On Saturday, July 30, the Watermill Center will host its 23rd annual Summer Benefit and Auction, one of the Hamptons’ most highly-anticipated events with new works by the center’s Summer International Program participants.
During the event, the Brooklyn-based Bruce High Quality Foundation arts collective will collaborate with the center for the first time to present “As We Lay Dying,” a set of more than 40 performances and installations that will be scattered throughout the center’s 8.5-acre grounds. During the cocktail hour, guests will be able to explore the grounds and experience avant-garde creations from established artists as well as participants in the center’s International Summer Program that come from more than 25 countries.
According to the Watermill Center, this presentation is intended to be “a reflection on coming to terms with the contemporary world through personal, political and aesthetic perspectives.”
Sound installations by English singer and visual artist Anohni will be adapted from her latest recordings and played about the grounds as well. Personally invited by the center’s founder and artistic director Robert Wilson, her music will complement the visual performances and set the tone for the night.
An installation by the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot will feature a 1920s electric chair atop a wooden base with a banner overhead that reads “Make America Great Again.”
After dinner during the after party, guests will be treated to a collaborative art installation by Mr. Wilson and world-famous rapper Kanye West.
Artist G.T. Pellizzi’s light installation “Constellation in Red, Yellow and Blue” that opened on June 11 will continue to be displayed on the exterior walls of the building. It will be on view at the center through August 28.
The event, titled “FADA House of Madness”—referencing Le Corbusier’s famous “La Maison du Fada” or “The Nutter’s House”—features a cocktail hour from 6 to 8 p.m. followed by dinner, live and silent auctions and an after party from 10 p.m. to midnight. More than 125 international esteemed and emerging artists donated pieces for the auction, including Francseco Clemente, Peter Lindbergh and Max Gimblett. Mr. Wilson has two pieces up for bid as well.
The proceeds from this event will benefit the center’s year-round artist residency and education programs that allow artists to explore their creativity and produce new works. This year marks the 10th anniversary for the Artist Residency Program.
The 23rd annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit and Auction will take place at the Watermill Center, 39 Water Mill Towd Road, Water Mill, on Saturday, July 30, from 6 p.m. to midnight. For ticket information and pricing, email benefit@watermillcenter.org or visit watermillcenter.org.
on Jul 25, 2016