Art, Music, & Comedy

Each year I look forward to the Watermill Center Summer Benefit. It’s always a special night, filled with spectacular displays of art. This year’s event was titled Tabula Rasa, and the dress code: “More Till There Is No More.” It was held on the Watermill Center’s grounds, and the evening honored supporter Katharine Rayner and artist Carrie Mae Weems.

The Watermill Center hosted more than 1000 guests to experience a world conceived by founder and artistic director Robert Wilson alongside over 100 international artists. The event brings together the worlds of art, performance, music, theatre, design, architecture, and fashion to raise funds to support The Watermill Center’s year-round artist residency and education programs.

Attendees explored the wooded grounds while taking in performances and works curated by Noah Khoshbin and Ivan Cheng. Works by Brian Belott, Billy Bultheel and Alexander Iezzi, Bianca Casady and Ira Anufrieva, Jacky Connolly, Megan May Daalder, Humberto Diaz, Jakub Falkowski, The Daxophone Consort (Daniel Fishkin, Cleek Schrey, and Ron Shalom), Stina Fors, Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya: LEIMAY, Liz Glynn, Özgür Kar, Masha Kechaeva, Taeyi Lim, Lance de Los Reyes, Maria Louizou, John Margaritis, Jokubas Nosovas, Flavio Pezzotti, Tony Piazza, Playlab, Queen of Krump, Naufus Ramirez-Figueroa, John Riepenhoff, Graciela Sacco, Santiago Sierra, Dorian Šilec Petek with Johan Bark and Cristian Petru Simon, Jay Tan, Gillian Walsh, and Dena Yago were interspersed throughout the event in what can be described as an enchanted forest of art.

Following the Watermill Center, I headed to a concert by The Wallflowers, along with comedy by Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live,” at The Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s benefit “C.U. Out East” at Guild Hall in East Hampton.

Prior to the performance, there was a VIP cocktail reception. VIP ticket holders sipped on bespoke cocktails by Simple Vodka, and enjoyed locally sourced, gourmet, gluten-free hors d’oeuvres.

The Celiac Disease Center provides compassionate patient care for children and adults with celiac disease. All of the center’s research is directed toward celiac and reflects the nature of the disease as a multisystem disorder.

Jost provided an evening of laughs and The Wallflowers, led by vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist Jakob Dylan, engaged the crowd while performing fan favorites like “One Headlight” and “The Difference.” For more info on the Celiac Disease Center, visit www.celiacdiseasecenter.columbia.edu.

jessica@indyeastend.com
@hamptondaze