Guild Hall in East Hampton has announced the upcoming July 2 reopening of its site at 158 Main Street, following a year-long, full-scale renovation overseen by award-winning Peter Pennoyer Architects. A direct result of Guild Hall’s 2020–2025 strategic plan to strengthen its position as an artist-driven, multidisciplinary institution, the first phase of the comprehensive renovation reimagines Guild Hall’s grounds and near-century-old building for twenty-first-century audiences with expanded exhibition galleries, enhanced gardens and shared public spaces, a fully outfitted education center, and modernized administrative offices.
Begun in spring 2022, the project aims to match the physical and technological footprint of the art center’s 1930s-era site to the caliber of today’s artistry. Improved flexibility and accessibility will meet the needs of Guild Hall’s diverse community of visual and performing artists, students, staff, and expanding seasonal and year-round community. The project spans all 46,000 square feet of the Guild Hall property.
Opening July 2 and on view through September 4, Guild Hall’s renewed site will be inaugurated with a comprehensive solo exhibition from Jamaican-American artist Renee Cox in its main galleries, featuring new and recent projections, photography, and collage works. Titled “Renee Cox: A Proof of Being,” the exhibition is curated by Monique Long, New York-based independent curator and writer.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine Guild Hall’s capabilities and offer artists, audiences, and the next generation an exceptional environment,” said Andrea Grover, Guild Hall Executive Director.
Peter Pennoyer, Principal Partner of Peter Pennoyer Architects and fellow of the American Institute of Architects, said: “Our approach is to restore traditional elements in a more contemporary way with the best technology available to us now – to bring Guild Hall into the future, while being respectful of its longstanding presence in East Hampton.”
First announced in 2021, Guild Hall’s $29 million renovation ushers in a period of 21st-century revitalization for the storied East Hampton arts center, home to its artist-driven, best-in-class museum, performance space, and education center, and now nearing its centennial. In December 2022, Guild Hall announced in tandem the design plans for its renewed John Drew Theater, also led by PPA in consultation with globally-recognized theater design experts Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. The updated theater will open in winter 2023/24.