Residency

Residents have been nominated for selection by community members and industry colleagues that include Fischl, Gornik, Executive Director Sheri Pasquarella,Workshop & Residency Manager Samuel Havens, along with artist Arcmanoro Niles, Dominic Molon (RISD Museum), Heather Lynch, PhD (Stony Brook University), ecologist & writer Carl Safina (The Safina Center), artist Jamie Diamond, Peter Drake (New York Academy of Art), artist Jeremy Dennis (Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio), curator Sara Cochran, PhD, and others.

Our 2026 Artists-in-Residence are: Kristine Bendul & Abdiel (dance, choreography, & performance), Lloyd Knight, Jamar Roberts and Stahv Danker for the Martha Graham Dance Company (dance, choreography, & performance), mayfield brooks (interdisciplinary performance), Brandon Ross (music composition & performance), Daniel Emond (music composition & performance), Bunni Brown (interdisciplinary), Kylee Snow (interdisciplinary), Daniella Williams (painting), Kariny Padilla (painting & mixed media), Francisco Graciano (sculpture & mixed media), Cate Pasquarelli (mixed media installation, sculpture, & works on paper), Paul Greenberg (writing), Linda O’Keeffe (mixed media installation/sound art), Victoria Roth (painting & works on paper), Nick Lehane (interdisciplinary, puppetry, & object theatre), Ella Mahoney (painting & mixed media), kiarita (painting & mixed media installation), Ben Jackel (sculpture), Jazzmen Lee-Johnson (interdisciplinary), Elliot Reed (interdisciplinary), and Jackson Polys (interdisciplinary).

NEW THIS YEAR! We are delighted to announce the Hedda Sterne Fellowship, which supports three female-identifying visual artists specifically in residency at The Church. The 3 inaugural Hedda Sterne Fellows are Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, Ella Mahoney, and Victoria Roth.  

“Our rhythmic, annual cadence features diverse makers and mediums and fosters artistic innovation and cross-disciplinary dialogues between artists of all backgrounds. We aim to keep alive the tradition of artistic ingenuity that is endemic to the history of Eastern Long Island,” says Pasquarella.

When co-founders April Gornik and Eric Fischl first built and conceived of The Church, a key component was an interdisciplinary residency program. The intent was to nurture artistic innovation and dialogue, while making artistic processes and concepts accessible to the wider community. In 2022, with the arrival of Executive Director Sheri Pasquarella, a cadence and infrastructure were added to ensure that a wide diversity of artists are participating in the program all year long, including the first Community Residency cycle that has been held every year since. With the management of Samuel Havens, Workshop and Residency Manager since 2023, the program has flourished. 

Since its inception, the residency has grown exponentially, bringing over 100 artists, makers, and scholars to Sag Harbor in the past two years alone. In 2025, we welcomed a total of 60 artists & collaborators, including our Community Residency of six artists from the region, and over 45 percent BIPOC residents across the whole program. In 2026, we’ll continue to build upon this momentum, extending the average residency duration to three weeks and promoting interaction and engagement of residents within the local community.