Local Projects: Waterway of Change

Renowned design firm Local Projects partnered with Beautiful Machine to provide audiovisual & lighting design and integration to a range of exhibits commemorating the bicentennial of the Erie Canal in Buffalo, New York.

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Waterway of Change invites guests to be immersed in the complex history of the Erie Canal. The exhibit, housed in a repurposed boat house called the Longshed, features a combination of artifacts, media-based elements and creative lighting that tells the story of the canal’s history and its effect on the people and culture around it.

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The Thresholds, situated in five locations around Canalside, are glowing portals into the Erie Canal’s history and enduring impact. Each Threshold features integrated lighting, sound and projected imagery that highlight Indigenous, Black, and immigrant stories, the entertainment and vice of the Canal District, and the commerce at the Western Terminus that shaped our world today.

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