Medina Triennial

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Medina Triennial The Medina Triennial is a new contemporary art triennial on view from June 6 to September 7, 2026 in Western New York.

Open from Thur–Sun, 12–6pm
Check the News section of our website for weather updates and site closures.

All That Sustains Us was a collective effort.From early conversations to the final day of the exhibition, the Triennial ...
09/25/2026

All That Sustains Us was a collective effort.

From early conversations to the final day of the exhibition, the Triennial was shaped by the work and care of many. Our core team was at the center of that effort, working to bring the first edition to life.

Lili Bisits (lili bisits)
Communications Intern

Kristen Azzara (kristen)
Design Intern

Kari Conte (KARI CONTE)
Co-Artistic Director

Mary Fellios (mary kathryn)
Curatorial and Programs Manager

Karin Laansoo (Karin Laansoo)
Co-Artistic Director

Federico Rosario (fede)
Community Engagement Coordinator

Shirley Verrico (Shirley Verrico)
Operations Manager

Our team was part of an expansive network of artists, producers, engagement guides, volunteers, partners, local businesses, and residents who made the Triennial possible.

We’re grateful to everyone who contributed to this work, and to the remarkable community that made a place for it in Medina.

📷 Medina Triennial 2026 Team (left to right): Mary Fellios, Shirley Verrico, Karin Laansoo, Lili Bisits (behind), Kari Conte, Federico Rosario, Kristen Azzara. Photo: Eleri Ever.

09/15/2026

All That Sustains Us has come to a close, but this isn’t goodbye.

Over the past three months, thousands of visitors made their way along the Erie Canal and through Medina’s historic buildings, civic institutions, parks, and public spaces to see this town-wide exhibition come to life.

Public works by Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge () and Anne Duk Hee Jordan () remain on view around the village, so you can still catch them long after the season ends.

Thank you to everyone who walked, biked, and boated through this Triennial season with us. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Stay tuned for more on Mary Mattingly’s () “Floating Garden,” which leaves Medina in the first week of October with stops along the Erie Canal before it reaches Verplanck, New York, and eventually the Bronx.

Today is the last day to see All That Sustains Us 📣This Labor Day, we’re thinking about the enormous amount of work, oft...
09/07/2026

Today is the last day to see All That Sustains Us 📣

This Labor Day, we’re thinking about the enormous amount of work, often unseen, that goes into making this exhibition possible. Across ten sites throughout the village, more than 100 works have been unpacked, moved, mounted, secured, adjusted, and cared for over the past several months.

We’re beyond grateful to our incredible production team, Ian Swanson (Ian Swanson), Quincey Miracle (Quincey (Quinn) Miracle), H Boone (H Boone), and MaryJo Whitman (MaryJo Whitman), whose work brought this exhibition into being for audiences to experience all summer.

We’re open today, September 7, from 12–6 PM, across all ten sites throughout Medina.

Thank you to everyone whose work, care, and generosity has sustained this exhibition.

📸Eleri Ever

Last week to experience the inaugural Medina Triennial!Join us September 5–7 for the final days of “All That Sustains Us...
08/31/2026

Last week to experience the inaugural Medina Triennial!

Join us September 5–7 for the final days of “All That Sustains Us,” a village-wide exhibition unfolding across Medina’s historic buildings, canal front, parks, and public spaces. We have a full weekend of programs lined up for the Triennial’s closing weekend!

Saturday, September 5, 4PM
Artist Talk with Matt Kenyon (Matt Kenyon)
Medina Triennial Hub, 345 Main Street

Sunday, September 6, 2PM
Curatorial Tour with Kari Conte (KARI CONTE) and Karin Laansoo (Karin Laansoo)
Historic Medina High School, 324 Catherine Street

Sunday, September 6, 4PM
Conversation about James Beckett‘s “A Good Wall” featuring Nicholas Bruscia, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University at Buffalo, and Medina Sandstone Society board members Craig Lacy and Tom Rivers
Front lawn of the Historic Medina High School, 324 Catherine Street

Monday, September 7, 2PM
Walk and Talk with Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens (Marilou Lemmens)
Rotary Park, 507 Main Street

We are open Thursday, September 3 through Monday, September 7, 12–6PM.

All exhibitions and closing weekend programs are free and open to the public. To learn more and plan your visit, head to the link in bio.

Planning a visit to the Medina Triennial? Here’s our recommendation on how to make a full day of it!Start with a cortado...
08/30/2026

Planning a visit to the Medina Triennial? Here’s our recommendation on how to make a full day of it!

Start with a cortado at Factory Espresso at Hart (Factory Espresso at Hart), and enjoy lunch at Zambistro (Zambistro). Between sites, the Erie Canalway Trail offers a scenic route featuring the Culvert Tunnel, sometimes called the eighth wonder of the world and the only place where you can pass beneath the Erie Canal itself.

Don’t leave without trying the apple slushies at Roberts Farm Market (Roberts Farm Market), or a Triennial-inspired AIUP cocktail at the Shirt Factory (Shirt Factory). Browse antique and vintage wares at Just East of Main, or find a gift at A Lily & A Sparrow (a lily & a sparrow) or Ellen J Goods.

For those turning the visit into a weekend, Bent’s Opera House Hotel (Bent’s Opera House Hotel), a Civil War-era sandstone landmark turned boutique hotel, offers an overnight stay that captures the full charm of Medina.

To plan your visit, head to the link in bio.

Images:
1. Photo: Mark Thomas Duggan
2. Photo: Eleri Ever
3. Courtesy Medina Triennial

Last two weeks to experience the Medina Triennial, closing September 7.Join us this week for an artist-led walkthrough, ...
08/28/2026

Last two weeks to experience the Medina Triennial, closing September 7.

Join us this week for an artist-led walkthrough, a curatorial walking tour, and the final youth program of the summer!

📍Saturday, August 29, 4PM
Tour with artist Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge of her commissioned work “All the hours” at Orleans Community Health. Walking through the installation together, the artist will share the research and process behind the work.

Leblanc-Roberge's film “As the hour turns blue” will also be screened at the Triennial Hub from 12–2 PM.

📍Sunday, August 30, 2PM
Curatorial walking tour begins at Rotary Park, 507 Main Street, continuing to Medina Theater, and the State Street Park.

📍Sunday, August 30, 12–2PM
Reflection: Who We Are and What We've Learned

The closing session of our summer youth programs. Participants will return their completed Triennial passports, reflect on their favorite works and their own creations, and close with a hands-on self-portrait activity. Ages 5–10 at 12PM, ages 11–18 at 1PM. Medina Triennial Hub. Advanced registration is required.

Sign up: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/reflection-who-we-are-and-what-weve-learned

08/28/2026

What can contemporary art do outside of major metropolitan centers?

Hear from Executive and Co-Artistic Director Kari Conte on Buffalo… Who Knew?, a podcast by Buffalo Rising hosted by Frits Abell.

In the conversation, Conte reflects on the ideas of care, maintenance, accessibility, and community that shaped “All That Sustains Us”:
“The idea really came from invisible labor, maintenance, you know, everyone wants to create for what’s new and no one wants to take care of what’s old. We were very inspired by the canal, and the histories on the canal, and this community’s relationship to water … Everyone is really proud of what we have accomplished together. We very much conceived this with accessibility in mind, meaning if you don’t have a contemporary art background, you can still come to this triennial and engage with it.”

Listen to the full conversation here:

https://www.buffalorising.com/2026/08/podcast-buffalo-who-knew-that-there-is-a-major-art-event-located-45-minutes-away-in-medina-ny/?utm_campaign=linkinbio&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=later-linkinbio

First presented at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Jean Shin’s “Everyday Monuments” (2009/2026) began with nearly 2...
08/27/2026

First presented at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Jean Shin’s “Everyday Monuments” (2009/2026) began with nearly 2,000 trophies donated by Washington, DC-area residents. Shin altered the figurines to depict individuals engaged in everyday professions, including caregivers, food service employees, postal carriers, sanitary workers, and others whose labor often goes unseen. The sculpture questions whose histories are excluded from traditional monuments, shedding light on the experiences of immigrants and marginalized communities in the United States.

Shin’s installation at the Medina Triennial marks one of the largest iterations of “Everyday Monuments” to date. In the artist’s words: “I recognize that labor through these perspectives is a powerful tool for creativity and transformation.”

On view at the Historic Medina High School.

Words by Re’al Christian

Photos
1-5, by Mark Thomas Duggan
6. Behind the scenes of artist Jean Shin installing

To learn more about the Triennial, sites, and the artists, visit the link in bio.

Guidebooks for “All That Sustains Us” are now available on our website, and in select WNY bookstores!This 134-page illus...
08/26/2026

Guidebooks for “All That Sustains Us” are now available on our website, and in select WNY bookstores!

This 134-page illustrated publication offers an expanded introduction to the artists, artworks, histories, and places that shape the exhibition. It includes maps and information about the Triennial’s ten sites, entries on all 39 participating artists and collectives, artwork images, a complete exhibition checklist, and a Triennial Passport.

The guidebook features essays by curators Kari Conte (KARI CONTE) and Karin Laansoo (Karin Laansoo), Buffalo-based writer Laura Marris (Laura Marris), and media studies scholar Shannon Mattern (Shannon Mattern), as well as a conversation between Conte and Laansoo and Medina historians Catherine Cooper and Craig Lacy.

Other contributors include Lukas Brasiskis (Lukas Brasiskis), Jess Chen (Jess Chen), Re’al Christian (), Mary Fellios (mary kathryn), Emily K. Small (Emily Small), Lilia Rocio Taboada (Lilia Rocio 🌵), and Shirley Verrico (Shirley Verrico).

Edited by Sarah Demeuse (Sarah Demeuse) and designed by Other Means (Other Means), the guidebook is both a resource for visitors and a lasting record of the 2026 Triennial.

$20 + shipping. Head to the link in our bio to get your copy!

Images:
1. Guidebook Launch with Other Means, Sarah Demeuse, and Laura Marris. Photo: Eleri Ever.
2 & 4. Guidebook Launch. Photos: Eleri Ever.
3. Annotated guidebook highlighting past residency artists at Light Work photo center in Syracuse, NY. Courtesy of Light Work.
5. Medina Triennial Guidebooks. Photo: Eleri Ever.

08/22/2026

Did you know the Medina Triennial comes with its own “treasure hunt”?

Pick up a copy of our guidebook at the Triennial Hub, 345 Main Street. This 134-page companion provides ample details about the artists, artworks, histories, and places that shape the exhibition. Inside, you’ll find maps to help you navigate the village, images of works on view, and a complete exhibition checklist. Flip to the back page of your guidebook to discover your Triennial Passport, a space for collecting stamps while you explore all 11 sites.

As you walk through the village, collect the stamps attached to the signs at each site. Return to the Hub with a completed passport to receive a very special Medina Triennial magnet.

The guidebook is available for purchase at the Triennial Hub, Thursday through Sunday, noon–6PM.

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