The Hamptons Black Arts Council Announces Big Summer Lineup
The Hamptons Black Arts Council has a big summer ahead.
On Saturday, June 20, at noon, the HBAC will host an Artists’ Table Benefit at the Watermill Center, as part of its second annual Juneteenth weekend retreat, celebrating the legacy of Black artists on the East End.
The Hamptons Black Arts Council was founded in 2023 by gallery owner and curator Storm Ascher. HBAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocacy, acquisition development and infrastructure operations for Black institutions on the East End.
This year, the benefit will surround artist Anthony Akinbola, who will install new work on The Watermill Center’s grounds and host a talk about his artistic practice. The benefit will be catered by chef Rōze Traroe, who will cook meals inspired by Akinbola’s work.
Akinbola has been a part of the HBAC since 2020, and friends with Ascher since 2018. His work is “extremely textural,” Ascher said in a recent interview. Akinbola uses durags to make paintings, stretching and sewing them in different patterns and expressions. His work will be on view at the Eastville Heritage House Museum as part of HBAC’s annual group exhibition, “IT IS WRITTEN in the sand.”
The larger goal of this year’s Artists’ Table, however, is the announcement of HBAC’s new initiative to raise funds for a permanent artists’ residency program in Sag Harbor: The HBAC Artists’ House.
“In 2020 when we first got in touch with the SANS [Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest and Ninevah Subdivisions] community, we realized there weren't a lot of opportunities to actually house the artists that we were inviting out to our exhibitions,” Ascher said.
Sag Harbor has a rich history surrounding its historically Black neighborhoods, which have been home to Black artists for centuries.
The HBAC in collaboration with Superposition Gallery — a “nomadic” gallery owned by Ascher — has put on group shows of 20 to 30 artists, but ran into trouble when finding it prohibitive to house them in Sag Harbor. Outside institutions such as Guild Hall and The Watermill Center have been able to house artists for the HBAC in the past, but the ultimate goal for HBAC is to have a house to call its own, reclaiming and repatriating the Black enclaves on the East End.
“The idea behind the house is that it would be in the exact neighborhood that Amaza Lee Meredith first purchased her homes, when she founded Azurest in 1940,” Ascher said. “Our goal is to have a property in the $4 to $6 million range, because that’s just the pricing out there.
“We’ve been trying to figure out ways to have different tiers of donors,” Ascher continued. “Somebody could purchase something like the fire poker — something that’s part of the infrastructure of the house once it’s actually ready for us, or something in the garden. Even outdoor sculptures.”
Everyone who participates in these different iterations of fundraising would have their names on a plaque in the house, Ascher said. The HBAC Artists’ House would be a place for the community, created by the community.
“Whenever an artist would stay in the house, they’d likely be participating in an exhibition, so they could leave a work or two that they made during their time there, and we could build a permanent collection,” Ascher said.
The HBAC is extremely grateful to the institutions that have been able to house their residents, but the draw of owning their own space is that it would be Black-owned, and controlled by the community that it serves.
“We want to be able to say we own something, we have a legacy that we are building on top of, and continuing, and we don’t need outside help,” Ascher explained. “Help is always great, but our starting point should always be with ourselves, and then we will be able to expand out.”
The goal of this residency program is to have it rooted in Black culture and history on the East End. To Ascher, that means a program that “revitalizes the legacy of the bayside homes in Sag Harbor being historically Black-owned, while giving new meaning to the area in the contemporary context.”
Ultimately, the HBAC’s permanent residency program gives artists the potential to fulfill residency requirements in a space that is created especially for them, while also allowing them to contribute to the town’s rich artistic history.
“I think the permanent residency would produce the idea for more institutions — that aren't necessarily Black owned — that rely on the Black community of artists, and let these artists create art history in real time,” Ascher said.
HBAC's Juneteenth Weekend
HBAC's Juneteenth weekend begins Friday evening, June 19, at the Eastville Heritage House Museum, 139 Hampton Street, Sag Harbor, where Akinbola's work will be on view as part of “It Is Written in the Sand,” HBAC's annual group exhibition. Presented by Superposition Gallery, the work will remain on display through December. For more information, visit hamptonsblackartscouncil.org.
On Saturday, June 20, from noon to 2:30 p.m. The Watermill Center and the Hamptons Black Arts Council present an Artists’ Table. Akinbola will install a new work throughout The Watermill Center’s campus and discuss his artistic practice before guests enjoy a luncheon prepared by chef Rōze Traore and a conversation exploring contemporary art, culture and community. Tickets are $135 at thewatermillcenter.org. The Watermill Center is at 39 Water Mill Towd Road in Water Mill.
