In a lot of ways, summer is the time to shine here in the Hamptons.
This also applies to our beloved cultural institutions found across the South Fork, who tend to up the ante when it comes to showcasing arts and entertainment-centric programming for the East End community to enjoy. From compelling art exhibitions to powerful live musical concerts, here we’re including some of our favorite places to quell your cultural thirsts this spring (and soon-to-be-summertime) season.
Guild Hall, 158 Main St., East Hampton, 631-324-0806
Revered for being one of the few multidisciplinary cultural institutions in the nation, Guild Hall’s lineup for this spring and summer is stunningly solid. Multi-faceted and drawing from all areas of the arts, programming includes community presentations from other local organizations, exhibitions from both East End-based and world-renowned artists, silent disco dance parties, celebrity hosted (and featured celebrity) musical performance acts, live screenings, art socials, fashion shows, lecture and conversations series, comedy shows and plenty of entertainment for the kids that won’t totally break your bank.
This weekend, starting on Friday, May 2, the Hampton Ballet Theatre School performs “Coppelia,” in the Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater while the gallery spaces welcome East Hampton-based artist Almond Zigmund as she kicks off her new exhibition “Wading Room” on Sunday, May 4. On May 16, Guild Hall and OLA of Eastern Long Island present “Fuenteovejuna: East End,” an exciting reimaging of Lope de Vega’s 17th century play. Performed entirely in Spanish, it tells the story of a community’s courageous stand against tyranny (talk about good timing!).
Highlights for the rest of the month include a silent disco dance party in the outdoor garden space on May 25, a Broadway concert series hosted by Sirius XM’s Seth Rudetsky featuring vocalist (and “Saturday Night Live” alum) Ana Gasteyer on May 31.
The beloved Clothesline Art Sale, a community and community-based artists tradition now in its 79th year at Guild Hall, is on Saturday, July 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Works range in price from $75 to $3,500 with all proceeds split 50/50 between the artist and Guild Hall.
For a complete list of upcoming events click here.
Arts Center at Duck Creek, 127 Squaw Road, East Hampton, 631-604-8464
Outside of East Hampton Village, nestled deep in Springs is Duck Creek, a nonprofit arts center located on Duck Creek Farm and housed within a 19th century barn/studio that once belonged to abstract expressionist painter John Little. Since opening about eight years ago, Duck Creek has presented over 180 exhibitions, concerts and special events, for free, that help with “showcasing diverse voices and fostering public engagement,” according to a press release from the community arts space.
“This year’s lineup is packed with dynamic exhibitions, live music and inclusive community events — all free and open to the public,” says Jess Frost, executive director at Duck Creek.
Among the most popular annual events is the annual Airing of the Quilts, now in its third year, that’s slated to take place Saturday, May 17. A beloved community tradition that welcomes the start of the season, all members of the public are invited to bring their quilts to display on the grounds for a day of storytelling and (literally) shaking the quilts out after a long winter. This year, there’s a theme to highlight the log cabin pattern, “extending the exhibition’s themes of history, home and shared narrative into the open air,” the arts center’s website says. The airing will be from noon to 5 p.m. with a rain date of Sunday, May 18.
Kicking off the season is Louise Eastman and Janis Stemmerman’s “Black and White and Read All Over” with an opening reception in the John Little Barn this Saturday, from 5 to 7 p.m. Also on Saturday, there’ll be a reception for Ralph Stout: Commuter Drawings, which is on view in the Little Gallery, from 5 to 7 p.m. Sara Stout, Ralph’s daughter, will hold a workshop on Sunday, May 4, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.Other future exhibitors and installations include Ralph Stout, Carol Saft, Daisuke Kiyomiya, Cal Fish, Becca Rodriguez, Alix Pearlstein and Company and Bruce Sherman. The 2025 Arts Center at Duck Creek music series, curated by jazz guitarist and former New York Times music critic Peter Watrous, will feature eight concerts. The first concert features Little Black Egg/75 Dollar Bill on Saturday, June 21, at 6 p.m.
Additionally, now in its second season, Duck Creek hosts its Family Night Series on Mondays in July and August from 5 to 7 p.m. Action includes live performances, collaborative parent-child art activities and free dinners generously provided by local restaurants.
Duck Creek’s season continues through September. Regular gallery hours are Thursdays through Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m.
Pollock-Krasner House, 830 Springs Fireplace Road, East Hampton, 631-324-4929
Just down the road from Duck Creek is the Pollock-Krasner House, set in the former home of world-renowned artists and husband and wife Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. Featuring rotating exhibitions of work by the pair as well as historical and contemporary artists of theirs, upcoming exhibitions for this summer include “Memory Image” by Elaine de Kooning and Eric Haze (starting tomorrow, April 30 and continuing until May 23). A talk with Haze will be on May 24, beginning at 6 p.m. For Memorial Day weekend, it’s “At Home with Rosalyn Drexler,” featuring a showcase of Drexler’s relationship and treatment of domestic spaces (very fitting considering the exhibition will be in a home, right?) begins on May 28. To check out the events calendar, click here.
Guided tours of the house are available Thursday through Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. while self-guided tours are Thursday through Sunday at 4 p.m. Visitation is by reservation only. Click here to plan your visit.
Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, 631-283-0967
“Community building through the arts.” That’s the motto at Southampton Arts Center, which has called a 127-year-old building on Jobs Lane home for the past dozen years. Led by executive director Christina Massaides Strassfield, hands-on art making happens here, in addition to myriad exhibitions, panel-led talks, screenings and musical performances.
Weekly paint and sips, figure drawing classes and watercolor painting classes are offered for adults, while children can enjoy inspiring and nurturing art-making classes on Saturdays (with their parents or guardians). Additionally, starting on June 17 and continuing through August, kids can enjoy Ramblin’ Dan’s Freewheelin’ Band on Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m., 10:45 a.m., or noon. Children up to age 5 are able to enjoy classes driven by playful musicality and skillful guitar work.
Don’t miss the tail end of the eighth installment of East End Collected, ending on Sunday, May 4, and featuring works from over 40 locally based artists. On Saturday, May 10, SAC collaborates with Hamptons Doc Fest for a screening of “My Mother the Architect” at 2 p.m., following the life of Israel-born Ada Karmi Melamede, one of the most accomplished female architects in the world. The film, directed by her daughter and former architect Yael Melamede, will be followed by a Q&A with the mother-daughter duo.
Coming up, on June 22, Hamptons JazzFest hosts a kickoff party at SAC featuring an all-star ensemble with cabaret-style seating, speeches and poetry. There’ll also be hors d’oeuvres and a wine bar. Runs from 4 to 6 p.m.
SAC is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission to SAC is free while the cost to attend special events is typically affordable. For a full list of events coming up at SAC, click here.
Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, 631-283-2118
For over 125 years, the world-famous Parrish Art Museum has fostered both local artists and artists from around the globe, paying careful attention to continuing to showcase and celebrate the relationships between the modern art world and the classics of the past, specifically as they relate to here on the East End. This year is no different, as upcoming exhibitions will include a survey of minimalist artist Sean Scully’s work ranging from 1981 to 2024, exploring his connection to a month spent in Montauk. A conversation with Scully and Parrish executive director Monica Ramierz-Montagut is Saturday, May 10.
Ongoing events include children’s pottery sessions, open studios for families, and after-school programs for students in grades kindergarten through fifth.
For a full calendar of events and programs, click here.
