Local Roots, Global Reach: Building the Medina Triennial
An interview with Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo, Co-artistic Directors of the Medina Triennial
Medina Triennial Hub.
Photo: Dawson Andrews / Other Means
Nando Alvarez-Perez
Okay so this is Nando Alvarez-Perez, editor of Cornelia, and I am interviewing…
Kari Conte
Kari Conte, Executive and Co-artistic Director of the Medina Triennial
Karin Laansoo
and Karin Laansoo, also Co-artistic Director of the Medina Triennial
NAP
So we’ve been chatting here, and we just started to get into these questions of regional anxieties a bit. You've both built careers in very different contexts. Why do you feel like you are the right fit for a triennial in Medina that describes itself as artist-led and community-centered?
KL
Well, I believe we're probably not the only people who could do it really well, but luckily, that was not our choice. The decision was made by a Steering Committee of Western New York arts leaders, and they had their own set of criteria. What we do know is that our proposal stood out, and that's how it got selected. For me, personally, I'm not from Medina, but Western New York is home for me. I've been coming here for the last 15 years for personal reasons, extended family, all the holidays, and major milestones, birthdays, weddings, so I know the area pretty well. And my family also moved to Rochester six years ago. So Medina is an hour away, and it really is a gem. But what's at stake? I mean, as with any project big or large, it's your reputation, the relationships you’ve built with artists over a couple of decades. And most importantly, we want to make Medina proud, because we do know that they are so proud of this town.
KC
The steering committee was made up of curators and directors from regional art institutions, and they also helped to shape the pillars of what this project might become. There were folks from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, and the University at Buffalo. We also already have an incredible network of support here in Medina. We have nearly daily conversations with the mayor and other community leaders. While this village doesn't have an extensive history with contemporary art, everyone here gets it, loves the Triennial idea, and is so supportive. This town has the infrastructure, the goodwill, and the heart to pull something like this off. While I'm not from Western New York, I'm from an outer borough in New York City, and there's a surprising amount of resonance between where I grew up and Medina, because they both have this backyard culture where everyone seems to know everyone, and there is strong civic engagement. And then there’s the experience of living on the periphery, outside the “big center,” that distant presence that defines you. So, what I didn't expect coming into this project is that this area of New York would feel familiar to me in so many ways. A project like this also couldn’t happen in a major city; one of the benefits is that you'll be able to walk everywhere, right? It's as simple as that. And by walking everywhere, you will not only experience art from around the world but also get to explore Medina. I believe the village is truly ready and eager to host Triennial visitors.
Inauguration of the Medina Triennial Hub.
Photo: Douglas Levere
NAP
The aughts were a time of every small town getting a museum; then the 2010s were the age of every region getting an art fair or a biennial; both developments suited a jet-setting contemporary art world that prided itself on its global interconnectedness. I'm assuming that the triennial structure came as part of the state's brief. What do you see as the gap that is being filled by a triennial now, here in Medina, and how do you see the idea of a triennial having morphed over time?
KL
Why Medina? Why a triennial? These questions were answered for us. As with any investment of this size, there was an impact study done, and so there were a couple of models that were researched. There were three models: a festival model, a museum model, and a civic engagement model. Ultimately, the triennial model won, because it was the most flexible: it allows time for reflection; it is complementary, not competing with what's already available in Western New York.
KC
It also allows for the most embeddedness, and it can change significantly over editions. It can be a different endeavor three years from now, and there's also no pressure to keep up a physical space all the time. It taps into the resources that are already here and creates new ones. So, for example, this space that we're sitting in now, the Medina Triennial Hub, is available to community members for free meeting space, which there’s a lack of. So, it's not only about what this initiative brings to the region's arts infrastructure, but also about what it contributes to community life in this village and county. There isn't an initiative like this in Western New York, and not even really in the Northeast. So, our idea is to start here, but we want to bring people to this place from Toronto; we want to bring people from New York City, from Massachusetts, from the Hudson Valley community. As we open the Hub, we're also starting to think about programming that involves other institutions in the region. And one of the things that's also exciting to us is that we might have the opportunity, being midway between Buffalo and Rochester, to bring the two communities together, which, as far as I understand, is a connection that could be strengthened.
KL
I think the model that probably wouldn't work for Medina is this highly nomadic model that has a different host city for every edition. A triennial of this size in a village of this size is something that not many organizations have attempted. It's important to us that we come in early to test ideas and to work with the community. And that shapes our thinking. It shapes the curatorial vision, and it shapes the kind of projects artists will ultimately do on site.
NAP
What kinds of opportunities and constraints have come out of the partnership with the Canal Corporation, which is the largest funder for this Triennial?
KL
As with any state funding, there are certain restrictions and criteria. At the same time, today, 2025 in the US, where else would this kind of arts funding come from? It’s a very, very unique opportunity with a lot of stakeholders. Everybody has slightly different visions of success, but the goal is to work together. I mean, the ultimate goal is that the artists and this town are very happy, that the event is a critical success, and that it will have the projected attendance.
KC
A leading goal is also that artists are able to do something they wouldn't be able to do otherwise. So for example, right now, Mary Mattingly is out back building her barge on the Erie Canal. There are few places where it could happen like this—where she’s here on site, building it, and we're getting a lot of volunteers to help too. In terms of the state partnership, as we all know, arts funding is in one of the most precarious positions that it's been in since the culture wars, and a state agency thinking about funding culture in the same way they would fund infrastructure, well, there are a lot of possibilities for that. We also have full curatorial freedom in this project, although we are inspired by the efforts to turn the Erie Canal into a more utilized resource, and some of that state-level thinking will influence the Triennial. It’s interesting that 80% of people who live in New York State outside of the city still live within 20 miles of the canal. There are around 100 canal towns, and Medina is located at a significantly wide part of the canal, which carries a very interesting symbolic meaning.
Staff Area View inside Medina Triennial Hub.
Photo: Serweta Peck
NAP
You’ve described wanting to merge “hyper local” and “global” perspectives. Those are two increasingly vague terms that have been tossed around a lot over the last two decades; it’s easy to just say, they mean this, but what do they mean to you? How do you define regionalism in this project?
KL
Medina has, for a long time, merged the local and the global. It did it 200 years ago. There's another literal layer that we haven't even touched on today, and that's the sandstone. Stories say that Medina sandstone was used in building Buckingham Palace, the Brooklyn Bridge. So, we're not inventing anything new here.
KC
For a first edition of any triennial, to be successful, it must originate from the place and the ideas inherent in that place. There's a lot of looking towards history here, and we want to think about that history and acknowledge it, but we also really want to look forward. So, we want to put artists from this region in dialogue with international artists, because that encourages different kinds of conversations to happen. And we know we'll have a mix of existing works and new commissions. I find it quite remarkable that Medina, a town with a population of 6,000, has at least seven books written about its history, so almost nothing an artist creates can be entirely removed from some connection to these histories.
NAP
Before we started the interview we were discussing some of the region’s potential anxieties about outside experts coming into the area to determine what an art program here looks like. I think one of the concerns that at least the artists have is that there is often a friction between curatorial, critical interest and actual, meaningful impact on a site and place. What kind of artists are on your mind now? Given the timeline, I would imagine that you had to come in with a lot of decisions made.
KL
I think we're pretty close to the final artist list. So a lot of work was done, but it has also changed a lot. We've had about 100 studio visits since we joined the team.
KC
The Triennial will be an even mix of international, national, and regional artists. But by regional, you know, we think of this region as even bigger than Western New York. We think of it as Toronto and Detroit and the Rust Belt, because I believe all of these places share some overlapping ethos. In terms of artist profiles, there won't be so much work that is really, for lack of a better term, market-driven art. We’ll be supporting artists to do projects in more site-specific, socially engaged ways; even if it's existing work, it will resonate with the ideas that come from this place. It’s been interesting to consider the anxieties you mention. In New York City, many of the most exciting exhibitions are those organized by curators from elsewhere. It mixes things up by tapping into new research, perspectives, and geographies, ultimately expanding the field.
KL
We have probably done more studio visits with Western New York artists than any other group. But, you know, we're basically building an institution from scratch, right? So much of this research will also find its way into the second edition, where there'll be a more comfortable three-year time frame. One other great thing is that every time we talk to an artist from a region, we ask if they can recommend any other artists to visit. These have been really good tips.
KC
There will also be artists in the Triennial that we've both worked with before; both of us are very artist-centric curators. We're not curators working for museum collections; even though we are both trained as art historians, nearly all of our work is with living artists and working on new commissions and projects. We work very closely with artists, and building those relationships take a really long time. Also just to return for a minute to this outsider/insider dynamic: I ran the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), the artistic side of it, for almost a decade, and the outlook of that entire organization is about cultural exchange. What happens when you bring people from outside in and those inside out? Many compelling collaborations and formations emerge. Karin and I, that's how we first started working together, because Karin founded a residency at ISCP that brought Estonian artists to New York. And so, both of our practices focus on bringing together new people, places, and ideas. I believe this will also be very interesting for local audiences.
Portrait of Co-artistic Directors Karin Laansoo and Kari Conte, Medina, NY.
Photo Hakan Topal. Courtesy Medina Triennial.
NAP
We've touched on this, but how do you see residents and tourists experiencing the Triennial? And then what do you see as the longer-term benefits for Medina itself? I know you had mentioned an economic impact report, which, I'll admit, I'm wary of; those documents are made to make a case to hire people. And so I know that, with Front Triennial for example, when they did their last edition they made a really beautiful PDF that outlined its impact, but then it’s not happening again this year. I have some insight into why, but I remember, too, in their very first edition, there were a lot of upset Cleveland-based artists that were like: Who are these people? Who's in my town? We're over here! And they did a rogue biennial on the side.
KL
The economic impact and creating jobs over the long term really is a big priority, and I can give you a personal example. My first paying job in the art world was working as an intern for the Manifesta Biennial. And you know, we hope to do that for many young people here who we would like to see as engagement guides; you never know what that means for them and its longer-term impact. I mean, obviously, the first edition is the heaviest lift, because we're creating the infrastructure, we're building everything from the ground up. Luckily, we have worked together for 10 years, although the rest of the team is new. This is all very exciting, but we have a short time frame, like you mentioned. So I think you can get a glimpse of the possible long-term impact after the second edition.
KC
There was an article published when we announced the Triennial. I hadn't even considered it from this perspective before—and of course, this Triennial has a much smaller footprint and budget—but it said, who would have once thought of Beacon or Marfa as cultural destinations? This resonates with Medina.
KL
Medina is really pulling in a lot of visitors. There's a railroad museum here whose annual attendance is 30,000 people. There's a very active hiking, fishing, biking, canoeing, and kayaking community here. We're already building on something that already exists. We just want to help further it’s potential, if we can say it that way.
NAP
Anything else on your minds that you want to share?
KC
It's really nice for us to articulate some of these things, even though we know they may change over time. Thanks for the opportunity to respond to these questions.
Community planting on Mary Mattingly's Floating Garden, led by the artist on October 18, 2025.
Photo: Dawson Andrews / Other Means
by Nando Alvarez-Perez
Nando Alvarez-Perez is a photographer, educator, and co-founder of the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA), where he serves as Co-Director of Programs & Publications. He oversees BICA’s exhibition program, working closely with artists to develop ambitious new projects, and guides the editorial direction of Cornelia, BICA’s triannual print magazine. He is also deeply involved in shaping the pedagogy of BICA School, contributing to its curriculum, critiques, and collaborative learning ethos.
Nando’s photographic work has been exhibited across North America and Europe. He holds an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and a BA in Film Studies from Hunter College. In addition to his work at BICA, Nando is a freelance photographer and educator who has taught at Alfred University, the University of Rochester, and California College of the Arts, and formerly worked as a Creative Lead at Airbnb.
