iCAROS: Meaningful Mealtime

An evening to celebrate the year-round community is set for Saturday, November 9, from 6:30 to 10:30 PM at The Watermill Center. iCaros, an inaugural artists’ table dinner presented by Roger Ferris + Partners, will include guests of creatives, growers, innovators, and producers. The event combines the deep-rooted histories across the East End of food and art.

Carlos Soto, an alum to The Watermill Center, curates the evening, which will include locally sourced dishes. Based in New York City, Soto has performed on notable stages at Columbia University and the Guggenheim Museum, and internationally at Kampnagel Hamburg, Pace Gallery, Palais de Tokyo, and others. In addition to the Center, he’s been artist-in-residence at the Willem de Kooning Studio, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and New York Live Arts.

Since 2018, Soto has collaborated with the American Modern Opera Company and director Zack Winokur and designed “The Black Clown” at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart festival. In 2020, he’s set to join Stephen Sondheim’s “Sundays in the Park with George” at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the staging of Händel’s “Messiah” at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg.

Lynsey Peisinger, a 2019 Watermill Center artist-in-residence, will direct a performance experience during the dining hours. Peisinger’s accolades include co-directing the Mile-Long Opera with Elizabeth Diller, which gathered 1000 singers to perform on The High Line in New York City. Her CV includes SESC Pompeia in Sao Paulo, Robert Wilson’s second annual Berlin Benefit, Hyeres Fashion and Photography Festival, and others. Since 2011, she’s continued to oversee the performances of Marina Abramovic’s works and is the assistant director on Robert Wilson’s “Zinnias: The Life of Clementine Hunter” and “The Old Woman.”

This isn’t the first artistic dining experience for The Watermill Center. In 1992, the center began the tradition of food and art conversation with its international summer program — a chance to unwind between performance rehearsals and build new relationships with international artists. Now, it’s back in season with a new set of guests.

“At Watermill, the most important memories are of the meals that separate the day into acts,” said Soto. “Mealtimes are moments for discussion, introductions, sharing, and rare moments of frivolity, where we are truly a community before breaking off to our respective activities throughout the day. We laugh together and are uncomfortable together — but feeling uncomfortable amplifies an experience in the same way wine makes the meal all the more delicious and memorable.”

Funds will support Watermill’s efforts between the artists-in-residence and year-round community. The Watermill Center is located at 39 Watermill Towd Road in Water Mill. Tickets and further information are available at www.watermillcenter.org, or call 631-726-4628.

nicole@indyeastend.com