This program has been generously supported by
the SHS Foundation, in honor of its Treasurer, Sara Throne

The Church presents its very first unique
choreographed commission

Award-winning contemporary dancer and choreographer CLAUDIA HILDA  is joined by Dancer DANNY QUITANA for a dance performance in response and commissioned as a companion to The Ark. Subtly interweaving an expanded multidisciplinary practice that combines performance, video art, and writing, Hilda presents a multidimensional work that deeply explores and expresses the themes of our summer exhibition, enriched by her collaboration with Quitana’s traditional foundation in dance. Audience experience is heightened by the beautiful experimental design of recent graduate ELEANORE JEFFREYS whose love for immersive design invites you deeper into the performance. Additionally, guests are treated to a live performance from the musical genius of ALEX KOI, whose music has been described as “impossibly stunning” (Stereo Stickman). Space is limited; please reserve tickets in advance and avoid the waitlist.

August 24th Query: What is on your mind?

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.

Please note: Our Parking Lot will be closed today 8/23 - please park at St. Andrew’s or utilize village parking

The 5th Annual Celebrating Creatives of Color returns and for the second time will be hosted at The Church.  The event will showcase creative artists and authors of color from Sag Harbor and beyond, and provides an opportunity for artists and authors to display their work and interact with other art enthusiasts and collectors. All artwork and books will be for sale. 

Proceeds from this event will help support the Bridgehampton Childcare and Recreational Center (BCCRC) and The Church. Artists and Authors will donate 10% of their total sales to support these two important community organizations.

This year, we are pleased to offer a special Author Event as part of the celebration!

11:00 AM - 12 PM: Readings from select authors - Join authors Harriette Cole, Don Lemon, Wendy Mills, Victoria Christopher Murray, Former Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook, and Jennifer Morgan, PhD for a live reading hosted by Sunny Hostin. All books will be available for purchase and signed after the reading.

Purchase a grab-and-go treat from Deanna Smith, the party perfectionist, and linger to enjoy all the fair has to offer!

Visual Artists to include:  Judy Henriques Adams, Akili Buchanan, Daevon Byron, Andrew Canyen, Jeremy Dennis, Faith Evans, Beverly Granger, Garry Grant, Paloma Hostin, Jennifer Ivey, Rod Ivey, Paula Nailor, Michael Jelks, John Pinderhughes, Victoria Pinderhughes, Olney Marie Ryland, Shawn Rhea, Ernani Silva, Sharon Van Liempt, Sheniqua (Shea) Young. List in formation.

A warm wave of gratitude to the event organizers and Village of Sag Harbor residents from the Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest, and Ninevah Communities: Beverly Granger, Gwendolyn Hankin, Victoria Pinderhughes, Paula Taylor, and Olivia White.  Their efforts have helped to bring attention to emerging and established creatives while supporting community institutions that provide access to enhanced cultural understanding and continued learning.

For questions, please email CCCSagHarbor1@gmail.com

“We can argue politics and policies, but, at the end of the day, we are bound together beyond these. I do what I do to connect—music has this great disarming quality—it leads to vulnerability quickly as people lay down their shields” – Inda Eaton

 Known for her evocative songwriting and magnetic storytelling, Inda Eaton joins us at The Church for an evening of music and stories of experience, resilience, and hope with a dash of humor for good measure. Inda has performed on stages around the world, blending country, rock, folk, and pop into a singular Americana sound. Her latest project — IndAmerica™ — continues her commitment to music as a bridge for unity, hope, and authentic connection.

The naturally gifted funny woman has a unique ability to bring light and warmth to every set and treating the audience to a heart-touching experience. She is an intuitively tuned human instrument. Opening for the likes of John Hiatt, Blues Traveler, Hootie and the Blowfish, LeAnn Rimes, and more, the East End artist invites audiences to an intimate performance with a seasoned professional for a one-of-a-kind musical experience.  

New sessions of Open Studio – Monotype Printmaking are here! In response to increased popularity and demand, we are excited to announce that there are now 2 different levels for the program: INTRO and ADVANCED. This is an ADVANCED session for participants who have taken attended a minimum of TWO Open Studio – Monotype Printmaking sessions at The Church.

Howard Marks, the legendary co-founder of Oaktree Capital and a Board Member of The Church, will share his unparalleled practical wisdom and 56 years of experience in the world of investing. Known for his direct and insightful manner, Marks will explain core components of the financial world, providing an accessible opportunity for our whole community to gain a thorough understanding of the investment process and how economics is currently shaping the world around us.  There’ll be plenty of time for your questions!

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.

Learn how to transform your landscape into a welcoming home for biodiversity with Edwina von Gal, founder of Perfect Earth Project, April Gornik, co-founder of The Church, and Frank Quevedo, Executive Director of the South Fork Historical Museum. Join three eco-minded institutions in the spirit of collaboration, creativity, and conservation as we host a conversation designed to uncover the simple ways we can cultivate healthy eco-systems in our own backyards! Those in attendance will have the opportunity to present questions to the speakers. Join us for a Saturday afternoon centered on giving back to Mother Earth through knowledge, insight, and botanical creativity.

What are the secrets of Lorne Michaels’ and SNL’s phenomenal success? Find out from those who lived it!

New York Times bestselling author SUSAN MORRISON, author of Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live will be joined in conversation with the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Art of the SNL Portrait, MARY ELLEN MATTHEWS, former SNL writer, actor, and producer JIM DOWNEY, and former SNL writer SARAH PALEY. Join us for an evening of laughter, insider stories, and a celebratory look at an elusive figure at the helm of one of the century’s most impactful comedy empires.  

Copies of Morrison’s Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live and Matthew’s The Art of the SNL Portrait will be available for purchase and signed after the event.

A special thank you to our collaborating community book sellers, Book Hampton, for joining us on this program.

Join environmental artist and educator Tony Valderrama for an afternoon workshop that blends culture, art, wildlife, and music. In this one-hour session, participants will be guided through the basic techniques of working with clay as they create their own unique pinch pots, personalized in the shape of their favorite animals. As pinch pots were one of the most basic forms of Native American ceramics, Valderrama will also discuss Native American culture, incorporating flute music and artwork samples inspired by his indigenous Taino roots.

Come see the birds of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center who will be here at The Church! Join Tammy Flanell, Education Animal Manager at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center as she introduces us to a few feathered friends. How well do you know the Native wildlife on the East End? This is a great opportunity for kids and parents to learn more about ways they can interact and help their local wildlife and the people working to protect and preserve them.

Attendees will learn a about the diversity of species on the East End, the personal story of each bird visiting us, and more about the rescue center.  By providing rehabilitation services for animals and education for humans, the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center continues to preserve and protect. And you can too!

Following the brief presentations, the audience will be able to ask questions and take photos with the birds. Please note: Attendees will not be able to touch, hold, or pet the birds.

“If you’re as honest and fair as you can be, not only in business but in life, things will work out. I hope people remember me not just as a good businesswoman but as a great friend—
and a heck of a lot of fun”
– Kate Spade, Glamour, December 2002

 The Church is thrilled to welcome Elyce Arons, fashion entrepreneur, style icon, business mogul, and NY Times best-selling author, to discuss her newly released memoir, We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Spade. Arons, who launched both Kate Spade and Frances Valentine with her best friend of 40 years, “Katy” Spade, will be interviewed by fashion icon Simon Doonan, with audience questions to follow.

Arons takes readers on a thoughtful and moving journey of friendship and sisterhood to weave together the coming-of-age story of two best friends and their new line of handbags that revolutionized the fashion accessories industry in 1990’s New York City.

Books will be available for purchase and can be signed by the author after the event.

Released June 17^th, 2025, the memoir chronicles the powerful forty-year relationship, until Kate’s death in 2018. A celebration of Kate’s legacy as a cultural icon and loyal friend, the book takes readers into a deep dive into resiliency, perseverance, and what it takes to achieve success as a female entrepreneur while exploring the profundity in love and loss.

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.

We are pleased to offer a exhibition tour with curator, Eric Fischl. Join us at 11 AM for a deeper look at our current exhibition, The Ark.

Organist Brian Charette brings his powerhouse quartet to the stage, joined by saxophonist Joel Frahm and guitarist Sheryl Bailey. Known for his Grammy-nominated work and modern spin on the Hammond B3 tradition, Charette delivers swinging, funky, and deeply inventive grooves. This all-star lineup blends bebop, soul jazz, and forward-thinking interplay.Her latest quartet features a lineup of deep musical chemistry and shared curiosity. Mark Elias (bass) brings a subtle, supportive presence rooted in years of collaboration with Bloom and other jazz luminaries. His melodic phrasing and sensitivity to texture make him a vital anchor in this free-flowing ensemble. Matt Wilson, one of the most beloved drummers in jazz today, contributes his joyful spirit and endless creativity—known for his dynamic touch and ability to shape the emotional arc of a performance. On piano, Dawn Clement infuses the group with elegance, humor, and harmonic sophistication. A rising star, Clement has carved out her own path as a bold improviser and composer, working with a wide range of artists across the jazz landscape.

New sessions of Open Studio – Monotype Printmaking are here! In response to increased popularity and demand, we are excited to announce that there are now 2 different levels for the program: INTRO and ADVANCED. This is an INTRO session, there are no prerequisites to attend.

Explore the possibilities of creative writing and develop new connections between visual art and the written word! Led by published poet and scholar Star Black, this two-session literary workshop will focus on the idea of ekphrasis, an Ancient Greek term meaning “the use of detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device.”

Inspired by the works featured in The Ark, participants will generate a series of creative texts detailing their unique experiences of selected work in the exhibition. Poets, writers, and anyone fascinated by the interweaving of art and literature are welcome to attend; no prior writing experience needed.

The Church is pleased to welcome back Jeffrey Pegram, Tsalagi Nation (Cherokee) singer and composer and member of the Wolf Clan, for a presentation that explores the animal ‘clans’ and symbols of Native American traditions and narratives. What do our Indigenous neighbors mean when they say they are ‘turtle’ or ‘otter’? Come find out in the intimate and enlightening talk!

Pegram welcomes you to reconsider our wild four-legged brothers and sisters as family as we dive deep into the meaning of animal clans in Indigenous culture and the symbolic meaning of specific animals. For example, “wolves care about their families,” says Pegram. “They protect the group. Kids are their clan before they even arrive on the planet. They’re born into their families. Whatever their family is, they are naturally as well. If it’s wolf clan..they’re already wolves.”  Presenting creation stories and sharing traditional songs about the wolf, the bear, the eagle, and the turtle, Pegram invites audiences to reconnect with Mother Earth through rhythm and sound. Following the discussion, there will be a brief Q&A. 

This program is presented with the support of Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley and Impax Asset Management

What technologies, innovations, and research are underway for a biodiverse and sustainable future – and how might you support these efforts? Connecting with the themes of humanity’s relationship to nature at the core of The Ark, this provocative discussion explores the ways the private and public sectors are investing in the future of our environment. The Church is grateful to welcome David Loehwing, Head of Sustainability and Stewardship, North America, Impax Asset Management, and Kevin McDonald, Senior Policy Advisor, Nature Conservancy. The pair will be joined by moderator Anna Raginskaya, Partner, Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley, and take a deep dive into the technologies and plans currently being developed to protect biodiversity in the future.  

Loehwing’s expertise in sustainable investing, deeply engaged with these ideas is paired with McDonald’s experience working at the intersection of private and public interests coming together to build and protect the natural resources of our region.

What is love? Is it different than a Crush? Is there truth written in the lines of fiction? Esteemed authors Ada Calhoun and Jessica Soffer invite you to a discussion about their latest novels, Crush & This is a Love Story, and to dive with them into the sea of inquiry as they trace their lines of intersection and experience. Both books were two of the most discussed books of the year, with This is a Love Story breaking into the New York Times best-sellers list and Crush, being named a most anticipated book of 2025 by Time, Vulture, Bustle, Bloomberg, AARP, and Literary Hub. Following the discussion, there will be a brief Q&A with the authors. Books will be available for purchase and can be signed at the end of the event. 

Both works of fiction published earlier this year have an inspirational jump-off point rooted in the authors’ lives and deal with themes around partnership, love, loyalty, responsibility, and more. The nets in each book are cast wider than romantic love and allow readers to question the mechanics of love as it pertains to friendships, family, and professional colleagues.

Crush, published February 25^th, 2025 with Viking/Penguin is Calhoun’s debut work of fiction. The author of the celebrated memoir, Also a Poet, as well as cultural histories St. Marks Is Dead and Why We Can’t Sleep, brings her signature wit and humor to the gripping, sumptuous, zeitgeist-y novel about the state of marriage, midlife, and what happens when both are upended by the sudden, electrifying passion of a crush.

“Crush (Such a charged word) interrogates all that we think we know about love and soulmates, commitment and conviction while tracking the long struggle to fully become oneself and do right.” – Booklist [starred review]

This Is A Love Story, published February 4^th, 2025, through Dutton is Soffer’s sophomore novel and was received with enthusiastic critical acclaim like her debut novel There Will Be Apricots. Soffer brings a realistic, poetic, and delicate artistry to a moving family saga about a couple’s enduring love intermingling with their son’s feeling of alienation, a story of how hard life can be, and how the bond of love though tested can still endure in the face of inevitable challenges.

“Written with delicate and beautiful brush strokes, this is a love story of a long marriage, a love story of Central Park, a story of how hard life can be, and how the hard leaves its mark, but the love does too. Every once in a while I read a novel and think, what a gift. This is one of those books.” – Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward

New sessions of Open Studio – Monotype Printmaking are here! In response to increased popularity and demand, we are excited to announce that there are now 2 different levels for the program: INTRO and ADVANCED. This is an ADVANCED session for participants who have taken attended a minimum of TWO Open Studio – Monotype Printmaking sessions at The Church.

It’s a purrfect time to find a furry companion and pick up some pet-friendly tricks from our friends at the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF)! Join us as founding President, Jonathan McCann introduces the work of the non-profit, open-admission, no-kill shelter, and then turns the mic to volunteer and Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner Susan Denis for an afternoon program designed to give you the skills to calm and care for your pet. Bring your family and visit our parking lot, where the Southampton Animal Shelter’s mobile adoption unit will be set up, and SASF staff will be eager to help you find your new furry forever companion.  Unable to have a pet but still love animals? Come by and support the shelter and find out ways you can volunteer, foster, donate, and support the foundation.

July 27th Query: What can you learn from the people you disagree with?

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.

“In order to escape madness, I will live madly. I will risk my life, in order to save it.” – Cory Richards

Join us in giving a warm welcome to Cory Richards, the man who summited Everest without supplemental oxygen, the only American to climb one of the highest peaks in the world in the winter, and 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. The inspirational Renaissance man invites you to a deeply personal keynote that explores his most profound journey: navigating the depths of his own struggles with mental health. Following the talk, Cory will engage the audience in a thoughtful Q&A and host a book signing for his best-selling work.

Blending lived experience, hard-won insight, and breathtaking imagery and storytelling, Cory explores how depression, ADHD, anxiety, bipolar, and trauma –often labeled as disorders— can become the roots of creativity, grit, empathy, and innovation. He will unpack the myth of brokenness through the lens of mental health and neurodivergence, helping us see that the very real challenges of an unquiet mind can be transformed into the traits that drive bold exploration, artistic endeavors, and healing.

The best-selling author of The Color of Everything and BIPOLAR, welcomes you to an evening of hope, as we enter the mind and heart to receive a radical human perspective: “Our differences are not our downfall—they’re our design. And that design can become our most powerful gift. The goal isn’t to fix what’s broken. It’s to break the story that says we are.”

Embark on a sonic journey to Brazil with Grammy-nominated bassist Nilson Matta and acclaimed guitarist Chico Pinheiro. Together, they craft a lush, rhythm-rich experience exploring samba, bossa nova, and modern Brazilian jazz. Featuring intricate melodies and soulful improvisation, Brazilian Voyage is a celebration of Brazil’s musical heart and spirit.

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.

We are pleased to offer a exhibition tour with curator, Eric Fischl. Join us at 11 AM for a deeper look at our current exhibition, The Ark.

Bassist and composer Santi Debriano leads his electrifying ensemble Bembé Arktet, blending Afro-Caribbean rhythms, jazz improvisation, and spiritual textures. Known for his work with Archie Shepp, Randy Weston, and Freddie Hubbard, Debriano creates a vibrant, groove-filled journey through global jazz traditions. This performance promises deep musical interplay, propulsive rhythm, and bold originality.

The Arktet lineup, featuring some of today’s most adventurous improvisers, creates a sound world that is celebratory yet thoughtful, blending deep polyrhythms with modal exploration, folkloric melodies, and modern jazz vocabulary. Debriano’s compositions often draw from personal history, cultural memory, and his global travels, making every performance an act of storytelling as well as sonic innovation.

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.

“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.