The Body: The Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit

The BODY: The Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit will take place on Saturday, July 29th. The evening will feature performances, installations, exhibitions, cocktails, and a floating dinner. The benefit celebrates art and experimentation in support of the organization’s year-round programming. Featuring dynamic works by a roster of groundbreaking international artists, the evening will invite guests to immerse themselves in a curated series of installations and performances across The Watermill Center’s expansive property.

“Most of the works shown during the event will be developed on-site by the artists in the weeks leading up to the benefit,” shares Elise Herget, The Watermill Center’s Managing Director. “The artistic process is rarely discussed in favor of the final product, but, as an artist residency program, it is integral to daily life at The Watermill Center. It is a pleasure to allow our audience to see the product of our artists’ time with us.”

“the BODY” is presented by Van Cleef & Arpels and will honor American artist Simone Forti and the late philanthropist, Baroness Nina von Maltzahn. The evening features performances and installations by a dynamic roster of international artists, including exhibitions by Guatemalan artist Regina José Galindo and Italian artist Alessandro Di Pietro. Galindo’s “The Body” traces her twenty-year career in performance art and poetry. Curated by Noah Khoshbin, the exhibition at The Watermill Center serves as an overview of her influential and award-winning works, including pieces that have received the coveted Venice Biennale Golden Lion for Promising Young Artist. Regina José Galindo is a recipient of the

“the BODY” includes projects and presentations by The Watermill Center’s summer Artists-in-Residence, including Thomas Anderson (United States), Yunseo Choi (Republic of Korea, Germany), Afra Al Dhaheri (United Arab Emirates), Evelyn Dugan (United States), Xuetong Cecilia Feng (China, Germany), Casilda Madrazo (Mexico), Katimari Niskala (Finland), Sorin Prodea (Romania), Johan O.R. Sterner (Norway, Denmark), Ismael Reyes Romero (Chile), Anthony Roques (France), Dovydas Strimaitis (Lithuania, France), Lyuba Todorova (Bulgaria), and Agathe Vidal (France). Additional performances will be mounted by Ola Maciejewska (Poland, France) and a large-scale performance by Regina José Galindo across The Center’s west terrace. 

“the BODY” will close with a workshop restaging of Robert Wilson’s “Ubu,” inspired by Alfred Jarry’s 1896 classic, “Ubu Roi,” a critique of war and totalitarianism. 

For more information about The Watermill Center, its Artists-in-Residence, and its upcoming public programs, visit www.watermillcenter.org.