Southampton Town Arts Calendar On Web

A meeting of the Southampton Arts and Culture Committee on Tuesday, September 11, focused on the group’s new live calendar for arts organizations on the town’s website, and an upcoming free bus trip planned for September 29, hosted by Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, with stops at the Watermill Center and the Madoo Conservancy.

The evening began with a traditional welcoming song from committee member, artist, and Shinnecock member Shane Weeks on the lawn in front of town hall. Then the group held a procession into the building.

One of the reasons that the committee — which features an all-star roster of local arts members representing all media — started an online calendar in conjunction with the town, is so that the many arts organizations on both forks would be able to better organize their special events to not conflict or coincide.

That calendar is now up and running. The committee chair, Hope Sandrow, put out a call to all local not-for-profit arts organizations to put their events up on the site.

The method, for now, is a bit convoluted: Arts non-profits need to email Jay Schneiderman at jschneiderman@southamptontownny.gov and copy Charles Certain at ccertain@southamptontownny.gov, requesting a user’s agreement. Once that is filled out and sent back, the organization’s events can be added to the calendar, which can be viewed at www.shacc.art.

Jane Iselin, president emeritus of Madoo and a committee member, said she initially got involved with SACC to foster the calendar. “My great interest was in the development of the calendar, involving all the arts groups from Riverhead to Orient Point to Montauk. We found out there were a lot of them,” she said at the meeting. “We have set up the mechanism of the calendar, now it’s getting the organizations to use it.”

The committee also discussed an upcoming planned art and culture themed community day trip — a bus trip that is free to members of the public. The town, according to Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, who is also the liaison for the committee, has donated the use of one of its buses, which seats about 20, for the inaugural trip.

The September 29 tour is hosted by Schneiderman and is guided by Sandrow. It includes meeting at the Southampton Town Hall parking lot at 10 AM, followed by a tour of the Watermill Center led by director Elka Rifkin and a conversation with artist-in-residence Karol Karol. A brown bag lunch follows at Madoo Conservancy, followed by a personal tour with director Alejandro Saralegui.

Those interested are asked to RSVP to Schiavoni through his email, tjschiavoni@southamptontownny.gov.

“The point is to try to get people who don’t go to arts institutions normally,” Schiavoni said.

Elka Rifkin agreed. “It’s a really great idea, and I’d like to see it happen more than once. You’ll build interest in it over time, as you continue to offer it up,” she said.

“There are so many institutions who would welcome this. I want to see it go forward. But,” she acknowledged, “there are some kinks to be worked out.”

Arts non-profits can find out more by visiting the Southampton Town website and looking under Government, Advisory Boards and Committees for the Southampton Arts and Cultural Committee.

bridget@indyeastend.com