LongHouse Reserve’s Season Opener

LongHouse Reserve opens the 2022 season on April 30 with its annual “Rites of Spring” celebration. The garden will be blooming with spring flowers — nearly a million daffodils plus cherry trees, tulips, and magnolias, and many new works of art to find throughout the garden. New art in the garden includes special commissioned installations.

“LongHouse Reserve enters its 31st season with a vibrant program of art, design, music, dance, and horticulture, a tribute to our founder’s legacy of living with art in all its forms,” said Carrie Rebora Barratt, Director of LongHouse Reserve. “Our season celebrates land, place, and spirit, the coordinates at LongHouse that flow from the garden, the outdoor galleries, and the sanctuary created for peaceful contemplation and mindful gathering.”

“Right Here, Right Now,” the Ladd Brothers’ first-ever outdoor sculpture, a woven, cedar-shingled portal, will be introduced on opening day. The artists, Steven and William Ladd, will be at LongHouse all day on April 30 to talk with visitors about their piece and their belief in the extraordinary capacities of every human being and the awesome power of community.

A second special commission opens in early July, when the Taiwanese artist Cheng Tsung Feng will create “Fish Trap VI,” a magical, human-scale bamboo pavilion based on traditional, ancient baskets for storing fish. Visitors to LongHouse will be able to watch Feng during the installation with his team from Taipei and interact with him in bamboo workshops.

More new works of art on loan to LongHouse this year include nesting monuments from Maren Hassinger, a glowing bronze tree snag from Alexander Polzin, Sumi ink on canvas pictographs by Bjorn Amelan, a large lyrical piece from Niki de Saint Phalle, the “Shrine (Hellgate Keepers)” by Moko Fukuyama, a selection of works by Byung-Hoon Choi, and, come fall, a “Tree of Many Fruits” from Sam van Aken. These works join all of the LongHouse favorites, including works by Buckminster Fuller, Yoko Ono, Ai Wei Wei, Sol Lewitt and Willem de Kooning.

Performing arts return to LongHouse in August with the classical pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner playing under the stars on founder Jack Lenor Larsen’s birthday and master choreographer Abdul Latif creating a site-specific water ballet for the LongHouse pool.

Each of the artists featured this season will engage visitors in dialogue, conversation, and engaging education events for the entire community, including a new Saturday evening series on architecture, craft and design, a collaboration with the Architect’s Newspaper. LongHouse is partnering with Hampton Pride during Pride Month, starting with the first-ever parade in East Hampton on June 4, and a very special closing celebration on June 26. Special programming is also being created for Juneteenth and Family Day.

Walks in the garden are planned throughout the summer with horticulturist Holger Winenga. LongHouse will hold its annual summer party on July 23, a garden-wide gala with food and drink, music and art auction, and the annual Landscape Lunch on September 24. LongHouse Reserve is at 133 Hands Creek Rd., East Hampton. For the full schedule visit longhouse.org.