Canal as Collaborator: Works by Sarah Cameron Sunde & Kari Varner

How do we reconcile our engineered past with an ecological future? 2025 Erie Canal Artists-in-Residence Sarah Cameron Sunde and Kari Varner explore the Canal from an environmental lens. Kari Varner, a distinguished photographer and educator, explored key ecological sites along the canal, integrating harvested plants into her photographic artworks. Sarah Cameron Sunde, an innovative interdisciplinary artist, engaged with canal communities to create pieces that physically and ecologically connect with the canal. She also developed work in collaboration with Jeremy Dennis, a contemporary fine art photographer and an enrolled Tribal Member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton, NY.