Hamptons Black Arts Council to Purchase Sag Harbor Home for Artists' Residency

The Hamptons Black Arts Council (HBAC), founded by Storm Ascher in 2023, plans to purchase a home in Sag Harbor for a permanent artists' residency for creatives of color. The initiative will be launched during Juneteenth weekend with a three-day retreat and benefit luncheon honoring Anthony Akinbola at the Watermill Center. Akinbola, a Nigerian-American artist known for transforming durag fabric into monumental works, will install new pieces and give a talk. HBAC also opens its annual group exhibition "IT IS WRITTEN in the sand" at the Eastville Heritage House Museum, inaugurating the museum's new contemporary art collection. The exhibition features artists including Akinbola. Additional programming includes a private tour of Guild Hall's "Arcmanoro Niles: Forgotten Words I Never Got to Say" and a private viewing of dancer Lloyd Knight's performance "The Drama." Eastville, where Sag Harbor is located, is one of the oldest free Black settlements in the U.S., dating to the early 19th century. HBAC's efforts aim to restore acknowledgment of this heritage.