Over 1,000 Guests Expected During “Performance Art Extravaganza” At Watermill Center

The Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation will present the 24th annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit and Auction, Fly Into the Sun, presented by Van Cleef and Arpels, on Saturday, July 29th, at 6 p.m.

This year’s benefit will honor Laurie Anderson and Isabelle Huppert and also serve as a tribute to Lou Reed. Fly Into the Sun will feature installations, placed throughout the Center’s eight and a half acre property. The installations will be curated in tribute to Reed’s life and work.

Following dinner, Laurie Anderson will perform The Wildebeests, a poem with musical accompaniment, as well as a surprise performance. Anderson frequently collaborated with Reed and is best known for her multimedia presentations and innovative use of technology. Anderson is a writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist. In 1982 Anderson received a Guggenheim Fellowship and in 2017 she received a Wolf Prize in the Arts.

Isabelle Huppert, a French actress, recently received a Golden Globe, Gotham Award, Spirit Award, and an Oscar nomination for her performance in Elle. She has had an extensive stage career and has worked under the direction of Robert Wilson in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando.

All benefit proceeds will support The Watermill Center’s year-round residency and education programs that provide artists with the opportunities to develop new work. The annual Watermill Summer Benefit unites all the worlds of art into one, including performance, music, theatre, design, architecture, and fashion. The Center invites over 1,000 guests to experience a world by over 100 different artists of different backgrounds and disciplines.

Tickets range from $650 to $50,000 and can be purchased online.

The Watermill Center was founded in 1992 by Robert Wilson and serves as an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts supporting young and emerging artists. The Center offers a year-round residency program and an international summer program. Throughout the year the Center also offers education programs, exhibitions and events to the public as well as tours of the Center’s grounds and sculpture gardens.

The Watermill Center is located at 39 Water Mill Towd Road in Water Mill. For more information call 212-253-7484 or visit www.watermillcenter.org.