The invitation from Carrie Mae Weems and Robert Wilson for audiences to ‘meet at the Crossroads,’ assembles vital voices and viewpoints to mark a pivotal moment in history, together. CROSSROADS will be documented by Weems for a new body of work. The programmed events, including installations, spiritual practices, and performances throughout the grounds, offer access to an active creative process.

The festival kicks off with a drone-based sonic experience titled A Hole in the Sky from Laurie Anderson in collaboration with artist and member of the Shinnecock Nation Shane Weeks, featuring guitars from Anderson’s late husband Lou Reed’s collection (Saturday, July 31). The installation — performed by Reed’s former guitar technician, Stewart Hurwood — places the instruments in an arrangement against a group of amplifiers. The tuned feedback creates an enveloping drone of harmonics that shifts and changes, depending on audience location and the environment. This is the first outdoor circular installation of the drones.

On Saturday, August 7, and Sunday, August 8, artists, poets, and writers will gather for a series of staged readings, presentations, and performances. Participating artists at the Summer Festival include: Kenyon Adams, Arooj Aftab, Kyle Bass, Hoesy Corona, Marcelle Davies-Lashley, Vinson Fraley, Francesca Harper, and Craig Harris.

Occupying two galleries within the main building (below) will be on view a new exhibition Paul Thek: Interior/ Landscape, featuring works and archival documents by the artist from the collections of Robert Wilson and The Watermill Center. Central to this exhibition are artworks, primarily paintings, but also sculptures and works on paper, which suggests ways in which Thek’s landscape studies and renderings of the body are intricately connected.