New Parrish Art Museum Series To Explore Design And Building Issues And Solutions

This winter, the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill will debut Inter-Sections: The Architect in Conversation, a new series that invites architects to trade ideas and insights with the top visionaries from a plethora of areas. The dialogues will allow leading experts to explore the community’s concerns in regards to building and design, and speak about what we can do to create a sustainable future on the East End and beyond. The discussions will cover cultural, infrastructural, environmental, social, and geopolitical challenges.

“Inter-Sections will take architects beyond the focus of their discipline and engage them in conversations with practitioners and thinkers from other fields,” explained Corinne Erni, Curator of Special Projects.

The new series will include a variety of programming throughout the year, such as talks, panels, symposia, workshops, think tanks, and special projects that will promote a candid conversion between architects and professionals in the fields of art, landscape design, technology, science, new media, academia, government, public policy, and others.

The inaugural Inter-Sections: The Architect in Conversation will take place on Friday, March 3rd at 6 p.m. The premiere will feature internationally acclaimed architect Preston Scott Cohen and Parrish Art Museum Director Terrie Sultan, who will give attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the process of conceptualizing and constructing a building that will house art, as well as how museums can up the ante by incorporating unusual approaches of showcasing art.

Cohen serves as the Chair of the Department of Architecture and the Gerald M. McCue Professor of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His expansive resume includes designing the Herta and Paul Amir Building, a revolutionary masterpiece that is an international landmark situated in the heart of Tel Aviv at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Sultan, who has been with the Parrish since 2008, brings more than 30 years of experience as a museum professional. She oversaw the museum’s transition from its Southampton Village location to the new 34,400 square foot Herzog & de Meuron building in Water Mill in 2012. Sultan supervised the extensive $30 million project from design conception through completion of construction.

Following the talk, Cohen will sign copies of his book, Lightfall: Genealogy of a Museum: Paul and Herta Amir Building, Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

The next scheduled Inter-Section will feature a screening of Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, in collaboration with the Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival. On Sunday, April 30th at 2 p.m., watch as writer and urban activist Jane Jacobs battles to save historic New York City neighborhoods during the 1960s as urban planner Robert Moses attempts to drastically alter the area. Attendees can expect a Q&A with a few special guests after the viewing.

On Friday, June 9th, Inter-Sections will celebrate Landscape Pleasures, the Parrish’s annual garden symposium. During the lecture, architects and landscape designers will focus on questions like: Is there a way to complete a landscape design that connects human activity, natural forces, and the built environment? What can be done to execute low-impact and regenerative projects? How can architects and landscape designers collaborate with the community to connect with nature’s elements in innovative and exciting ways?

Later in the year, a symposia on water and climate change, in conjunction with the Parrish special exhibition Platform: Clifford Ross Light | Waves, will take place. On Friday, September 22nd, the museum will host artists, architects, designers, policymakers, farmers, fishermen, technologists, and scientists from the East End and beyond, who will speak about water as an artistic inspiration, and how climate change is threatening the precious resource. The event will encompass panels, talks, and World Café workshops, with an emphasis on cross-disciplinary exchanges and collaborations, as well as a look at how experts in the creative and scientific fields can work together to help solve water management and protection issues.

“The Parrish will become a hub for innovative ideas that stimulate thinking and debate about the critical design and building issues of our times, with a focus on the East End put in broader, global contexts and perspectives,” noted Erni.

Admission to the series is $12 per event, but free for members, children, and students.

Parrish Art Museum is located at 279 Montauk Highway in Water Mill. For more information, call 631-283-2118 or visit parrishart.org.