Second Annual Holiday Maker’s Market at The Church

The second annual Holiday Maker’s Market will be happening at The Church in Sag Harbor this Saturday, December 10^th and Sunday, Decemeber 11^th from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Hamptons residents and visitors will have the opportunity to shop from 26 local makers and artisans, supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs while finding the most unique gifts for the holidays!

Not only will shoppers be able to find an assortment of exclusive items like jewelry, home goods, artisanal food, skin care, clothing, and more, but The Church will be transformed into a festive holiday environment with beautiful decorations designed and donated by Harmonia, Inc. There will be family fun taking place like painting workshops, and drinks and treats will be available to make the market merry and enjoyable for everyone as they shop and support the community.

Talena Mascali, Programming Manager at The Church spoke more about The Church’s mission, how the community can get involved and what she is most looking forward to about the upcoming Maker’s Market. The market is sure to be another successful year, and there will be so many talented vendors to discover on the East End this holiday season!

What is The Church’s mission?

TM: The mission of The Church is to foster creativity on the East End and to honor the living history of Sag Harbor as a maker village. 

How can the community get involved?

TM: The community can get involved by attending our programs and events! We aim to provide robust and diverse programming for all community members. We want everyone to feel welcome and represented at The Church; creativity isn’t limited to artists. We present programs that inspire creativity in all fields, whether art or science. 

Can you talk a bit about some of the events and fundraising efforts you hold throughout the year? 

TM: The Church presents everything from lectures, roundtables, workshops, conferences, screenings, book talks/signings, piano concerts, song festivals, jazz concerts, plays/theater, dance, etc. Often our events are in conjunction with our artists in the residency program; for example, we just held a stop-motion animation workshop for students with artist Laura Bellmont.

So far, we’ve held three fundraisers for The Church. Last fall, The Church held an Ungala in collaboration with the Sag Harbor Cinema. Last spring, we presented The Droll Ball, a droll-themed dance party, and séance was held in conjunction with author Iris Smyles’s book release of Droll Tales; the séance was led by local medium Monte Farber, who channeled Marcel Proust to discuss Smyles’s new book. The Church hosted MONSTER SMASH this past Halloween, a dance party with a theme of artists and works of art. The thought process behind our fundraisers is to keep things unique and fun with themes that excite people and allow for creativity! 

How was The Church first formed?

TM: The building was first formed in 1835 on High Street, then moved in 1864 to its current location on Madison Street! The Church opened in January 2021 with an enclosed residency with the Martha Graham Dance Company due to Covid-19. The organization officially opened its doors to the public in April 2021. 

What about the East End makes The Church’s mission possible?

TM: The Church’s mission is possible because it thrives off the vibrant artist community in Sag Harbor. Eric Fischl’s portraits of Sag Harbor Saints that live in The Church’s windows can attest to the long lineage of artists that have found a creative sanctuary in our small village. The mission of The Church is possible because Sag Harbor is filled with creatives and artists of all backgrounds. 

How do you choose the vendors for the market? Are there any vendors, in particular, you are excited about this year?

TM: The vendors are selected by Susan Nieland, who has been instrumental in administrating this year’s (and last year’s) market. This is the first Maker’s Market for most of the staff– I think everyone is excited to see all the different items from all the vendors and maybe do some shopping ourselves! 

Can you talk about some of the exhibitions at The Church?

TM: The Church has had three large-scale exhibitions: Road Rage, Empire of Water, and Threading the Needle. Some smaller-scaled exhibitions include: In Dialogue: At the Edge of the Sea, Afrofuturism: Padrãos Exhibition, Clear Out To Sea, and our current show, Hand Made: Guitars According To G.E. Smith and the American Artists’ Hand Archive. The exhibitions are thematic, and our Chief Curator, Sara Cochran, and Co-Founder Eric Fischl begin with a somewhat ambiguous theme allowing a wide range of visual representations and mediums depending on the artist’s interpretation of the theme. Our next show, Return To A Place By The Sea, will be the first show co-curated between Co-Founder April Gornik and Chief Curator Sara Cochran. 

What’s unique about the Holiday Maker’s Market? What sets it apart from other events The Church holds throughout the year?

TM: The Holiday Maker’s Market differs from our other programming because of how many artisans/makers are featured. Over 20 artisans and small businesses will sell their merchandise to the community. The weekend will be festive and full of holiday cheer as attendees peruse the many vendors occupying The Church’s primary and ground floors. Family fun includes a painting workshop organized and presented by Hamptons Community Outreach in support of their children’s Hamptons Art Camp; the display of Barrett’s Doll House– a one-of-a-kind hand-built three-story doll house, and delicious food and drink throughout the East End.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about The Church, the upcoming Maker’s Market, or otherwise?

TM: Our beautiful garden, library, and exhibition space are fully ADA-compliant, free, and open to the public year-round. Since our opening, we have received approximately 27,000 visitors – a testament to our necessity and relevance. Our exhibitions bring timely international artistic innovation and dialogue to a small community of exceptional artistic legacy. This profound history spans the practices of indigenous, Native arts several centuries ago, through the Abstract Expressionists of the mid-20th Century, the ongoing contributions of the Eastville/ SANS communities, and today with celebrated artists of the recent past and current moment.

To learn more about The Church, their exhibitions, events, and the Holiday Maker’s Market, visit https://www.thechurchsagharbor.org.