Celebrating Creatives of Color in Sag Harbor

The East End can often be an expensive location for artists to make a name for themselves and it can also prove difficult to get attention from the art galleries here, especially for artists of color.

Recognizing the struggle of these lesser-known artists, a group of local art enthusiasts — including Andrea Cottman and Victoria Pinderhughes — began presenting an annual showcase three years ago designed to support artists and authors from the local African American community. The showcase is called “Celebrating Creatives of Color” and will take place on August 26 at a location in Sag Harbor Hills, one of the three historically Black communities in Sag Harbor that make up the SANS (Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest, and Ninevah) community.

“We want the overall community to get to know us,” Cottman explained. “We would like to be a vessel for new artists on the East End. There is space for them to be shown, whatever their genre.”

The idea for this event stemmed from the existence of diversity of creativity and artist ethnicity across the region. Pinderhughes has been a resident of Sag Harbor for 30 years and she noted that there has always been a rich history in the variety in subjects and artist identity in the area.

“It is a great opportunity for the members of our community and the broader public to see the variety and perpetualism that exists out east,” Pinderhughes said. “This is broad, without a specific focus on one medium.”

This annual event aims to celebrate artists and authors of color, and a portion of the proceeds will go toward supporting the Southampton African American Museum (SAAM). Located on North Sea Road in Southampton Village, SAAM is an active cultural and educational presence, and has exhibited several of the artists featured in this year’s Creatives of Color show. SAAM will also have a presence at the event, giving the museum an opportunity to gain additional support and awareness from the public on its role in the community.

“An important component is to provide support to an organization in our community. We are happy to recognize the Southampton African American Museum — a small, but powerful museum which would benefit greatly from increased support,” Pinderhughes noted. “They have great recognition but would benefit from additional funding and it is important to give support to someone else.”

With limited space at this venue, the organizers of this event — who are residents of the Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest and Ninevah communities — must restrict the number of artists they invite to show their work. This is one reason why the organizers decided to highlight those newer artists of color who are enthusiastic about the event.

“We network within the community and members of the committee actively go out to shows and exhibits and look for the artists,” Cottman explained. “There is no standard to be shown in our show. Once we find an artist, we reach out and get their information.”

Many artists are required to pay galleries or other venues out of their own pocket to publicize their work, but the organizers of Creatives of Color provide that. With this financial burden lifted, the artists are free to use their space to show their work, whatever the style or medium may be. Cottman explained that the committee for this event focuses on discovering and inviting each artist, not whether that artist’s work is impressionist or abstract.

“If you thought you had an artist, they would simply need to contact us, and as soon as we reach the maximum capacity that is typically when we stop bringing in artists,” Cottman explained.

Pinderhughes added that the enthusiasm of the artists also drives this event, as they will often suggest the names of their artists friends and help expand the network for the annual showcase. Both Pinderhughes and Cottman expressed their excitement for the artists and authors that will be joining them in Sag Harbor this year, as the outdoor event has grown greatly since its start in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic.

“We started this event three years ago, a group of us that live here in SANS,” Cottman reflected. “The artists of color on the East End do not have a lot of exposure and there are not a lot of galleries that exhibit their work and they have not had the opportunity to sell their work in our community.”

Three years ago, when COVID-19 arrived, typical daily life came to a stop. A silver lining to this unprecedented and challenging time was the opportunity for conversation.

“Coming out here for the summer season was like freedom because most of us lived in Manhattan and the more unnerving areas,” Cottman explained. “We were able to meet and be with each other and have conversations.”

For the first year of the Creatives of Color event, Pinderhughes was one of the participating artists and not yet a committee member. She just joined the committee this year and has worked with the other members to help extend the reach of this event. She noted that this summer, there will be several other nonprofit organizations joining and tabling their work, including The Church.

“I came in initially as an artist. In the midst of the pandemic, so many things changed that it became an opportunity to look at things differently and do things differently, so a lot of great things percolated and grew during that time,” Pinderhughes said.

The first year of Creatives of Color ended on a very positive note according to Cottman. She said that the response motivated the organizers to come together as a committee and gauge the level of interest for another show to be hosted the following summer.

“People responded with suggestions and different genres of art, and we built through word of mouth. The response from the press release and the greater Sag Harbor area just came because it’s not like getting dressed to go into a gallery — some just walked off the beach,” said Cottman. “It was all a very friendly and open atmosphere. Everyone was looking for an experience during and after the pandemic.”

Pinderhughes added that the general theme for this event is that there is so much to celebrate within the community, so they continue to host this event to celebrate the artists and authors of color who are here.

In addition to Cottman and Pinderhughes, the collective of art enthusiasts includes Beverly Granger, Gwendolyn Hankin, Jennifer Segre, Paula Taylor and Olivia White. Participating artists and authors are: Saleem Abdal-Khaaliq, Dr. Linda Anderson, Nancy Brandon, Akili Buchanan, Martin Butler, Michael Butler, Greta Chapin-McGill, Linsey Davis, Jeremy Dennis, Beverly Granger, Amy Henriques, Judith Henriques-Adams, Michael Jelks, Judy Jenkins, Djassi DaCosta Johnson, Barry Mason, Paula Nailor, John Pinderhughes, Victoria Pinderhughes, Paula Rainer, Beverly Nunes Ramsay, Ermani Silva, Kamoy Smalling and Sharon Van Liempt.

“Celebrating Creatives of Color” will take place on Saturday, August 26, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Harbor Avenue and Harboy Place in Sag Harbor Hills. The rain date is Sunday, August 27. There is a suggested donation of $5 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit SAAM. For more information about the artists and the event, go to cccsagharbor.com.