Guild Hall Has a Rocking Calendar of Events for Summer 2018

The real question is: What won’t Guild Hall be doing this summer? Between all the live performances, talks, workshops, film screenings and benefits combined with summer camps and KidsFest, the East Hampton institution has something for everyone this season.

Laurie Anderson
June 2–July 22
This exhibition will be divided into three components—Virtual Reality, Video Performance and drawings—that will highlight the various media Anderson works in. In the Woodhouse Gallery, visitors will see Chalkroom, a virtual reality work by Anderson and Hsin-Chien Huang in which the reader flies through an enormous structure made of words, drawings and stories. The Spiga Gallery will house a series of videos performances that will run continuously. The Moran Gallery will feature 10 large-scale drawings from her Lolabelle in the Bardo series.

Guitar Masters Festival
Thursday, July 5–Saturday, July 7
The inaugural Guitar Masters festival will be a three-day gathering celebrating the artistry of the guitar, with some of the music world’s finest talents, in a celebration of music, summer and exceptional musicianship. Performers will include Andy Summers, Ralph Gibson, G.E. Smith, Richard Thompson, Teddy Thompson, David Broza, Badi Assad (pictured above) and Brandon Ross. In addition, director Mary Jane Marcasiano will curate documentary films, there will be a talk by Ken Parker and a book signing with Galadrielle Allman.

2018 Clothesline Art Sale
Saturday, July 28, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
The Clothesline Art Sale showcases original works by East End artists. Nearly 400 artists enter the sale each year, with their work attracting thousands of art lovers looking for the next de Kooning, Pollock, or Sherman. Works range in price, with all proceeds split 50/50 between the artist and Guild Hall.

Béla Fleck
Sunday, August 5, 8 p.m.
Many say Béla Fleck is the premiere banjo player in the world. Others claim Fleck has virtually reinvented the image and sound of the banjo through a remarkable performing and recording career that has taken him all over the musical map and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. If you’re already familiar with him, you know that he just loves to play the banjo, and put it into unique settings.

Summer Gala
Friday, August 10, 5–11 p.m.
The event of the summer begins with a preview of the Ellsworth Kelly exhibition, then continues at a private location a short distance from Guild Hall with cocktails at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m. Don’t miss the dance afterparty that starts at 9 p.m. For ticket and information contact the Special Events Department at 631-324-0806, ext. 13 or 21.

Ellsworth Kelly in the Hamptons
August 11–October 8
Ellsworth Kelly’s sabbaticals in the Hamptons during 1960 and ’61 and a few years later, during 1968 and ’69, were pivotal episodes in his career, which spanned more than six decades. While ensconced on the East End during his late 30s and mid-40s, Kelly, one of America’s most significant abstractionists, painted two distinct bodies of work, made a large sculpture, drew plants and flowers, and photographed local farmyard barns. Surprisingly, the time he spent here has not been properly studied. The paintings, works on paper, photographs and sculpture on view will be downright gorgeous. Critically, they illuminate yet another important chapter in the history of American art rooted in the East End.

Find more events at guildhall.org. 58 Main Street, East Hampton. 631-324-0806.