Talks & Thinkers
Upcoming Events
June 22nd Query: What does it mean to be fully alive?
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.
Our first program for The Ark exhibition explores the process and technologies used for two of the exciting works in the show – one of which uses the latest technologies in sculpture making (3D printing), and the other a demonstration of one of the most historic sculpture techniques (the ‘lost wax’ technique featuring the use of clay hand-modeling for casting bronze). Even more thrilling – the two artists come from Europe, here only briefly for the opening of the exhibition. A rare opportunity all around!
Artist Daniel Firman wants to talk about the elephant in the room… the elephant. Friman’s Le Sommeil en Forêt (The Sleep in the Forest), a life-size sculpture of an elephant, can be seen balancing on its trunk front and center in The Ark. This sculpture was made via a special 3-D printing process and printed specifically for this exhibition. Fresh flown in from overseas, Firman invites audiences to an inside look at his creative process and what it took to bring this colossal figure to life. Firman will be joined in conversation by The Church co-founder April Gornik. Following his discussion there will be a brief Q&A with the audience.
Then, with the quiet stealth of a jungle cat, artist Patrick Villas invites the audience to witness a live sculpting session in our studio space. The sculptor of Monumental Walking Panther, 2021, and Cheetah, 2006, which are both included in The Ark, will present a live demonstration of his process while Edwina Van der haegen offers a technical explanation of what is occurring. Following the demonstration there will be a Q&A with the audience.
Join us for this very special event. Space is limited so get your tickets early and avoid the waitlist!
Glen Johnson and Don Golde are two reliable “go-to” dudes known as Islandwide Weather. They know a thing or two about the weather, specifically Long Island weather. And they want you to know too! Find out what’s in store for us weather-wise this summer as we get the local forecast, hear the predictions for hurricane season, and learn how to glean insights from meteorological data in real-time. With over 80,000 local followers, the duo prides itself on being a reliable source for local weather updates and an active agent in community building. Following the discussion have all your burning meteorological questions answered during the Q&A.
The program is a special collaboration with the South Fork Natural History Museum’s Young Environmentalists Society (SOFO YES), and The Church is grateful for the efforts of Mare Dianora in helping to make this partnership come to life.
There is a certain degree of magic required in curation, be it curating other people’s work or composing your own work and vision for an upcoming exhibition. To celebrate the concurrent opening of two mammoth shows, The Ark at The Church and Amy Sillman: Alternate Side (Permutations #1-32) at Dia Bridgehampton, artist/curator Eric Fischl joins renowned artist Amy Sillman in dialogue, discussing their respective shows and the process of putting them together. The collaborative program invites audiences to inquiry and insight as the two artists share their perspectives and values in determining thematic choices, inclusion, and overall vision, while doing a deep dive into two of this summer’s great East End contemporary art exhibitions. The pair will be joined by Jordan Carter, Curator and Co-Deapartment Head, Dia Art Foundation, who will moderate the dialogue and offer his own insights into the process. Following the discussion there will be a Q&A with the two.
Tickets are limited so please purchase in advance to avoid the waitlist.
To view The Ark, curated by Fischl please stop by The Church during exhibition hours, Thursday-Monday, 11 AM – 5 PM. To View Amy Sillman: Alternate Side (Permutations #1-32), please stop by Dia Bridgehampton at 23 Corwith Avenue, Bridgehampton, NY during exhibition hours Friday – Sunday, 12 PM – 6 PM. Both exhibitions are free and open to the public.
The Church is honored and grateful to present a rare discussion with the legendary multidisciplinary artist Bruce Nauman. Joined in conversation by The Church co-founder and visual artist Eric Fischl, Nauman and Fischl will speak about art and process, touching on the themes present in Nauman’s work that is included in our summer exhibition, The Ark, curated by Fischl.
Working in nearly every artistic medium, thoughtfully refusing to adhere to rigid artistic distinctions, and sometimes creating new genres while completing his work, Nauman is an indispensable source of insight and a model of artistic authenticity and integrity. This rare opportunity, as Nauman seldom speaks about his work and creative process, promises to be a celebratory event of profound revelation.
Nauman’s work 2 plaster foxes head to foot with plaster can and hammer, 2024 is part of our summer exhibition The Ark, and can be experienced during our exhibition hours, Thursday through Monday 11 AM – 5 PM. To learn more about our exhibition and to check out the exhibition checklist, please visit our exhibition page here.
“You learn for yourself not for others, not to show off, not to put the other one down learning is your secret, it is all you have, it is the only thing you can call your own. nobody can take it away…” – Louise Bourgeois, Louise Bourgeois: The Return of the Repressed: Psychoanalytic Writings.
In a unique pairing to discuss a one-of-a-kind artist, Philip Larratt-Smith, esteemed curator, writer, and Curator of The Easton Foundation, which administers the legacy of Louise Bourgeois, joins in dialogue with Jamieson Webster, clinical psychoanalyst, teacher, and writer who has published work on Bourgeois and many other artists. The two will examine Spider Couple, 2003, Bourgeois’s iconic 12-foot sculpture featured in our exhibition The Ark. They will also expand their discussion to include the symbolic use of animal imagery prevalent in late artist’s profound body of work. There will be a Q&A following the discussion.
One of the most important and influential contemporary artists of the last century, Lousie Bourgeois is a fearless diver into the psychological realm. Over several decades, the artist plunged into the depths of her own psyche, fueling her creative process with heightened introspection, cathartic examinations of early childhood trauma, and more. Her use of personal symbolism, recurring motifs, and psychological release within her work created a unique stylistic dimension and a distinctive symbolic code. This code, though highly personal and individualized, has helped to capture the complexity of human experience and emotion, creating a collective sea of understanding around it. Join us as we submerge into Bourgeois’s world and perhaps contemplate our own introspective reality and its role in the creative process.
Louise Bourgeois’s work Spider Couple is on view on our outdoor deck adjacent to our mezzanine level during our exhibition hours Thursday – Monday, 11 AM – 5 PM. In addition to being the first time The Church will use the outdoor deck as part of the exhibition, it also marks the first time one of these celebrated works will be shown at an arts institution on the East End. We invite you to stop by and see a little web of history as it’s being made.
What is blocking you from being happy, leading a full life, and moving you forward? No stranger to healing, Brahna Yassky, painter, and author, who is trained in art therapy invites you to find out in this Wellness Monday. Using healing techniques that she herself has used, Brahna welcomes you to look at the world in a different way. Using an intense focus on a particular object, art, and writing, participants will uncover memories, sensations, and emotions that are tied to their wellness.
In this hands-on workshop participants are asked to bring with them an object that has great significance to them (or a photo if the object cannot be moved), their own art supplies (sketchbook, pencils, watercolors, paintbrush), a notebook, and a pen. Through Brahna’s guidance, you will spend your time during the workshop drawing or painting the object and/or activating your language center as you write about the object. There will be an opportunity to share your thoughts and reflections on your work.
In 1982 Brahna was literally on fire. This accident resulted in Brahna’s arduous and painful healing journey. This journey and the path to her success are documented in her book Slow Dancing with Fire – A Memoir of Resilience. Brahna will read a passage from the book that illuminates how she learned to see differently. The author and artist welcomes you to learn from her experience, engage in community, and chip away at the things holding you back so you can bloom in your wellness. Copies of Brahna’s book will be available for purchase.
Natural forms and space are at the heart of Bryan Hunt’s sculptures and paintings. The creative explorer joins us for a very special Insight Sunday and invites the audience to an intimate dialogue centered on Ceta-II the wood, synthetic fabric, and steel sculpture included in The Ark. Is it a bird wing? Is it a tentacle? Is Ceta short for Cetaceans, otherwise known as a marine animal like a whale, dolphin, or porpoise? Is it a space creature infiltrating the animal-laden vessel? There is only one way to find out! Ask the man directly. Come with questions and leave with insight at our first Insight Sunday of the summer.
To view Ceta-II stop by during our exhibition hours, Thursday-Monday 11 AM – 5 PM. The exhibition is free and open to the public. To learn more about The Ark, visit our exhibition page here.
It’s time to talk about perspectives and perceptions with artist Thomas Deininger. Deininger, whose art is a direct response to consumer culture and a call to action toward social-spiritual responsibility and evolution, will be joined in conversation by The Church co-founder and The Ark curator, Eric Fischl. The two will discuss Deininger’s work Pigeon on the Giacometti, 2024, which is included in the exhibition and will dive into Deininger’s creative process, his use of found objects, and how his work advances his values. Following the discussion the audience is invited to a Q&A with the artist and curator.
To view Deininger’s perspective-bending sculpture, that changes upon where you are standing in relation to it, stop by during our exhibition hours, Thursday – Monday, 11 AM – 5 PM. For more information about The Ark, including exhibition dates, please visit our exhibition page here.
Monica Banks invites you to an inside look at the process and inspiration behind her work Restless Things, 2024, which is included in The Ark. Drawn to contrast and dissonance, Banks’s porcelain sculptures of dead birds and insects reference the delicate beauty and tragedy found in birds and small winged creatures. For Banks, “birds are everything,” and her work contains a deep sense of spirituality and hope that she considers “essential in all of us corporeal beings.” Join us for an intriguing discussion followed by a Q&A and leave with insight into the world of birds and winged things, as well as the artist’s unique approach to the traditional technique of porcelain.
To explore Bank’s work stop by during our exhibition hours Thursday-Monday, 11 AM – 5 PM. More information about The Ark can be found by visiting our exhibition page here. Our exhibition is free and open to the public, no RSVP necessary.
