Guild Hall Announces 2026 Season “Icons & New Voices’ — Personalities, Dance, KidFEST, Talks ….

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GUILD HALL ANNOUNCES

2026 SEASON “ICONS & NEW VOICES”

A Season of Big Personalities, Dance, KidFEST

and Timely Conversations

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Guild Hall (158 Main Street, East Hampton) is thrilled to announce an inspiring lineup of programs for its 2026 Season, Icons and New Voices. Since 1931, Guild Hall has served as a gathering place for East End creatives and audiences, supporting artists across disciplines and fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas through the visual arts, performance, and education.

“This season brings together a remarkable mix of icons and new voices—from Fran Lebowitz and John Waters to Robby Hoffman and Roderick George—alongside creatives and cultural leaders working across every imaginable medium,” said Executive Director Andrea Grover. “Guild Hall has always been a place where artistic disciplines converge, and new ideas take shape.”

Guild Hall presents its 2026 visual arts exhibition lineup, a thoughtfully planned year of gallery presentations that reflect the Museum’s enduring commitment to artistic practice, creative dialogue, and community. Spanning painting, sculpture, design, and collective practice, the 2026 season brings together emerging artists and established voices who, through their ideas and practices, engage with questions of memory, identity, materiality, and perception.

From icons like Christine Ebersole, Colson Whitehead, Lucinda Childs, John Waters, Fran Lebowitz, Marc Shaiman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Padma Lakshmi, and Itzhak Perlman, this season’s presenters will share the calendar with an esteemed group of new voices, including Robby Hoffman, Adam Tendler, Samantha Fish, Lloyd Knight, Angel Blue, Roderick George, and Robbie Fairchild. Guild Hall has thoughtfully planned a well-rounded season sharing a myriad of genres to explore and delight.

The Hamptons Institute, established in 2010, returns this summer featuring leaders in their fields discussing ideas that shape our community and the world. The 2026 installment is guest-curated by Ellen Chesler, author and Hamptons Institute co-founder, and Patricia Duff, founder of the nonpartisan non-profit, The Common Good, dedicated to civic participation, civil dialogue, and finding solutions and common ground. Each evening will explore a single topic through the lens of the 250^th anniversary signing of the Declaration of Independence, followed by a Q&A.

The longstanding tradition of the Clothesline Art Sale continues on July 25, providing accessible artwork to the community, while supporting the local artists who thrive here. The Summer Gala returns to Guild Hall’s grounds on August 7, celebrating Ross Bleckner’s new exhibition and honoring Executive Director, Andrea Grover, and patrons will tee off at The Maidstone Club at the George D. Yates Golf Outing on October 30.

To purchase tickets and to review the full schedule of events, visit GuildHall.org/Events.

Pictured:Hillary Rodham Clinton Photo: Carl Timpone/BFA

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MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS

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May 3 to July 19:

Arcmanoro Niles: Forgotten Words I Never Got to Say

Tracing a decade of evolution, the exhibition highlights Niles’ distinctive use of saturated color, reflective surfaces, and emotionally charged scenes drawn from daily life and memory.

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May 3 to July 19:

Claire Watson: Re-Paired

In Re-Paired, Claire Watson’s sculptures and mixed-media assemblages draw on found materials, particularly salvaged leather garments.

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August 9 to October 25:

Ross Bleckner: NEVER THE LESS

Guild Hall presents nearly 200 rarely seen small-scale paintings alongside major works, offering insight into his practice across time in an intimate setting.

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August 9 to October 25:

Eric Freeman: The Volume of Color

Freeman’s radiant abstractions transform color into planes of light and pigment that construct space rather than merely depict it.

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DANCE

·       May 23: IN PROCESS: Gibney Company & Lucinda Childs

·       June 20:  Lloyd Knight: The Drama

·       July 10: Jacob Jonas The Company with Special Guest, Sara Mearns

·       July 17: Dance Theatre of Harlem

·       July 24: New York City Ballet: On & Off Stage

·       August 14: Parsons Dance

·       August 28: Roderick George | kNoName Artist: The Grave’s Tears

·       September 19: IN PROCESS: Robbie Fairchild – Lord Chamberlin’s Men

 

CLASSICAL MUSIC

·       June 28: Adam Tendler: Inheritances

·       July 12: Musicians from the New York Philharmonic

·       July 31: Angel Blue In Recital with Bryan Wagorn, Presented by the Metropolitan Opera & Guild Hall

·       August 2: On Our Toes in The Hamptons: Building Our Heaven

·       August 10: Itzhak Perlman & The Perlman Music Program: Summer Celebration Concert

 

POPULAR MUSIC

·       July 5: Pick Like a Girl: Allison Brown and Friends

·       July 18: Next / Now: A Clive Davis Institute Showcase

·       August 22: G.E. Smith’s Portraits: Patty Smyth with John McEnroe

·       September 5: G.E. Smith’s Portraits: Samantha Fish

 

THEATER AND CABARET

·       June 21: Marc Shaiman: Never Mind the Happy

·       July 19: Grey Gardens: Celebrating 20 Years with Christine Ebersole, Scott Frankel & Frank DiLella

·       July 25: Freestyle+ LIVE

·       August 21: The 24 Hour Plays

·       August 31: The Center at West Park Presents: Network

HUMOR

·       July 11: Best of The Second City

·         July 26: John Waters: Going to Extremes

·       August 9: An Evening with Fran Lebowitz

·       August 30: George Civeris & Friends

·       September 27: Robby Hoffman: Live On Tour

 

FILM

·       June 27, August 1, and August 29: SummerDocs, Presented by Hamptons Film & Guild Hall

 

TALKS

·       May 21: Exhibition Walk Through & Artist Talk with Claire Watson

·       June 25: The Idolatry of Growth – How Much is Enough? 

                        Presented by The Matthiessen Center & Guild Hall

·       July 12: East Hampton Design Day, Presented by Niven Breen & Guild Hall

·       July 16: In Conversation: Arcmanoro Niles & Eric Fischl

·       August 13: Colson Whitehead: Cool Machine, Talk presented with BookHampton

·       August 16: The MET Museum Presents: David Breslin on Krasner/Pollock: Past Continuous

·       August 20: In Conversation: Ross Bleckner & David Salle

·       August 23: Neil deGrasse Tyson: Star Talk Live!

·       August 27: Villa Coco: Andrew Sean Greer, Talk presented with BookHampton

·       September 3: Angela Duckworth, Talk presented with BookHampton

 

·       September 20: Hope Spots & Hidden Worlds – Humanity’s Place in the Ocean

    Presented by The Matthiessen Center & Guild Hall

 

HAMPTONS INSTITUTE

Presented by Guild Hall & The Common Good

·       July 6: No Kings and More: Carrying Forward the Spirit of Revolution

                     Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, moderated by Margaret Hoover

·       July 13: The Changing Media Landscape

                       Tina Brown and Tom Freston, moderated by Ken Auletta

·       July 20: Midterms 2026: Is Democracy Itself on The Ballot?

                      Jeh Johnson and Michael Luttig, moderated by Michael Waldman

·       August 17: The Global Economy – Where is it Headed?

                            Lloyd Blankfein & Steven Rattner, moderated by Gillian Tett

·       August 24: America in the World as We Celebrate 250 Years

 A Conversation with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, moderated by Michael Froman

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STIRRING THE POT WITH FLORENCE FABRICANT

  June 21: Padma Lakshmi

  July 19: Chef Kwame Onwuachi

·       August 23: Russ and Daughters

·       August 30: Florence Fabricant – Salty, Not Sweet, In conversation with NY Times writer James Barron

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KidFEST

·       July 1: Mario The Maker Magician

·       July 8: Tim Kubart & The Space Cadets

·       July 15: HUMAN: Nehprii Amenii

·       July 22: Story Pirates Live

·       August 12: Sonia De Los Santos

·       August 19: Sole Defined; The Pulse

·       August 26: Ill-Abilities

·       September 2: Up in Arms: Pirate Song

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COMMUNITY

·       June 8, July 13, August 17, September 14, October 19, November 9, & December 14: Art Social

·       May 21: Third Thursdays Music in the Garden: Jake Lear & The Kings

·       May 24, July 2, August 2, September 6, October 30: Silent Disco Dance Party in the Garden

·       June 18: Third Thursdays Music in the Garden: Tractor, Featuring Eric Simon

·       July 16: Third Thursdays Music in the Garden: Whatever Lola Wants

·       August 20: Third Thursdays Music in the Garden: Wood Dogg, Featuring Woody Boley

·       September 17: Third Thursdays Music in the Garden: Friday Night Social, Featuring Brad Penuel

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LEARNING + NEW WORKS

·       May 22: Teen Arts Council & LVIS: Teen Fashion Show

·       June 12 & 13: Cruce De Caminos / Crossroads: A Night of Short Plays

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BENEFIT EVENTS

·       July 25: Clothesline Art Sale

·       August 7: Summer Gala

·       October 30: George D. Yates Golf Outing at The Maidstone Club

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GUILD HALL

Guild Hall is the cultural heart of the East End: a museum, performing arts, and education center, founded in 1931. We invite everyone to experience the endless possibilities of the arts: to open minds to what art can be; inspire creativity and conversation; and have fun.

Guild Hall has served four generations and introduced audiences to the most storied artists and performers of our time. As we approach our centennial, we have completed a state-of-the-art renovation to match the caliber of our artistry for twenty-first-century audiences. The facility-wide Capital Improvements Project & Campaign includes top-of-the-line physical and technological enhancements to better deliver on our mission as an artist-driven, interdisciplinary institution.

For more information, visit guildhall.org or follow Guild Hall on Instagram at @GUILD_HALL and Facebook.

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