Talks & Thinkers
Upcoming Events
September 28th Query: Where do you draw the line?
Still, Small Voice draws its name from the idea of the "still, small voice" within—a quiet, inner voice that guides us in moments of reflection. This monthly gathering, started in 2023 as an artistic experiment, now returns as a community-led practice with rotating facilitators. It invites participants to engage in silent reflection and thoughtful sharing, centered around a question about creativity, community, and being human. We forever ever grateful for Nanao Anton & Erling Hope for their contributions, inspirations, and commitment.
This is a space to hear your and others’ authentic voices & own it in community, free of judgement or reaction, as necessary
This is not group therapy, a study group, a political action group or Quaker Meeting.
Please review our Community Values before attending.
Calling all makers, artisans, artists, and tinkerers! We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Maker’s Market will be curated from an open application process! If you are a weaver, potter, designer, woodworker, jewelry designer – or a designer or retailer of other marvelous wearable, shareable or other objects, we’d love to hear from you!
The highly anticipated Holiday Makers Market returns to The Church on Saturday November 29th and Sunday 30th from 11 AM – 5 PM. The Market features more than fifteen unique artisans and makers, offers our community a selection of home goods, clothing, jewelry and more, making finding a special handmade gift a breeze!
Interested in participating as a vendor?
Submit an application!
Applications must be filled out and submitted by
5 PM September 30th to be considered.
Please read the following criteria before applying:
Makers must be able to present both days of the market to be considered.
All goods need to be made or designed on the East End.
Vendors Fee is $300 to participate. This includes an 8-foot table and a dedicated 10ft by 6ft vendor space in our main gallery during the market.
Vendors must be equipped with their own Point of Sale.
Vendors must be incorporated or LLC entities.
Come celebrate with us! Stop in anytime between 6 PM and 7:30 PM on October 4th to get the first look at our 2025 Fall Exhibition Here & There: The First Churchennial during our opening reception. A multi-media exhibition, Here & There highlights the artists residency program at The Church from its first three years, 2021 through 2024.
Central to our mission to ensure that Sag Harbor continues its long history as a thriving center for makers and artists, this year-round residency program has featured over 128 artists and thinkers from around the world and from our community. More than 40 of those artists will be on view in all visual art media including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, and video art, in addition to events and workshops in performance, music, and the written word.
What are the points of intersection between writing a biography and writing a memoir? Authors Bill Goldstein and Thymaya Payne explore this and more! The two discuss their latest literary endeavors that find them in a state of “trusting the process.” Each will share an excerpt from their current works-in-process before diving into a discussion about the intersections of their practices and experiences. Moderated by Kristen Santori, the talk will close with a welcomed Q&A with the audience.
Goldstein’s work-in-process is a biography of Larry Kramer, the legendary American playwright, novelist, film producer, and AIDS activist. His work is born from years of research as well as a working relationship with Kramer while he was alive. This vantage point of both being present in Kramer’s physical timeline as well as conducting the research as a third person observer has presented unique challenges to Goldstein’s process.
Payne shifts gears to turn the narrative to his own life, a sharp contrast to researched-based works that explored the lives of others – including his forthcoming biography on civil rights leader Walter White and a documentary film on Somalian Pirates. His memoir-in-process, entitled AIDS, Raves, and Pirates, explores reflections on his relationship with his father. Payne’s process explores the validity of memory and questions the mind and heart’s tendency toward projection.
Both Goldstein’s and Payne’s projects were in development here at The Church during Goldstein’s and Payne’s respective residencies.
Programmed in tandem with our Fall exhibition Here & There: The First Churchennial, this program also falls on what would be the 38th anniversary of a massive LGBT march on Washington as well as National coming out day. Join us as we honor the legacy of an activist, celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community, and stand together in allyship and community.
Take your wellness journey into a new dimension with author and speaker Joe Dolce. Engaging audiences nationwide about the benefits of psychedelics and microdosing on health and well-being, Dolce now offers his insight to The Church community in a spirited lecture centered on research explored his latest book Modern Psychedelics: The Handbook for Mindful Exploration. Dolce will share his thoughts on how psychedelics and microdosing have been used to open the doors of perception and increase awareness and treat illnesses that eluded modern medicine and big pharma. Ready to field your questions, Dolce welcomes the curious in a lengthened Q&A. Copies of Modern Psychedelics will be available to purchase and will be signed by the author after the event.
Dolce dives into how psychedelics have been used in treatments by physicians worldwide, and have been proven to assist individuals navigating Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders, and more. Learn how these therapies work and more from a leading voice in the psychedelic world.
Please note: psychedelic substances (ketamine excepted) are schedule 1 controlled substances in New York. By presenting this lecture, The Church is not condoning or promoting the use of psychedelics in any way; rather, it is presenting the research of an engaging and researched exploration on the topic.
Photographer Mary Ellen Bartley will share the inspirations, evolutions, and challenges she faced while working on her project Morandi’s Books. Bartley’s 2020 residency at Casa Morandi in Bologna initiated Morandi’s Books, which offers a contemplative look into the personal library of Giorgio Morandi, the twentieth-century Italian painter renowned for his quiet and precise still life compositions. A six-week residency at The Church during the pandemic offered Bartley space for expanding the series which reflects Bartley’s deep engagement with Morandi’s restrained visual language while expanding her ongoing exploration of books as vessels of both form and feeling.
Learn about Bartley’s process and ideas at our first Insight Sunday of the autumn. Following the discussion there will be a thoughtful Q&A.
Bartley’s work will be on view as part of Here & There – The First Churchennial, our fall exhibition and can be seen ahead of the talk during our exhibition hours Thursday-Monday 11 AM to 5 PM beginning October 5th.
Calling all Educators, Superintendents, and School Administrators!
Join us for a special Open House designed to support East End students and educators. Attendees will learn about existing arts enrichment opportunities for schools and students, as well as how to apply for our new ACE (Arts, Creativity, and Education) Pilot Program for the 2026 school year. Five selected applicants will be awarded a $5,000 budget each to support a yearlong arts education partnership with The Church.
Enjoy light refreshments, connect with fellow educators, and meet our co-founders April Gornik and Eric Fischl, as they share the founding vision for The Church and its mission to inspire creativity on the East End.
Event Highlights:
Program overview with Executive Director Sheri Pasquarella
Learn how you district can benefit with Casey Kleister-Meyer, Operations Manager
Explore possibilities with Kristen Santori, Programming and Communications Manager
Tour our facilities and explore workshops with Samuel Havens, Workshop & Residency Manager
Q&A and Feedback Session
Food, beverage & Conviviality!
Registration is free. Space is limited.
This event is specifically designed for educators and school leaders –please share with anyone who may be interested.
Let’s inspire creativity together!
October 26th Query: How Spooky are Stories?
Still, Small Voice draws its name from the idea of the "still, small voice" within—a quiet, inner voice that guides us in moments of reflection. This monthly gathering, started in 2023 as an artistic experiment, now returns as a community-led practice with rotating facilitators. It invites participants to engage in silent reflection and thoughtful sharing, centered around a question about creativity, community, and being human. We forever ever grateful for Nanao Anton & Erling Hope for their contributions, inspirations, and commitment.
This is a space to hear your and others’ authentic voices & own it in community, free of judgement or reaction, as necessary
This is not group therapy, a study group, a political action group or Quaker Meeting.
Please review our Community Values before attending.
Join us for a stellar evening as we learn about the night sky from our friends at the Vanderbilt Museum. This new collaboration will bring the Vanderbilt’s mobile planetarium to the main hall at The Church, with two showings of Stars: The Powerhouses of the Universe narrated by Mark Hamill. After each showing, the stellar exploration continues outside, as guests are led to telescopes set up in our garden (weather permitting). The event is timed for maximum possibility of viewing Saturn and the Earth’s moon, which are expected to be visible at that time. Learn, explore, and have fun with our guests, Planetarium Director Dave Bush, Planetarium Outreach Coordinator Rachel Goralski, and Astronomy Educator Britteny Mickaliger.
While space, the final frontier, may be far from limited, capacity for this event is. Reserving tickets in advance guarantees you entrance to your designated showing and time with the telescopes. Recommended for ages 9 and up. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Do you feel creatively blocked, stuck, or drained? Do you feel confused about something, can’t find clarity, don’t know what to do? Is there something that you can’t seem to change no matter how hard you try? Let’s write about it!
Join Kristen Santori as she navigates you through a simple reflective journal exercise. Learn how illuminating the language you use to code the world can decode the areas where a simple shift in diction can create a world of difference. Come to understand the beauty of the pause and how to transform your thoughts so that you can “dream” in “yes.” Participants are asked to bring their own journal/notebook, a writing utensil and a highlighter.
A disciplined journal keeper, Kristen has been keeping a morning writing practice for over a decade. Through writing and research, she has learned ways to rewire her neural network and become living proof of what a life can be once space for healing has been created and acted upon. This Wellness Monday presentation Kristen developed, created, around an exercise that was lived through in practice, served as a catalyst in her personal journey of wellness, and is now an invitation for others to see if it works for their benefit as well.
Deepen your appreciation for the beauty of the line, shape, and form with artist Margaret Garrett. A former dancer turned visual artist, Garrett will discuss her inspirations and her process in the creation of Canon, a video that is representative of her movement-based work. Learn how making Garrett began making videos as a way to find shapes for her paintings and how this evolution led to the development of a new visual language for her—video collages that explore movement, shape, and the unfolding of contrapuntal patterns. Following the discussion there will be a spirited Q&A
Garrett’s Canon will be on view as part of Here & There – The First Churchennial, our fall exhibition and can be seen ahead of the talk during our exhibition hours Thursday-Monday 11 AM to 5 PM beginning October 5th.
November 23rd Query: What hardships are you grateful for?
Still, Small Voice draws its name from the idea of the "still, small voice" within—a quiet, inner voice that guides us in moments of reflection. This monthly gathering, started in 2023 as an artistic experiment, now returns as a community-led practice with rotating facilitators. It invites participants to engage in silent reflection and thoughtful sharing, centered around a question about creativity, community, and being human. We forever ever grateful for Nanao Anton & Erling Hope for their contributions, inspirations, and commitment.
This is a space to hear your and others’ authentic voices & own it in community, free of judgement or reaction, as necessary
This is not group therapy, a study group, a political action group or Quaker Meeting.
Please review our Community Values before attending.
Diana Diamond is a preeminent expert on personality disorders, attachment, and narcissism. Join us for the opportunity to gain invaluable knowledge from a distinguished member of our community as she discusses narcissism as a clinical and social phenomenon. Dr. Diamond will reveal the impetus for her latest book, Treating Pathological Narcissism With Transference-Focused Psychotherapy. Cultural representations from art, literature, and film will be used to illustrate the universal fascination with narcissism. After the discussion there will be a lively Q&A.
The discussion will illuminate the special challenges of treating individuals with narcissistic disorders who retreat from reality into compensatory grandiosity, thereby compromising their lives and relationships. She will also discuss how to recognize when narcissistic traits become pathological and require treatment, and how practitioners can engage and connect more deeply with patients suffering from pathological narcissism. The ramifications of pathological narcissism in political and organizational life and relationship between collective and individual narcissism will also be discussed.
In a world saturated with technology, Jamie Diamond invites viewers to explore the evolving nature of relationships in her short film Skin Hunger. Join us at The Church for a screening of the film and a follow-up discussion and Q&A with the Creator Jamie Diamond, Director of Photography Matt Cianfrani, producers Amy Lawday and Abby Russel, and touch practitioner and subject of the film: Ella.
Peering into the epidemic of loneliness and the service economies that have emerged in response to the growing need surrounding touch, intimacy, Skin Hunger explores the emergence of a new kind of service: the renting of people for nonsexual touch, a.k.a. cuddling.
The 26-minute short film introduces viewers to Steven, a handsome, affable 60-year-old man who lives alone in Coney Island. He’s a film buff and, each day, he travels to Times Square for work where he is surrounded by people. But, inside, he is suffocating from loneliness and a yearning to be touched — or “skin hunger.” He contacts Ella, New York City’s leading touch practitioner, and embarks on a wild journey of discovery. “Skin Hunger” spotlights the phenomenon of paying for platonic touch, and its rapidly growing community which seeks to share the mental and physical restorative benefits of touch with the rest of the world.
This screening has been program in tandem with our Fall exhibition Here & There: The First Churchennial. Learn more about the show by visiting our exhibition page here.
December 29th Query: Why are you here?
Still, Small Voice draws its name from the idea of the "still, small voice" within—a quiet, inner voice that guides us in moments of reflection. This monthly gathering, started in 2023 as an artistic experiment, now returns as a community-led practice with rotating facilitators. It invites participants to engage in silent reflection and thoughtful sharing, centered around a question about creativity, community, and being human. We forever ever grateful for Nanao Anton & Erling Hope for their contributions, inspirations, and commitment.
This is a space to hear your and others’ authentic voices & own it in community, free of judgement or reaction, as necessary
This is not group therapy, a study group, a political action group or Quaker Meeting.
Please review our Community Values before attending.
Tom Gardella has dedicated his life to service: our current Mayor of Sag Harbor has led a full life of community commitment, from United States military intelligence to Fire Department Chief, from serving as a Critical Care EMT to Mayor of Sag Harbor Village. Join us for the first Knowledge Friday of the season as Gardella sits down one-on-one with The Church Co-Founder, Eric Fischl to discuss his unique and fascinating journey. The conversation will be followed by a Q&A with the audience. Come celebrate a community that fosters creativity and connection and get to know a leader who is continually working for the benefit of Sag Harbor’s living legacy.
A Long Island Native, Gardella and his family found their way out to Sag Harbor in the summer of 1986. Prior to coming to Sag Harbor, he served in the Alpha company 319, the 525th military intelligence group as an Imagery Analyst for the United States Military during the Cold War—analyzing photos, radar, infrared, and more. When he arrived in Sag Harbor, he switched gears a bit as he began work for GF Schiavoni, a local plumbing company. For nearly forty years Gardella has grown alongside this seaside community, putting out fires (real and metaphoric) and serving the community in both care and leadership.