The 23rd annual Hamptons Box Art Auction benefitting East End Hospice will be held on Saturday, August 24th at the Hoie Hall of St. Luke’s Church in East Hampton (18 James Lane).
Dozens of area artists donated beautifully designed, creative art boxes for the auction this year, including popular returning talent and 10 brand new contributors selected by the event’s benefit chair, gallerist and local art lover Arlene Bujese.
“Over 85 East End artists once again donated their time, talent and unique creativity to create one-of-a-kind wearable art for this worthy cause,” says Bujese, who scours the local art scene for participants each year. “I go to shows and see what’s going on in the art world in town,” she adds, pointing out that she discovered two of her newest participants at this year’s Springs Mystery Art Sale at Ashawagh Hall, where she purchased three pieces without knowing the artists’ names. “It was a lot of fun,” says Bujese.
Some of the newest names providing boxes this year include: Whitney Bell, Kristen Benfield, Susan Bradfield, Kathy Buist and Donna Corvi of Montauk.
The impressive list of participating experienced and new artists includes such prominent names as Kirsten Benfield, Marilyn Church, Durrell Godfrey, Helen Harrison, Leif Hope, Carol Hunt, Dennis Leri, Christa Maiwald, Fulvio Massi, Roy Nicholson, Gabriele Raacke, Randall Rosenthal, Barbara Slate, Hans van de Bovenkamp and Dan Welden, to name just a few.
“We have some really great work, much of it from the usual suspects, our dedicated core group,” says Bujese.
Each artist is given a small wooden cigar or wine box to create their artwork from, using the inside and outside of the box as a canvas or foundation for their ideas. Styles range from traditional landscapes to abstract art. The media used this year are ceramics, sculpture, painting, collage, assemblage, metal, photography and hand-made on fabric. Some artists use their own boxes, such as Bill Kiriazis, who is using a Cartier jewelry box this year, or Gerry Giliberti, who made hers with a glass dome.
Bujese thanks Besim’s Fine Cigars in Southampton for generously providing the cigar boxes each year. “They have been wonderful and so generous and they are also on our honorary committee,” she says.
Also this year, the 2024 Spirit of Community Award will be presented in recognition of generosity. It will be given to Sandra Wagenfeld, a long-time supporter of the Box Art fundraiser. “She’s just been involved with so many charities, not always publications. She’s an admirer of East End Hospice… and she’s been very generous in her support of Box Art,” says Bujese.
In advance of the benefit event on August 24, this year’s boxes can be viewed in advance at Hoie Hall on Wednesday, August 21 and Thursday, August 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Wednesday, August 21, the public is invited to a pre-reception as part of the “Meet the Artists” program at Hoie Hall from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The August 24th fundraiser will feature a silent auction at 4:30 p.m. and a live auction with Lucas Hunt as auctioneer at 5:45 p.m. Wine and appetizers are included in the $100 fundraiser ticket price, which of course goes to a very worthy cause.
All proceeds from ticket and box sales will benefit East End Hospice, the region’s only independent, nonprofit provider of end-of-life care, which last year cared for more than 800 terminally ill patients and their families and loved ones in the Hamptons and North Fork, as well as in the Brookhaven community of East Suffolk.
“The past year has brought tremendous challenges for our community,” said Mary C. Crosby, President and CEO of East End Hospice. “Programs like the Box Art Auction help ensure that anyone experiencing a loss receives the expert, compassionate care they need at no cost to them or their family.”
In addition to raising money, Bujese said it is also very valuable to simply let the community know that East End Hospice is there and its services are available to families in times of need.
To view the boxes to be auctioned online or to learn more about East End Hospice, visit their website at eeh.org. For more information, to place an absentee bid, or to receive an invitation, call Theresa Murphy in the East End Hospice Development Office at 631-288-7080 or email ([email protected]).
