Visual Art & Artists
Upcoming Events
Bring a sketchbook, graphite or colored pencils, and/or pens and have a seat in the Main Gallery of The Church for a communal drawing salon led by artists and art professors Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris! This recurring program celebrates our fall exhibition Here & There: The Church’s First Churchennial while also honoring The Church’s commitment to fostering creativity on the East End. Flex your creative muscles as you draw the people around you, the space, or something that catches your eye in a meditative experience of observing and being present.
Norm, a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, and Jackie, a professor at Pratt Institute, met as students in Sam Messer’s Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art program. It was there the couple spent time in Sam’s “drawing happenings” and were inspired by his belief in community and bringing people together through drawing.
In alignment with The Church’s vision for a creative community, the Drawing Meetups invite participants of all skill levels to a laid-back environment with a communal spirit. Tables and chairs will be provided and participants are also welcome to find a space within the exhibition for a solo meditative drawing journey. Some graphite pencils and 8x11” paper will also be provided, though participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies. Charcoal, paints, and markers are not permitted in these sessions.
Please note that this is a causal drawing session and not a class.
Calling all makers, creatives, artists, and writers! Bring your supplies and join us for a casual and no-pressure environment to make art together. A reimagined Late Night Open Studio, Artists & Makers Night invites creatives of all types to gather and make art together alongside our current artists-in-residence, Hollis Chitto and Daniel T. Gaitor-Lomack. Visit their studios to see their work, gain inspiration, and chat about process. Passionate about fostering creativity in its space and establishing an oasis for creative inspiration and connection, The Church welcomes you to break out of your solitary studio and make art with others!
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.
Bring a sketchbook, graphite or colored pencils, and/or pens and have a seat in the Main Gallery of The Church for a communal drawing salon led by artists and art professors Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris! This recurring program celebrates our fall exhibition Here & There: The Church’s First Churchennial while also honoring The Church’s commitment to fostering creativity on the East End. Flex your creative muscles as you draw the people around you, the space, or something that catches your eye in a meditative experience of observing and being present.
Norm, a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, and Jackie, a professor at Pratt Institute, met as students in Sam Messer’s Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art program. It was there the couple spent time in Sam’s “drawing happenings” and were inspired by his belief in community and bringing people together through drawing.
In alignment with The Church’s vision for a creative community, the Drawing Meetups invite participants of all skill levels to a laid-back environment with a communal spirit. Tables and chairs will be provided and participants are also welcome to find a space within the exhibition for a solo meditative drawing journey. Some graphite pencils and 8x11” paper will also be provided, though participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies. Charcoal, paints, and markers are not permitted in these sessions.
Please note that this is a causal drawing session and not a class.
This program has been generously supported by the SHS Foundation, in honor of its treasurer, Sara Throne.
Welcome back Johnnie Cruise Mercer! Join us for a moving evening as Mercer presents his one act dance theater work, Mercies of a Butterfly. A movement allegory on “weathering the storm,” the work follows a recently born spirit as they contend with weight, build strength to run, and eventually learn how to fly! With Mercer’s Black movement history at the center of the work’s structure, the dancer/choreographer/director publicly leans into his epic memory in order to share the goodness of letting go.
The solo performance involves close collaboration alongside a creative team of long-time collaborators and peers including music producer Young Denzel, film/video artist Torian Ugworji, horn player Robert McSweeney, drummer Jean Charlot, and fashion designer Pierre Rashad.
This performance has been programmed as part of our Fall Exhibition, Here & There: The First Churchennial. More information can be found by visiting our exhibition page here.
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. 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 gear 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.
This program has been programmed in tandem with our Fall exhibition Here & There: The First Churchennial. Join us as we honor the legacy of an activist, celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community, and stand together in allyship and community.
Please note that this conversation has been rescheduled from its original October 11th date.
Bring a sketchbook, graphite or colored pencils, and/or pens and have a seat in the Main Gallery of The Church for a communal drawing salon led by artists and art professors Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris! This recurring program celebrates our fall exhibition Here & There: The Church’s First Churchennial while also honoring The Church’s commitment to fostering creativity on the East End. Flex your creative muscles as you draw the people around you, the space, or something that catches your eye in a meditative experience of observing and being present.
Norm, a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, and Jackie, a professor at Pratt Institute, met as students in Sam Messer’s Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art program. It was there the couple spent time in Sam’s “drawing happenings” and were inspired by his belief in community and bringing people together through drawing.
In alignment with The Church’s vision for a creative community, the Drawing Meetups invite participants of all skill levels to a laid-back environment with a communal spirit. Tables and chairs will be provided and participants are also welcome to find a space within the exhibition for a solo meditative drawing journey. Some graphite pencils and 8x11” paper will also be provided, though participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies. Charcoal, paints, and markers are not permitted in these sessions.
Please note that this is a causal drawing session and not a class.
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.
Artist-printmaker and arts-educator Susan Bachemin invites you to the final Insight Sunday of the year. Diving into the process of Red Migraine, 2024, a work included in our exhibition Here & There: The First Churchennial, Bachemin reflects on her inspirations, process, and more. Following the discussion there will be a Q&A with the artist as well as an invitation to step into the Open-Studio with our 2025 Community Artists in Residence downstairs on the ground floor.
Bachemin’s work is influenced by a career trajectory that has touched several artistic disciplines. Film, music, commercial work, wallpaper design and more have given the artist a diverse set of skills that is as unique as the monotype prints she creates. A strong interest in printmaking is woven into her process and at the core of her work is the curiosity and reflection on health concerns among marginalized communities. Join us for a fascinating glimpse into our printmaker-in residence and learn more about the woman who runs our beloved printmaking workshops alongside Samuel Havens.
Bachemin’s work can be viewed during exhibition hours Thursday-Monday, 11 AM – 5 PM.
Bring a sketchbook, graphite or colored pencils, and/or pens and have a seat in the Main Gallery of The Church for a communal drawing salon led by artists and art professors Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris! This recurring program celebrates our fall exhibition Here & There: The Church’s First Churchennial while also honoring The Church’s commitment to fostering creativity on the East End. Flex your creative muscles as you draw the people around you, the space, or something that catches your eye in a meditative experience of observing and being present.
Norm, a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, and Jackie, a professor at Pratt Institute, met as students in Sam Messer’s Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art program. It was there the couple spent time in Sam’s “drawing happenings” and were inspired by his belief in community and bringing people together through drawing.
In alignment with The Church’s vision for a creative community, the Drawing Meetups invite participants of all skill levels to a laid-back environment with a communal spirit. Tables and chairs will be provided and participants are also welcome to find a space within the exhibition for a solo meditative drawing journey. Some graphite pencils and 8x11” paper will also be provided, though participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies. Charcoal, paints, and markers are not permitted in these sessions.
Please note that this is a causal drawing session and not a class.
