Talks & Thinkers
Upcoming Events
Arcmanoro Niles, esteemed East End visual artist and visionary, joins us as our August Insight Sunday speaker. Included in This Land: Considering The American Landscape, Niles has created a unique painting specifically for the exhibition. Niles invites audiences to see deeply into the work, learn about his process, and gain insight into the wellspring of his creativity. Following the discussion there will be a Q&A and the audience will then be led upstairs into the gallery to view the work in person.
A painter known for working with vivid and bright hues, Niles’s new painting is reflective of how much landscape has become a part of his practice. He says, “I began to realize how important my relationship to nature was. In this painting I wanted to capture the feeling of the day ending looking out into the fading sky, an attempt to connect and reset watching the sunset, contemplating what tomorrow might bring.”
Howard Marks, legendary investor and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management and a Board Member of The Church, returns for another special summer discussion!
After a successful and highly engaging program last summer, Howard joins us again to discuss what’s currently on his mind concerning the world of finance and investing. Providing an accessible opportunity for our whole community, Howard welcomes guests to an insightful discussion, sharing his unparalleled practical wisdom gained from over 57 years of experience in the world of investing. There’ll be plenty of time for questions!
Following the discussion, the special evening continues with an intimate fundraiser, inviting up to 20 individuals to a private seated dinner with Howard. Guests will be treated to a catered meal and the rare opportunity to engage in an intimate dialogue with our financial expert.
All proceeds from the event will benefit The Church.
August 23rd - What’s so funny?
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 very special screening of the documentary short film Earth, I Thank You: The Garden and Legacy of Anne Spencer. The film had its world premiere at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture and its New York premiere at The Frick Collection. The documentary explores the historic sanctuary of Harlem Renaissance poet, civil rights advocate, and gardener Anne Spencer. The 37- minute documentary celebrates the cultural and historical significance of the Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum in Lynchburg, VA. It is rare for a historic house and garden to survive intact—especially one belonging to an African American. The film screening will be followed by a powerful discussion on preservation and legacy between Brent Leggs, the President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and poet Kevin Young, 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize recipient and National Book Critics Circle Awardee. The discussion will then open to a thoughtful Q&A with the audience.
This program is presented in tandem with our summer exhibition, This Land: Considering the American Landscape. Reflecting upon the 250th anniversary of the United States, the film explores the people and histories that have shaped the American experience and our understanding of the land itself.
A legendary Harlem Renaissance poet, civil rights advocate, and passionate gardener, Anne Spencer housed and entertained numerous luminaries and civil rights leaders including Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Thurgood Marshall, George Washington Carvver, and Dr. Martin Luther King in her Virginia home. Her garden features a sculpture gifted to Spencer by W.E.B Du Bois and is one of the most significant examples of a preserved African American garden in the United States. A modest and deeply personal space, the garden is imbued with stories of civil rights advocacy, literary genius, and the many historic figures who walked its paths.
Appearing in the film are key figures in the world of historic preservation and African American history. Brent Leggs, CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers insights into the significance of preserving this site. Peggy Comett, Curator of Plants at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello; Dr. Reuben M. Rainey, Professor emeritus at the University of Virginia and co-author of a book on Anne Spencer; and Dr. Noelle Morrissette, Director of African American and African Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and author of a book on Anne Spencer, discuss the horticultural heritage and legacy of the garden and its role in shaping African American cultural identity. The film was produced for The Garden Conservancy by artist Kate Cordsen.
Explore the interpretation of homeland and landscape with award-winning Indigenous visual artist and filmmaker Sky Hopinka. A member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and descendant of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, Hopinka’s work examines the correlation between language and culture in relation to home and land. Joined in conversation by The Church’s Executive Director Sheri Pasquarella, Hopinka will speak about his body of work, including the four video works included in This Land: Considering the American Landscape, his creative process, and the importance of Indigenous cinema in our cinematic landscape. Following the discussion there will be a Q&A with the audience and the opportunity to view the works in the main gallery space.
Hopinka has described his work to Filmmaker Magazine, saying: “deconstructing language [through cinema] is a way for me to be free from the dogma of traditional storytelling and then, from there, to explore or purpose more of what Indigenous cinema has the possibility to look like.” The award-winning filmmaker, whose films have shown in various festivals including Sundance, New York Film Festival, among others, digs deep into the personal and is reflected through documentary and other forms of non-fiction media.
Currently an assistant professor of film for Harvard University, Hopinka invites audiences to learn, reflect, and examine the Indigenous landscape of this land.
Stop by during our exhibition hours Thursday – Monday, 11 AM – 5 PM, to view Hopinka’s work in person and to take in the work of over a dozen additional artists included in This Land.
Join us for the 16th Annual Baer Faxt Invitational Golf Tournament! A beloved tradition that brings together art world innovators, collectors, and golf enthusiasts for a memorable day on the course and an evening of great food.
From Bob Crawford, the grammy-nominated bassist for the Avett Brothers, comes an astounding biography on the extraordinary life and legacy of John Quincy Adams, America’s sixth president. America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick (March 2026, Zando), paints a powerful portrait of an often-overlooked former president, whose fierce independence, nimble activism for democracy, and early crusade against slavery echo today. Joined in conversation by American journalist and political commentator John Avlon, Crawford will dive deep into a tumultuous period of the past and surface with the eerie similarities to modern times. Following the discussion there will be a Q&A and book signing.
Timelier than ever, Crawford’s biography does an incredible job of illuminating the valuable lessons and insights history holds for us. One of the strongest voices against Andrew Jackson’s “Make America Great Again” campaign and Jackson’s unprecedented executive overreach, John Quincy Adams became a political maverick whose grassroots activism and defiance of dictatorial gag-rules shifted the American political landscape forever.
Join us as we learn how the musician’s quiet obsession with books on American history turned him into an unlikely but widely popular public historian and experience real time his gift for making the past feel urgent.
A very special thank you to Book Hampton for being our community bookseller for the program! This reading and discussion has been programmed in tandem with our summer exhibition THIS LAND: Considering the American Landscape, which can be viewed June 21 – September 6 during our exhibition hours 11 AM – 5 PM, Thursday-Monday.
Calling all makers, artisans, artists, and tinkerers! We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Holiday Makers Market is now accepting submissions from prospective vendors. If you are a weaver, potter, designer, woodworker, jewelry designer, or a designer or retailer of other marvelous artisanal objects, we’d love to hear from you!
Our annual market features a curated selection of more than a dozen unique artisans and makers, offering our community a selection of home goods, clothing, jewelry, and more.
Interested in being considered as a vendor? Read below and apply!
All Applications must be received before 5 PM – September 13th to be considered. Late / incomplete submissions will not be considered.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE APPLYING:
Vendors must be able to present both days of the market to be considered
Goods that are made or designed on the East End and/or are handcrafted will be given priority
Vendors must be equipped with their own Point of Sale
Vendors who are not incorporated entities (S-Corp, LLC, and INC.) may be subject to sign an additional liability waiver
ABOUT THE VENDOR SPACES
All vendors are responsible to bring their own: Tablecloth(s), merchandise, supplies, and point of sale
ONLY ONE VENDOR PER SPACE – vendor spaces are not to be shared by multiple vendors
There will be NO WALL SPACE available
All vendors will be designated a space in our main gallery for this year’s market. Upon invitation to the curated market, vendors will be offered one of three possible spaces:
8’ x 5’ Vendor Space - $150 - ONE (1) 8 foot table provided
8’ x 10’ Vendor Space - $300 – TWO (2) 8 foot tables provided
16’ X 5’ Vendor Space - $300 – TWO (2) 8 foot tables provided
Applicants should indicate on their submission their space preference(s). Selection preferences do not guarantee an invitation to that size of vendor space. Vendor space availability will be communicated in acceptance emails.
Grab a ticket to hear from our special guest and Dear Mazie curator, Amber Esseiva the Senior Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Institute for Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University (ICA at VCU). Esseiva is joined by Jessica Bell Brown, Executive Director of the ICA at VCU. The two will discuss the importance of Meredith’s legacy, the impetus for the show, as well as navigate guests through the curatorial journey. Following the discussion, guests will be led upstairs to the main gallery for the first look at the visiting exhibition.
The first of its kind, Dear Mazie, explores the life and enduring influence of pioneering architect, educator, and artist Amaza Lee Meredith through newly commissioned works by leading contemporary artists.
Featured Artists include AD—WO (Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood), The Black School (Shani Peters and Joseph Cuillier), Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, Kapwani Kiwanga, Abigail Lucien, Practise (James Goggin and Shan James), Tschabalala Self, Cauleen Smith, Donnamarie Barnes, Michael Butler, and Hank Willis Thomas.
Join us as we honor Amaza Lee Meredith, one of the beloved Sag Harbor Saints on our windows and celebrate an important milestone in The Church’s history as we welcome the first presentation a traveling exhibition developed by another museum: Dear Mazie,.
Grammy Award-winning composer and drummer for
They Might Be Giants,Marty Beller comes to The Church
to share the insights of his 40 Year music career
Find your voice. Collaborate. Show up hungry. And grab every opportunity! These are the central threads running through Marty Beller’s career. The Church welcomes the Grammy Award-winning composer and the drummer for the iconic alt-rock band They Might Be Giants to the stage to present a fascinating interactive lecture. There will be plenty of time for Q&A (Marty loves Q&A)!
Designed to give students, aspiring musicians, and anyone passionate about the arts, an inside look at what a working music career looks like, Marty immerses attendees into a vibrant whirlwind of interactive experiences and shared stories. From recording studios to live shows, the big break, creative meetings, surfing the sea of inquiry and beyond, Marty utilizes decades of experience to create a clear understanding that the real world of a professional musician can take many shapes and sizes. The most important thing is to put every bit of energy you have into everything you do!
A warm welcome to Stella Sands - Sag Harbor’s own bard of mystery and intrigue. The best-selling author kicks off our Insight Sunday series this fall, inviting readers and aspiring writers to contemplate the origins of story, the development of characters, and more as she shares her unique reflections on writing as a craft. How did a trash-talking tattooed linguistic savant and an old-fashioned observational genius sleuth come to be the main characters in her highly acclaimed fictional debut Wordhunter? And what led to their return to enthusiastic readers in the newly released sequel, Codebreakers (August 11, 2026, Harper Perennial).
As best-selling author of six true crime books and a fictional mystery series, Sands offers audiences the rare opportunity to examine the creative similarities and differences between telling a gripping true story and creating a scintillating fictional one. Following the discussion and Q&A there will be a book signing with books available to purchase.
