The Church: ‘Some of Tom’s Typewriters’ fr Collection of Tom Hanks / Opens 1.11.25

OPENING RECEPTION: SATURDAY, JANURAY 11^th 2025 | 6:00-7:30 PM

The exhibition will run from January 12^th – March 10th

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The Church is pleased to announce an exhibition of important typewriters from the collection of actor Tom Hanks. The exhibition installation has been designed by the renowned creative director Simon Doonan, who will transform The Church’s extraordinary space into a fanciful home for these magical machines all their iconic, sadly obsolete glory. The show will open on January 11th and run through March 10th, 2025.

Hanks hand-picked the 35 typewriters from his collection of more than 300, spanning nearly the full history of the object, presenting an overview of its evolution as well as some charming, surprising innovations. Simon Doonan, the display and exhibition designer par excellence best known as the former Creative Director of Barney’s and for his books and essays on culture and style, is taking full command of The Church’s unforgettable space, designing an installation that is beguiling and playful while also underscoring the importance of the subject.

“The exquisite edit of the Tom Hanks typewriter collection will delight visitors of all ages. These machines – strange, complex but also ridiculously simple – have so much to teach us about history and culture. This is why I leapt at the chance to design this installation. My goal is to spotlight the charm, engineering majesty, and social/historical of these fascinating artifacts. After all, the soundtrack of the 20^th Century is the magical clacking and pinging of a typewriter. Clack, clack, clack…ping!” – Simon Doonan

Some of Tom’s Typewriters continues The Church’s ongoing foray into the life of things, building off its annual shows that delve into material culture. Prior examples include Re:Cycle – The Ubiquitous Bike in 2023, which explored the bicycle; and Hand Made in 2022, which explored the guitar. The Church’s approach to material culture focuses on form, creative innovation, and whimsy.

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The Church was established in 2019 by artists Eric Fischl and April Gornik. Housed in a deconsecrated 19th-century church, its doors were opened in April 2021. Our mission is to foster creativity and to honor the living history of Sag Harbor as a maker village. The East End represents an exceptional artistic legacy, spanning the practices of indigenous art of several centuries ago, Abstract Expressionists of the mid-20th Century, and the many celebrated writers, makers, musicians, and visual artists of the recent past and current moment. Core programming includes visual art exhibitions, concerts and events, educational programming, workshops, lectures, and an artist’s residency.