong Art Exhibition throughout Village of Medina

Programming and Art Installations Feature 39 International and Local Artists

 

Buffalo, NY - The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and New York State Canal Corporation today announced the opening of the Medina Triennial, an international exhibition of contemporary art featuring more than 100 works across 10 locations in the Erie Canal Village of Medina in Orleans County. Free and open to the public, the event combines artist residencies, year-round public programming, and, once every three years, a large-scale, summer-long, village-wide art exhibition, with the first installment kicking off today. Plan your visit to Triennial sites by visiting this linkhere.

“Medina has always been a crossroads of cultures, stories, and ideas, and the Medina Triennial is our way of honoring that legacy while looking boldly to the future,” saidNew York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll. “NYPA is proud to support this inaugural event, which brings world-class art and creative programming to Medina and helps reconnect people to the canal’s story—past, present, and future. The Medina Triennial is a powerful example of how art, infrastructure, and community can come together to strengthen local economies, attract tourism, and celebrate one of New York State’s most enduring assets.”

What began as a conversation among NYPA and Canal Corporation officials about the rehabilitation of the Medina Highwall, a more than 100 year old concrete structure built to carry the waters of the Erie Canal across Orchard Creek via the Medina Aqueduct, evolved into a broader planning strategy centered on cultural investment, public programming and long-term place stewardship. Rather than treating infrastructure repair as an isolated capital effort, the Canal Corporation sought to leverage investment as a catalyst for civic ownership, regional partnerships and sustained engagement with canal communities. The convergence of strategic location, existing assets, and community ambition made Medina uniquely suited to anchor a transformative cultural initiative with both identity and broad geographic and cultural reach.

New York State Canal Corporation Director Ben Walshsaid,“The Triennial is representative of Canal stewardship in the 21st century. It isn’t just about maintaining and investing in our infrastructure—although those actions are critically important—it’s also about making cultural investments in canal communities so they can adapt and thrive into the future, inviting people to see them in new ways. I’m excited to see how the Triennial grows in the coming years and what other cultural investments it inspires throughout the Canal Corridor.”

Many of the works presented in the Triennial explore ideas of maintenance, repair, ecology, stewardship, and collective responsibility – themes that closely parallel ongoing work required to sustain the New York State Canal system itself. Across installations, public artworks and research-based projects, artists examine how communities care for shared environments, maintain public systems, respond to damage and imagine processes of restoration. The exhibition considers care not as an abstract concept, but as active civic practice shaped by labor, environmental responsibility and long-term commitment to place. The Triennial was developed through partnerships with regional art and education institutions, the Village of Medina, local leaders, and philanthropists. Together, these collaborators helped shape a model tailored to Medina and to the wider Canal Corridor – one that supports artists from the region while engaging ideas of international relevance and creating opportunities for both local and international participation. 

Fieldwork Residency

An important component of this initiative is the Medina Triennial Fieldwork Residency, which provides artists with living and working space in Medina alongside support to develop new commissions and public programs for the Triennial. Through connections with scientists, architects, farmers, local organizations and small business owners from across Western New York, the residency fosters research, collaboration and dialogue rooted in place. The residency program launched in the fall 2025 with artists including:

• Mary Mattingly, developingFloating Garden (2026), a barge-based living artwork on the Erie Canal.

• James Beckett, working on the “digital quarrying” of Medina sandstone.
• Selva Aparicio, with a collaboration with the Medina Railroad Museum.
• Michael Wang, researching maple sap production in the region.

Medina Triennial Hub

The Hub, a storefront designed by Serweta Peck and students from The University at Buffalo, created a space for collaboration and community engagement. Opening ahead of the Triennial in the fall of 2025, it serves both as a public programming venue and the home of the residency program. Combining workspaces, gathering areas, and a free public art library, the Hub conveys an adaptive civic space supporting research, education and community participation year-round.

Village of Medina Mayor Deborah Padoleskisaid, “Medina has always been the kind of community that rolls up its sleeves and works together, neighbor to neighbor.We’re truly delighted to welcome visitors from near and far, and to share our stories, our beautiful waterfront, our hometown businesses, and, most of all, the wonderful people who make this village such a warm and special place.

 

Medina Triennial Co-Artistic Directors Kari Conte and Karin Laansoosaid, “All That Sustains Us echoes a question artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles posed in 1969 and never stopped asking: what does it take to keep things going? The Medina Triennial asks what forms of labor, knowledge, and commitment sustain civic life, ecological systems, and the built environment, especially under conditions of strain. The works gathered here emerged from research and dialogue with artists and offer many distinct positions. What connects them is a shared attention to the forces, materials, and ideas that hold communities together, and to the conditions under which those structures begin to break down.”

Canadian Artist Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge said, “I am honored to be part of the Medina Triennial alongside this inspiring cohort of artists and collectives—the scope of the projects and artworks included is both impressive and humbling. This invitation is invigorating, not only as an artist, but also as a regional community member and educator. I am excited to invite local friends and students to explore the many art installations across Medina this summer.

 

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Executive Director Bob Radliffsaid, “It's wonderful to witness Medina and its authentic Erie Canal heritage being so thoughtfully utilized to create new and relevant cultural programming. We are confident that Medina's Triennial success will serve to inspire similar events and exhibitions that showcase unique canal communities and increase visitation throughout the 500-mile-long Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor."

 

The Medina Triennial is led and organized by the Medina Triennial, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization that was created to lead this endeavor. The New York Power Authority and Canal Corporation provided support for this year’s inaugural event.

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About NYPA

 

The New York Power Authority is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 17 generating facilities and more than 1,550 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Substack.

 

About the New York State Canal Corporation

 

New York’s Canal system includes four historic canals: the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga – Seneca. Spanning 524 miles, the waterway links the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain. The canals connect hundreds of unique and historic communities across upstate New York. The New York State Canal Corporation is a subsidiary of the New York Power Authority. For information visit www.canals.ny.gov and follow us on Facebook at Instagram.