Consistently one of the Hamptons' most eagerly awaited events, stage director Robert Wilson's Watermill Center benefit attracts a mix of guests from the worlds of art, fashion, and entertainment. Heavy hitters from the art scene lend the party its industry credentials. For example, this year's guests included dealer Larry Gagosian, painter Ross Bleckner, and avant-garde composer Philip Glass.
Inspired by the work of the center's Chinese artists-in-residence, the party was called China Moon. The artists collaborated with Wilson installing a variety of vignettes placed on the property—as guests entered the center's wooded site, they passed through five giant red rings that acted as gates. Meandering through the trees, guests could explore installations that included a towering recreation of Chinese mountains and a whimsical model of the city of Shanghai made out of bamboo.
While checking out the artwork, guests could nibble on samplings that included crabmeat dumplings, tuna tartare with ginger on taro chips, salmon and Chinese parsley pesto packages, and duck spring rolls from Olivier Cheng Catering and Events.
In years past, luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy provided event planning direction. This year—while LVMH continued to underwrite the event—the party was managed by Claire Evans, the special events coordinator for the Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation.
Interiors of the dining tent—provided by Starr Tents—echoed the red circular creations outdoors. Susan Miller Smith designed the dinner decor in cooperation with Wilson, who oversees all of the center's activities. After dinner, the 600 guests were treated to a peformance by the cool, .phpy-voiced chanteuse Marianne Faithfull, who performed in Wilson's The Black Rider in London this spring.
—Mark Mavrigian
Read our coverage of last year's event...
Inspired by the work of the center's Chinese artists-in-residence, the party was called China Moon. The artists collaborated with Wilson installing a variety of vignettes placed on the property—as guests entered the center's wooded site, they passed through five giant red rings that acted as gates. Meandering through the trees, guests could explore installations that included a towering recreation of Chinese mountains and a whimsical model of the city of Shanghai made out of bamboo.
While checking out the artwork, guests could nibble on samplings that included crabmeat dumplings, tuna tartare with ginger on taro chips, salmon and Chinese parsley pesto packages, and duck spring rolls from Olivier Cheng Catering and Events.
In years past, luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy provided event planning direction. This year—while LVMH continued to underwrite the event—the party was managed by Claire Evans, the special events coordinator for the Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation.
Interiors of the dining tent—provided by Starr Tents—echoed the red circular creations outdoors. Susan Miller Smith designed the dinner decor in cooperation with Wilson, who oversees all of the center's activities. After dinner, the 600 guests were treated to a peformance by the cool, .phpy-voiced chanteuse Marianne Faithfull, who performed in Wilson's The Black Rider in London this spring.
—Mark Mavrigian
Read our coverage of last year's event...
Artists-in-residence worked with Robert Wilson and positioned red circles amid the woods at the Watermill Center. (Photo by Laurie Lambrecht)
Waiters from Olivier Cheng Catering and Events offered guests champagne along the wooded pathway.
The tent was lined with red circles and also had red discs hanging from its ceiling. (Photo by Laurie Lambrecht)
Olivier Cheng Catering and Events served guests hors d'oeuvres outdoors as they walked through the exhibition. Offerings included these salmon and Chinese parsley pesto packages.
