The Watermill Center Launching iCAROS: The Inaugural Artists’ Table Dinner

This autumn, The Watermill Center will host iCAROS: the inaugural Artists’ Table Dinner. Presented by Roger Ferris + Partners and curated by Watermill Alum Carlos Soto, the debut gathering on Saturday, November 9 will encompass a locally sourced, seasonal menu, as well as a performance experience spearheaded by 2019 Watermill Artist-in-Residence, Lynsey Peisinger.

“At Watermill, the most important memories are of the meals that separate the day into acts,” reflected evening curator, and Watermill Alum, Carlos Soto.

The Center’s Artists’ Table Dinner “is a celebration of and for the year-round community.” The evening will unite local creatives, foodies, purveyors, and art enthusiasts to commemorate the Hamptons’ rich artistic legacy and food scene. Proceeds from the happening will champion Watermill’s vision to establish and nurture an ongoing, fulfilling relationship between its Artists-in-Residence and the East End. Since its founding in 1992, The Watermill Center has embraced the long-held tradition of utilizing a community meal – to not just highlight the art-making process, but bring together those showcased at the Center and East Enders.

“Mealtimes are moments for discussion, introductions, sharing and rare moments of frivolity; where we are truly a community before breaking off to our respective activities throughout the day,” Soto noted. “We laugh together and are uncomfortable together—but feeling uncomfortable amplifies an experience in the same way wine makes the meal all the more delicious and memorable.”

Soto, a New York City-based director, designer and performer, has led performances at Columbia University, The Guggenheim Museum, Kampnagel Hamburg, Pace Gallery, Palais de Tokyo, and Performa 09, and has taken part in Artist-in-Residences at Willem de Kooning Studio, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York Live Arts and The Watermill Center. Soto has served as associate director and designer for Solange, most recently working with the recording and performance artist on her album When I Get Home, and the performance Witness! at the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg. He has also worked with director Zack Winokur and AMOC (American Modern Opera Company) and they will reunite in 2020 for Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George at Los Angeles Philharmonic and Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde at Santa Fe Opera. Additionally, Soto has collaborated with Watermill founder Robert Wilson since 1997, as a performer, designer, and assistant on multiple projects in the U.S. and Europe. They will join forces again for Wilson’s staging of Händel’s Messiah at the Mozartwoche, Salzburg in January 2020.

Peisinger is a performer, choreographer and director. Last year, she co-directed with Elizabeth Diller the Mile Long Opera, a citywide public engagement endeavor that enlisted 1,000 singers who took center stage on The High Line in New York. Her stagings have also been presented at C24 Gallery in New York, Fondation Beyeler in Basel, SESC Pompeia in Sao Paulo, Performa Paço at Paço das Artes in Sao Paulo, Robert Wilson’s 2nd Annual Berlin Benefit, Hyeres Fashion and Photography Festival, and Kunstfest Weimar. She served as assistant director on Wilson’s Zinnias: The Life of Clementine Hunter and The Old Woman.

Admission to iCAROS: the inaugural Artists’ Table Dinner starts at $250. The event will take place from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

The Watermill Center is located at 39 Water Mill Towd Road in Water Mill. For more information, visit www.watermillcenter.org.