Summer At LongHouse

The season has arrived at LongHouse Reserve, the 16-acre sculpture garden and nature reserve in East Hampton, and in the coming months, there is a lot happening there for visitors to enjoy.

After designing displays for international outposts of Hermès, Nike, and Loewe, Taiwanese artist Cheng Tsung Feng (b.1987) first American commission, “Fish Trap VI,” is coming to LongHouse. The human-scale bamboo pavilion synthesizes the essence of Feng’s local fishing community. The piece was built in Taipei, deconstructed, shipped, and will be reconstructed at LongHouse from July 9 to July 13, where visitors are welcome to come and witness the process. Inspired by a trip to the East End last fall, Feng’s sculptural pavilion is partly fabricated with LongHouse-grown bamboo. The artist studied traditional bamboo techniques, including learning to make traditional fish traps with the Thao tribe at Sun Moon Lake, before engaging them for his own designs.

When LongHouse Founder Jack Lenor Larsen died in 2020, he left instructions that LongHouse continue as a convening space for global conversation in art and craft. On the morning of July 13, Feng will lead a bamboo workshop inviting the local arts community to build miniature fish traps weaving by hand and encouraging them to add their own personal designs.

Conversations with artists and thinkers have a long history at LongHouse Reserve — Larsen was a great conversationalist — and a new series entitled “LongHouse Talks” continues this tradition. Over the 2022 season, LongHouse Reserve Director Carrie Rebora Barratt will lead conversations with artists, architects, designers, dancers, musicians and other thought partners in living with art in all of its forms. Artist duo, The Ladd Brothers (Steven and William Ladd), sculptor Alexander Polzin, architect Lee Skolnick and artist Bjorn Amelan have already joined LongHouse this season.

Still to come this season are “LongHouse Talks” with Michele Oka Doner on July 9, Glenn Adamson on July 10, Moko Fukuyama, Edwina von Gal, Marren Hassinger, Fitzhugh Karol, and Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner on August 5. More dates to be announced.

Wellness is also a priority at LongHouse this season with programs that include Forest Bathing, Sound Baths and Meditations. This summer take your body, mind and spirit out of the box and feel a sense of limitlessness.

Sundays from 10 to 11 a.m. will be Forest Bathing with certified instructor and healing practitioner Jason Amis. He will lead a meditative walk through the trees and bamboo forest. Wear comfortable clothing and walking shoes. Tickets are $25 (free for members).

Sound and Silence Meditations will take place Saturdays (July 16, August 6, September 3, October 1) from 9 to 10 a.m. Experience meditation for self-healing and exploration at LongHouse with Adriana Barone. By using the modalities of meditation and sound healing, participants will begin to practice compassionate self-awareness. Movement and sound, sound and silence, combined with group energy all contribute to expanding habitual perspectives. Tickets are $30 ($25 members).

Happening every Monday night from July 11 to August 29 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. will be Twilight Tours at LongHouse Reserve. Limited to a small group of 15, these strolls are led by an experienced docent. While leisurely enjoying the property at dusk, participants will see both plantings and art in a most favorable light. Tickets start at $35 ($30 for members).

On Saturday, July 23, at 6 p.m., the annual LongHouse Reserve Summer Benefit will offer guests an opportunity to wander the entire garden — wide open spaces and hidden groves — and seek out beautiful sculptures and stunning plants, while enjoying inspiring music, drinks and food.

The makers of this season’s new works will be in attendance. Steven and William Ladd will tell the stories that led to “Right Here, Right Now,” and how the sculpture represents their practice in love and kindness. Cheng Tsung Feng will be in from Taiwan, welcoming all into “Fish Trap VI,” a portal dedicated to the local heritage, and a pavilion in one. Moko Fukuyama will engage guests with her “Hell Gate Keepers,” Fitzhugh Karol will lead them to “Friendship,” his group of immense totems, honoring the spirit of trees, and Bjorn Amelan’s sumi ink paintings summon evocative language and stories. Past honorees, visionaries, artists, thinkers will also be among the guests.

Keeping with tradition, there will be flowing specialty cocktails to have in hand while listening to the Cherry Bombs, Joy Jan Jones, reggae and many more musical artists. There will be an auction of works by artists from across the East End and around the globe. All proceeds go to LongHouse’s diverse educational outreach, community programming, and the work to keep the grounds open to all. Tickets for the benefit start at $500.

Finally, save the date for the LongHouse Landscape Awards Luncheon, honoring the finest designers, thinkers and doers in the field of horticulture on Saturday, September 24.

LongHouse Reserve is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Visits are by timed ticket reservations only. For tickets to all events, visit longhouse.org. LongHouse Reserve is at 133 Hands Creek Road in East Hampton.