The Parrish Art Museum’s 2024 Midsummer Dance & Dinner Raised Over $1 Million For Museum Programs

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill welcomed over 650 guests to Friday and Saturday’s Midsummer Dance and Dinner this past weekend — including actors, artists, art collectors, curators, musicians, philanthropists, and business leaders from the Hamptons, New York City, and beyond. The two-day outdoor event took place on July 12 and 13 at the Museum and raised over $1 million in support of the Museum’s programs and education initiatives.

The event honored philanthropists Susan Pear Meisel and Louis K. Meisel, alongside the acclaimed artists KAWS, Shirin Neshat, and Sean Scully, all of whom were in attendance. Shirin Neshat and Sean Scully will present exhibitions at the Parrish during the summer of 2025. KAWS premiered his first survey on the East End on the celebratory night of the Midsummer Gala Dinner.

This year’s Midsummer Weekend focused on raising funds for “Access Parrish,” a community partner program at the Museum that provides artmaking, movement workshops, and gallery tours for adults and children with special needs.

At the Gala, it was announced that Louis K. Meisel and Susan Pear Meisel donated their Sagaponack Sculpture Field to the Parrish Art Museum. The sculpture field sits on almost two acres in Sagaponack and is home to 20 sculptures, including works by artists Audrey Flack and Kenneth Snelson. Louis K. Meisel said his objective is to continue the legacy of artists and support the Parrish Art Museum far into the future.

“The gift of the Sagaponack Sculpture Field is a tremendous contribution and a transformative gift for the Museum. Lou and Susan Meisel are true friends of the Parrish and have helped to make the Parrish sustainable, viable, and incredibly relevant for many generations to come,” said Parrish Art Museum Executive Director Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut.

At the annual benefit event, which supports the Museum’s exhibitions, education initiatives, and programs, Parrish Art Museum Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, greeted attendees, acknowledged legacy honorees, and introduced Parrish Trustees and Dinner Co-Chairs Catherine Carmody, CJ Follini, Andrea Pemberton, and Charlotte Lucas Pilaro.

Dr. Ramírez-Montagut presented awards to the artists and philanthropic honorees. Rachael White Young of Christie’s led a paddle raise in support of the Museum’s programs, exhibitions, and education initiatives. Ramírez-Montagut thanked guests and invited them to end the evening with dancing in the theater to music by DJ M.O.S.

Guests at the dinner included honorees KAWS, Sean Scully, Shirin Neshat, and artists Alice Aycock, Tony Bechara, Sanford Biggers, Julia Chiang, Arcmanoro Niles, Liliane Tomasko, Ralph Gibson, Eddie Martinez, Sam Moyer, Jose Parla, Hank Willis Thomas, Enoc Perez, David Smalling, Jeremy Dennis, Futura, Nina Yankowitz, philanthropist, author Veronica Atkins, Chief Brand Officer and Co-Owner of Wölffer Estate Vineyard Joey Wölffer, Marc Perez, President of Bank of America Long Island. Actress Stephanie March and Trustee Nina Sarin Arias, Founder and Creative Director of ARIAS, New York, were also in attendance.

Alexandra Stanton, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees, and her husband Sam Natapoff, along with Co-Chair Frederic Seegal and his wife, Robin Seegal, met guests in the Meadow in the cocktail lounge at the start of the evening.

At the Gala, Dr. Ramírez-Montagut recognized the recent passing of Dorothy Lichtenstein and Audrey Flack, stating, “Dorothy Lichtenstein, a Parrish Art Museum Life Trustee, whose elegance, grace, enthusiasm, and generous support transformed the lives of many artists, propelled many exhibitions into success, and positively impacted many cultural organizations, had an indelible impact on the Parrish, the East End, New York, and the art world at large. Audrey Flack, whose many talents led her to explore photorealism, figurative-classical sculpture, and most recently, post-pop baroque aesthetics, and she loved to play the banjo! This past year, we worked closely with Audrey on an exhibition still slated for this upcoming October when we will have the opportunity to pay proper homage to this great force.”

The Museum is planning Audrey Flack, Mid-Century to Post-Pop Baroque, a career-spanning exhibition celebrating Audrey and her work that opens on October 13.