The Watermill Center Announces Community Day

The Watermill Center announces its spring Community Day, offering the local community the chance to experience The Center’s grounds as its Artists-in-Residence do — as a space to explore, unwind, and get inspired, on Saturday, June 4, 2022. Community Day will feature workshops, installations, and performances by Brianna L. Hernández Baurichter, Andrea Cote, Tamar Ettun, Nile Harris, and Erica-Lynn Huberty. Guests are also invited to explore The Watermill Center’s ten-acre manicured grounds and gardens through a self-guided tour and scavenger hunt.

“The grounds and gardens serve as a constant source of inspiration for our Artists-in-Residence,” shares Elka Rifkin, Director of The Watermill Center. “Artists from across the globe are able to take advantage of the natural beauty of the East End and the unique landscape here at The Center. Being able to open up our property to the community to discover our grounds through the eyes of artists is a truly magical experience that we’re excited to offer.”

The day’s offerings include an installation and performance by Watermill Alum Tamar Ettun; a live performance directed by Nile Harris, who will be in residence at The Center this Spring; a dance and movement workshop with artist Andrea Cote, a Hampton-Bays based artist, and educator; a site-specific installation by Bridgehampton artist Erica-Lynn Huberty; and an exhibition of work by Brianna L. Hernández Baurichter, who will be in residence at Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio this summer. The afternoon will also include a land acknowledgment ceremony by Shane Weeks and Kelly Dennis from the Shinnecock Nation, and live music by The Jam Session.

Tamar Ettun, a New York-based artist, will present “Lilit the Empathic Demon,” a textile installation activated by performance. Inspired by empathic demon trapping rituals from ancient Babylon, Ettun weaves together benevolent demonology, traditionally female labor practices, and magic in a hands-on ritual. Using large hand-dyed sails, religious headcovers, and hospital textiles, the installation and performance reimagines new ways to heal from illness and grief to empower audiences.

Nile Harris will present a preview of his latest work, “this house is not a home,” which sets an improvised physical score inside of a sound-responsive bounce castle. Interweaving sonic feedback as a malleable material, the unique vocal utterances of the cast create a biometrically unique musical composition that cannot be repeated. “this house is not a home” is made in collaboration with performer Malcolm-x Betts and composer slowdanger.

Andrea Cote will lead a movement and dance workshop inspired by themes of time, space, and slowness in Robert Wilson’s work and at The Watermill Center. Working with the natural environment and curated gardens at The Center, Cote will host free-form workshops engaging participants in meditative and collective actions.

Erica-Lynn Huberty’s work, “Somewhere Or Other We are Found: Pride Installation,” expands on her “Veil and Memoria” series, utilizing fiber arts and needlework traditions for a site-specific installation on The Watermill Center’s grounds. Pulling inspiration from the poem “Somewhere or Other” by Christina Georgina Rossetti, Huberty investigates our relationship to grief and how it changes over time, exploring loss and memory through her woven and stitched pieces.

Brianna L. Hernández Baurichter will show work from her “Aquí Descansamos” series, which presents a living cemetery composed of floral sculptures mirroring the shapes of common grave markers. The work explores the complex layers of end-of-life care, the process of dying, grief, and mourning by pulling from her lived experiences and cultural research.

Registration for Community Day is required. Tickets start at $25. The Center offers reduced pricing for those needing financial assistance.