The weekend of April 8 and 9 celebrates Rites of Spring 2023 at LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton’s beloved 16-acre sculpture garden. As is tradition, nearly one million daffodils and rare bulb plants will be in bloom to welcome back the local community. On display will be new works of art including two large scale sculptures by Maren Hassinger and three by Wyatt Kahn. Popular permanent collection pieces by Buckminster Fuller, Sol Lewitt, Yoko Ono, Toshiko Takaezu, and many others remain on view, along with sculptures from Fitzhugh Karol, Moko Fukuyama, William and Steven Ladd, Alexander Polzin, and Ai Weiwei.
Friends and families are invited to weave branches from the garden with Maren Hassinger as she creates her site-specific Monuments. LongHouse is a closed-loop garden, meaning that all of its plant materials remain onsite. We welcome you to assist the artist, making winter branches into a work of art. Bring your own pruners! Visitors will enjoy Wyatt Kahn’s three corten steel sculptures–Parade, Painting the Painter, Umbrella–most recently on view in City Hall Park, now at LongHouse in a new partnership with the Public Art Fund.
On April 9, Easter Sunday, come for a stroll in your Easter Bonnet around the gardens. LongHouse Founder, Jack Lenor Larsen, collected hats - what better way to honor his legacy than by parading in your bonnet? Easter treats will be available for kids of all ages.
LongHouse welcomes members to join for Member Mornings: members have the gardens all to themselves on Wednesday and Saturday mornings before public opening hours. Special art making and nature foraging activities will be available Saturday mornings, in conjunction with SHINE, LongHouse’s seasonal partner in inspiring creativity, confidence, and curiosity.
The hard-working staff and supportive board at LongHouse, look forward to a 2023 season centered on Land — a nature reserve with thousands of living species; Place — an institution to learn, explore, and grow; and Spirit — a relaxing sanctuary for creativity, wellness, and respite.
Programs in art, design, music, dance, and wellness this season include puppet making workshops with Kim Profaci on April 15; a weaving workshop with Suzanne Tick on April 22; World Tai Chi and Qigong Day on April 29, marking the start of weekly Tai Chi classes with instructor Katherine Henderson; the first exhibition from LongHouse’s new Curator-at-Large, Glenn Adamson, entitled A Summer Arrangement, opening May 27; the ever-popular Planters ON+OFF on June 24; LongHouse Reserve’s Summer Benefit, this year themed A Midsummer Dream, on July 22; a recital under the stars with pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner planned again for Jack Lenor Larsen’s birthday on August 5; a Puppet Show by Kim Profaci on August 13, Hamptons Music Festival on August 19; Opera al Fresco on September 3; and the Landscape Luncheon on September 9. LongHouse enters this season with a renewed focus on education with Head of Education and Community Engagement, Esperanza Leon, offering summer camp programming and school visits, as well as offering scholarships and robust internships in the arts and horticulture. The Student Annual - this year on June 17 - will be transformed into a day of fun and activities for students of all ages and their families.
