Guild Hall

Last Monday Guild Hall celebrated the 40th Annual Academy of the Arts Achievement Awards Dinner at the iconic Rainbow Room in New York City. The event, which recognizes the lifetime achievements of artists, creative professionals, and individuals who passionately support the arts, honored Carl Bernstein and Katie Couric, each with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Media & Communications, and arts patron Leila Straus was recognized with the Special Award for Leadership and Philanthropy. The Academy of the Arts is a community of over 200 of the nation’s most accomplished artists and creative professionals who lend their talent and expertise to Guild Hall. Board Chairman Marty Cohen and Executive Director Andrea Grover welcomed guests and shared highlights from the upcoming season, and the newest Academy inductees, actor Victor Garber, artist Sarah Sze, and author Colson Whitehead, were presented with medals by Academy President, Susan Stroman.  Before dinner was served, guests were treated to a rousing performance by Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of more than 60 women and non-binary singers, who join together to breathe joy and song into the resistance, and to uplift and center women’s voices. Other notable attendees included Academy members Peter Marino, April Gornik, Eric Fischl, Ross Bleckner, Daryl Roth, Susan Lacy, Joseph M. Pierce, Almond Zigmund, Arcmanoro Niles, Alan Patricof, and New York Times food & wine writer Florence Fabricant, as well as Barbara Guggenheim, Christie Brinkley, Tovah Feldshuh, Jann Wenner, artists Jason Bard Yarmosky, Philippe Cheng, Bastienne Schmidt, and Evan Yee, choreographers Gina Gibney and Roderick George, and special guest, Academy co-founder, Sherrye Henry. Congratulations to this year’s honorees and inductees! 📸 @bfa @jessicadalenephotography

𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖! We are thrilled to present our 2026 Summer Season with the theme of 𝗜𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀 & 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, featuring stunning exhibitions and a lineup of exciting programs spanning dance, music, theater & cabaret, humor, talks, film, community & family fun, and so much more. Browse the categories pictured and visit GuildHall.org/Programs to view the full schedule. And don’t forget, members save 10% on all tickets, so we encourage you to join today via the link in our bio. We look forward to seeing you at Guild Hall! ••• 📸 • Aug. 9: An Evening with Fran Lebowitz, 8/9. Photo: ©Brigitte Lacombe • Ross Bleckner: Never The Less on view 8/9-8/25. Pictured: Ross Bleckner, 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥, 1994. Oil on canvas, 10 x 8 inches. Image courtesy of the artist. • July 17: Dance Theatre of Harlem. Photo: ©Nir Arieli • Aug. 10: Itzhak Perlman and the Summer Music School Orchestra. Photo courtesy the artist. • July 5: Pick Like a Girl with Alison Brown & Friends. Photo: ©Russ Harrington • July 19: Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens: Celebrating 20 Years. Photo: ©Joan Marcus • July 26: John Waters: Going to Extremes. Photo: ©Greg Gorman • Aug.23: Neil deGrasse Tyson in Star Talk Live. Photo: ©Julia Blumberg • August 24: Hamptons Institute with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Photo: Carl Timpone/©BFA • June 21: Stirring the Pot with Padma Lakshmi. Photo: ©Inez and Vinoodh • HamptonsFilm SummerDocs. Photo: ©Jessica Dalene • Sept. 2: KidFest: Up In Arms—Pirate Song. Photo: ©Richard Termine/92Y • Silent Dance Party. Photo: ©Jessica Dalene

Swipe to see what’s coming up for Memorial Day Weekend at Guild Hall! Click the link in our bio to view all of our upcoming programs, exhibitions, and events.

Looking back on GIBNEY Company and Lucinda Childs in residence at Guild Hall this past January ahead of their new In-Process Presentation next weekend, Saturday, May 23, at 7 PM. Don’t miss Lucinda Childs, a defining force in American Dance and GIBNEY’s Resident Choreographer, as they offer an in-process presentation of excerpts from a newly commissioned work, ahead of its world premiere in January 2027. Get tickets and learn more using the link in our bio. Video: Julian Alvarez

Introducing Third Thursdays… Starting next week, Thursday, May 21, we are happy to bring you Third Thursdays! On the third Thursday of every month from now through September, enjoy extended museum hours, live music in the Minikes Garden from 5:30-7:30 curated by Carlos Lama, and exhibition-related programs at 7:30. Thursday, May 21 brings Jake Lear & The Kings followed by an exhibition walkthrough and artist talk with Claire Watson. Click the link in our bio to learn more and purchase tickets. Concessions, including wine, beer, cocktails, and light refreshments will be available for purchase from Louise & Howie’s Coffee Bar and Cart. 📸 @lindsaymorrisphoto

Swipe to see what’s happening this week at Guild Hall! Click the link in our bio to view all of our upcoming programs, exhibitions, and events.

Swipe to see what’s happening this week at Guild Hall! Click the link in our bio to view all of our upcoming events.

New exhibition opening this weekend! “Claire Watson: Re-Paired” opens to members on Saturday, May 2, with an exhibition preview at 12 PM and a reception from 6-8 PM. Claire Watson is the 2023 Top Honors recipient of the 84th Artist Members Exhibition, selected by Virginia Lebermann, cofounder and board president of Ballroom Marfa. This exhibition marks Watson’s first major institutional solo presentation on the East End of Long Island, where she has maintained a home and studio in Water Mill for three decades. Watson’s sculptures and mixed-media assemblages are composed from found materials. In her recent work, she deconstructs salvaged leather garments and reconfigures them into new formal compositions using traditional sewing and pattern-making techniques. These works highlight the tactile and structural qualities of leather, transforming utilitarian objects into forms with renewed expressive potential. The traces of wear embedded in the garments suggest histories of the body and labor, which Watson refashions into abstract meditations on human form and presence. The exhibition will be on view until July 19, 2026. Galleries are open Thursday-Sunday, 12-5 PM. Claire Watson, “Mean Time,” 2025 (detail). Pattern pieces and remnants of two pairs of leather pants, thread, canvas, and gesso. 72” x 144” Image courtesy of the artist.

New exhibition opening this weekend! “Arcmanoro Niles: Forgotten Words I Never Got to Say” opens to members on Saturday, May 2, with an exhibition preview at 12 PM and a reception from 6-8 PM. This exhibition traces a decade of evolution in the artist’s practice since his 2016 residency at Guild Hall, the inaugural program of our Artist in Residence initiative. Known for his saturated color, reflective surfaces, and emotionally charged scenes drawn from daily life and memory, Niles has developed a distinctive visual language that challenges conventions of portraiture. Early in his career, he became frustrated with traditional methods of rendering skin tone, finding they lacked the depth and dimension he observed in real life. This led him to experiment with color—layering pinks, oranges, and purples to evoke an internal light. His chiaroscuro-like approach reveals both a dedication to craft and a palette that defines his work across portraits, domestic interiors, and landscapes. Guild Hall is pleased to present a selection of works from the past decade, juxtaposing recent and earlier pieces which highlight the growth and complexity of Niles’s practice. The exhibition will be on view until July 19, 2026. Galleries are open Thursday-Sunday, 12-5 PM. Arcmanoro Niles, “3AM My Mind Won’t Rest Again (From a Distance I Look Organized and Brave),” 2024 (detail). Oil, acrylic, and glitter on canvas, 23 x 35 inches. Collection of Jonathan Travis. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Seoul, and London.

IN-PROCESS: HOLLAND ANDREWS AND YUNIYA EDI KWON—HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LOOK AT NOTHING  Thursday, April 30, 7 PM Holland Andrews and yuniya edi kwon’s Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence develops How does it feel to look at nothing, an experimental opera and pre-origin story of a Deity of Nothingness. Blending composition, improvisation, movement, and ritual, the work explores the forces and conditions that compel life’s emergence, and the spiritual act of meaning-making during epochs of decay. Use the link in our bio to purchase tickets!

This is the final chance to see Liberty Labs: A Decade of Design, closing Sunday, April 19. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM, with Family Day from 1-3 PM Saturday, April 18. Liberty Labs: A Decade of Design marks the 10th anniversary of the Liberty Labs Foundation, co-founded by Evan Yee, who grew up in Sag Harbor and is now based in Brooklyn. The exhibition brings together work by all the collective’s members, past and present, reflecting on their shared commitment to art, design, and community. Presented in the Marks Family South Gallery, the exhibition draws inspiration from the room’s history as a salon, a space where art, music, and conversation once converged. In that spirit, A Decade of Design invites visitors to engage directly with the works. Select furniture pieces may be used, sound elements will activate the space, and occasional public events will further animate the gallery, blending art, design, and social interaction. Evan Yee leads the exhibition design, presenting functional objects and artworks from 33 current and former members. Together, they exemplify a creative community where collaboration and experimentation thrive—a living, working, and evolving studio environment. Participating artists:
Alara Alkan, Alex Sagnella, Andrea Steves, Annika Bowker, Bowen Liu, Bryan Johnson, Charlie Recknagel, Cherylyn Ahrens, Chris Cushingham, Chris Gentry, Cissy Huang, Cody Campanie, Evan Jewett, Evan Yee, Jason Hernandez, Jason Pfaeffle, Jess Chace, Joel Seigle, John Koten, Jon Billing, Julien Leyssene, Kelsey Knight Mohr, Maggie Pei, Michael Yates, Pat Keesey, Pat Kim, Reed Hansuld, Sam Kallman, Shengning Zhang, Thomas Breglia, Thomas Yang, Timothy Furstnau, Todd Higuchi This exhibition is organized by Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts, with support from Philippa Content, museum manager and registrar and Claire Hunter, museum coordinator and curatorial associate.

This is the final chance to see Jason Bard Yarmosky: Time Has Many Faces closing Sunday, April 19. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM, with Family Day from 1-3 PM Saturday, April 18. Jason Bard Yarmosky’s work centers on themes of aging, time, and memory—subjects the artist has been fascinated with since childhood. Born in 1987 in New York, Yarmosky developed a connection to these ideas through his close relationship with his grandparents, who were six decades his senior. Growing up, he often visited museums where he noticed the historical aspect of idealized beauty, which often emphasized youth, yet he yearned for a varied perspective that reflected a broader personal experience. For over ten years, his grandparents were the subjects of his portraits, helping him explore the complex aspects of growing older including vulnerability, care, wisdom, and humor. These works became a celebration of aging, resisting cultural tendencies that diminish joy, individuality, and dignity in later life. Through his practice, Yarmosky mixes traditional 17th- and 18th-century painting techniques with contemporary imagery, incorporating dreamlike elements, theatrical costume, and staged interiors that heighten a sense of intimacy. The use of costuming functions as a throughline in his work: it both conceals and reveals, able to disguise or bring out aspects of identity. The play of masks, uniforms, and imagined roles underscores how play is often discouraged as one grows older, yet reclaimed in the freedom of later life. Yarmosky’s paintings move between tenderness and absurdity, between the heaviness of mortality and moments of celebration. His imagery suggests that humor and imagination persist even in the face of loss, and that through portraiture, costume, and the space of the interior, stories of aging are both preserved and transformed. Yarmosky has visited the East End of Long Island since early childhood. Long known as an area of respite, he returned to his family’s home—architect Andrew Geller’s iconic Double Diamond House—in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, following the passing of his grandparents, as a restorative experience for his life and practice.