The Hamptons

The Arts Center at Duck Creek is excited to unveil the dynamic 2026 season of free, community-centered arts programming. Located on Historic Duck Creek Farm in Springs, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit has presented 73 exhibitions, 74 concerts, and 59 events since 2018, showcasing diverse voices and fostering public engagement.

“This season reflects everything Duck Creek stands for—bringing together artists and audiences in a setting that is both inspiring and accessible,” shares Executive Director Jess Frost. “Our 2026 program is especially dynamic, with a range of exhibitions and performances that celebrate creativity, collaboration, and the unique cultural legacy of the East End.”

The 2026 season at The Arts Center at Duck Creek is anchored by a series of standout performances and exhibitions that highlight both rising voices and established talent. Musical highlights include a group of Duck Creek all stars in Kayvon Gordon’s Sextet, Devon Gates’ ambitious large ensemble featuring Duck Creek’s first-ever string quartet, and violinist Minnie Jordan’s debut of an original suite of compositions. On the visual arts side, the season features compelling exhibitions from emerging and under-recognized artists like Jorge Rios and Brent Richardson, alongside thoughtfully curated shows such as Residual Light and Second Nature––together reflecting the breadth, innovation, and global perspective of Duck Creek’s programming.

Residual Light May 9 – June 14
Reception May 9, 5 – 7 p.m.

Residual Light brings together a group of female artists working with alternative process and camera-less photography, embracing analog methods as collaborators rather than mere tools. The show will feature works by: Wendy Small, Amanda Marchand, Anne Arden McDonald, Shoshannah White, Andrea Cote, Galine Kurlat, Kaitlyn Danielson and Debora Francis. All of their works span a wide range of contemporary image-making techniques, pushing photography beyond representation into the sublime, the abstract and the unknown.

Jorge Rios: REDYELLOWPINK June 27 – August 2
Reception June 27, 5 – 7 p.m.

Jorge Rios’ work is rooted in the history of abstraction and driven by process. He combines gestural brushstrokes, drips, and stains with graphic elements like grids and patterns rendered in highly saturated pigments, to create as he puts it, “an aesthetic interrogation.”

SECOND NATURE: A Group Exhibition August 22 – September 27
Reception August 22, 5 – 7 p.m.

Second Nature is a group exhibition exploring the landscapes we have shaped, and the wilderness that shapes our lives, featuring artists; Felix Davey, Francine Fleischer, Andy Harris, Elisa Jensen, Kate Salke, and Charles Yoder. The show brings together a group of artists who find meaning in nature’s quieter registers, the overlooked, and the close at hand.

AVANI PATEL: What the Garden Remembers May 9 – June 14
Reception May 9, 5 – 7 p.m.

Avani Patel’s work explores the interconnectedness between nature, memory, and cultural expression. Moving fluidly from representation to abstraction and imagined forms, Patel’s fictional creatures are formed from recollections of her childhood in India, like the color and movement of her mother’s garden or her sister’s traditional Indian dance costumes.

BRENT RICHARDSON: Everything and Nothing June 27 – August 2
Reception June 27, 5 – 7 p.m.

Brent Richardson’s first solo exhibition on the East End, will feature a series of monochromatic drawings and oil paintings that feel surreal, futuristic, and urgently alive. Richardson draws on the speed, light, and seduction of custom car culture, music, and film to propel his illusionistic forms through their own gestural orbit at Formula One velocity.

PAM BROWN: Sculpture August 22 – September 27
Reception August 22, 5 – 7 p.m.

Artist Pam Brown constructs artifact-like sculptures that are built from wire, sheet metal, and salvaged materials. Inspired by wildlife, extinction, and American history, the forms reference animal, human and mechanical anatomy. Delicate and sometimes whimsical, they optimize positive and negative spaces that allow light and air to move through their open structures.

“This year’s program at Duck Creek is exciting, and new, and in some ways a bit of a departure from our normal offerings. We’re trying to do something special, and to that end we’ve commissioned some larger works, larger in terms of the size of the groups, and in the ambition we will hear from the stage. We started running across really strong works from younger composers this year, who were working in jazz adjacent territory, and we reached out to them. We’re proud of our tradition of bringing great up-and-coming performers to our stage,” shares curator and art and music series founder Peter Watrous.

Luke Bergman
Friday, June 19, 6 – 8 p.m.

Luke Bergman is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and recording artist based in Seattle, WA. His voice, bass and guitar work have been utilized in groups he writes for like Heatwarmer as well as sideperson work with Bill Frisell, Cuong Vu, Andrew Bird and others.

Kayvon Gordon Sextet
Thursday, July 23, 6 – 8 p.m.

Kayvon Gordon is one of the world’s most in demand drummers, and his sextet will feature some of Duck Creek’s most talented Alumni, including Joel Ross (Parables, 2021), Davis Leon (Birds Eve, 2022), Elias Stemeseder (Anna Webber Quintet, 2023), Kayvon Gordon (Kazemde George Trio, 2025), and Shakoor Hakeem (Immanuel Wilkins, 2022), and they welcome Duck newcomer, Dean Torrey on bass!

Devon Gates: LARGE ENSEMBLE
Thursday, July 30, 6 – 8 p.m. (Rain date Friday, July 31)

Devon Gates (bass, vocals); Lee Fish (drums); Marta Sanchez (keyboard); and Matt Greenwood (electric guitar). Formas Quartet featuring: Brian Urra (violin 1), Louis Thelot (violin 2), Sarah Zahorodni (viola), Peter Sumner (cello), Veronica Leahy (woodwinds). Bridging the worlds of contemporary jazz, folk, and soul, Devon’s music is described by friends as a “warm hug”, embracing the listener and bringing them into a dreamlike journey they won’t soon forget.

TIM WATSON TRIO
Thursday, August 6, 6 – 8 p.m.

Tim Watson is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and producer whose work moves fluidly between jazz, experimental music, and large-scale theatrical composition. A sought-after sideman, he has performed at the Village Vanguard, the Apollo, Blue Note, and David Geffen Hall, alongside some of the most vital voices in contemporary jazz. At Duck Creek, Watson presents his trio — an intimate showcase of the singular musical voice he has been quietly building at the center of New York’s jazz scene.

MINNIE JORDAN SEXTET: Original Suite Debut
Thursday, August 27, 6 – 8 p.m. (Rain date August 30)

Minnie Jordan (violin); Carrie Frey (viola); Raffi Boden (cello); Evan Main (keys); Charlie Lincoln (bass) and Eliza Salem (drums). This debut of original compositions weaves together Minnie’s many musical influences with a storyteller’s aesthetic, while remaining rooted in the jazz idiom. These compositions represent her core commitment to melodicism, empathy, and world-building through composition and improvisation, kaleidoscopically refracted through the polychromatism of her life as a jazz musician in New York.

CARACAS TRIO with Special Guest Yilmer Vivas
Saturday, September 3, 6 – 8 p.m.

Juan Diego Villalobos (vibraphone); Gabriel Chakarji (piano); Daniel Prim (drums) and special guest Yilmer Vivas (saxophone). Caracas Trio is a New York-based Venezuelan ensemble made up of three musicians who grew up in the same neighborhood in Caracas before finding their way into New York City’s modern jazz scene. Their music is rooted in the Afro-Venezuelan rhythms and melodic improvisation at the heart of Venezuelan folk tradition, shaped by the energy and community of the city they now call home.

AIRING OF THE QUILTS
May 2, 12 – 5 p.m. (Rain date Sunday, May 3)

Air your quilts in this celebration of community, creativity and the arrival of spring. This cherished tradition symbolizes the transition from winter into spring. The age-old practice of quilt-making fosters creativity, storytelling and community across generations. Throughout the day, attendees can enjoy Cyanotype Quilt Square Workshops, as well as looking at their 2025 Community Quilt.

GEORGIA HEERS BENEFIT CONCERT
Thursday, July 9, 6 – 8 p.m. (Rain date July 10)

The 2026 Benefit Concert will feature a “first-look” at up-and-coming jazz vocalist and composer Georgia Heers. A Juilliard graduate and recent Broadway performer (Good Night and Good Luck, 2025), Heers has performed at Dizzy’s, Minton’s Playhouse, the Kennedy Center, and the Montclair Jazz Festival. She will record her debut album under the artistic direction of Cécile McLorin Salvant this year. The evening includes drinks, light fare, and a relaxed summer atmosphere at Duck Creek Farm. Say you heard it first at Duck Creek’s Benefit! Tickets available soon.

ART SALE BENEFIT EXHIBIT FUNDRAISER “Love Where You Live”
Thursday, August 13, time TBD (Rain date Friday, August 14)

“Love Where You Live” is Duck Creek at its most joyful! Local artists and Duck Creek Alumni each contributing an original work as a personal homage to the East End. It’s an evening that does exactly what they believe art should: it brings people together, fills a room with creativity and beauty, reminding us why we love where we live. Works will be priced affordable (because everyone needs some art), tickets are $150, and every dollar goes directly back into Duck Creek’s FREE & ACCESSIBLE PROGRAMMING.

FAMILY NIGHT SERIES: Every Monday from July 13 – August 17

Our third season of FAMILY NIGHT returns with an inclusive, free, weekly program featuring live performances, collaborative parent-child art activities, and a shared community supper, generously donated by local restaurants. These multicultural events foster authentic and meaningful community connections for children and parents. This season, Family Night will be hosted by favorite puppeteer, Liz Joyce, the GOAT on a Boat, and will include some of their favorite performers, like Real East End Brass and Our Fabulous Variety Show, as well as some exciting new talent!

Established on the foundation of world-renown artists who resided in Springs such as Jackson Pollack and Elaine De Kooning, Duck Creek is centered around a 19th century barn once owned by abstract expressionist John Little. Today, The Arts Center at Duck Creek is a dynamic hub for contemporary art and cultural exchange on Long Island’s East End. Set on a historic property in Springs, New York, the center champions innovative artistic practices through a diverse program of exhibitions, performances, and interdisciplinary events. By bringing together leading and emerging voices across disciplines, Duck Creek fosters dialogue, experimentation, and community engagement in a uniquely inspiring natural and architectural setting. duckcreekarts.org

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