Art as Restorative
John Melillo, an East End artist and a veteran, will be at the Southampton Arts Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. to present art and video that cover his experience on the front lines in Vietnam, his P.T.S.D., and his discovery of painting as a road to recovery.
Mr. Melillo will show seascape paintings that capture his experiences fishing on the East End, as well a series of photographs taken during the war called “Life Goes On,” and the flags he paints each year to represent inspiration and gratitude.
The program is free. The arts center will donate 50 percent of proceeds from art sales to the World War I Memorial Restoration Project in Southampton Village’s Agawam Park.
Fund-Raiser for SCC
“Stepping Out and Stepping Up for SCC,” a Broadway-themed benefit for the Southampton Cultural Center, will happen Saturday evening from 6 until 9. The event will include a chef-prepared dinner, cocktails, a silent auction, wine and bourbon pulls, and a performance of Broadway classics.
The entertainment will be provided by Jenna Meadows, a director and performer whose projects include a virtual cabaret series; Paige Mills, who was recently featured in “Bat Out of Hell: The Musical” in Las Vegas; Oliver Richman, an actor, singer, and songwriter, and Jeremy Jacobs, the musical director and accompanist for the program.
Tickets are $115 for general admission, $50 for those 29 and under. Tables are priced at $1,000 and $700.
Author’s Talk
Felipe Luciano, who grew up in Spanish Harlem, joined a gang at the age of 12, was incarcerated for two years at 16, and went on to attend Queens College, co-found the Young Lords Party, and become a member of the Last Poets, will be at the East Hampton Library on Sunday at 2 p.m. to talk about and sign copies of his book “Flesh and Spirit: Confessions of a Young Lord.”
Winner of a 2024 American Book Award for nonfiction, “Flesh and Spirit” paints a vivid portrait of the author’s early life in New York City and his trajectory to recognition as an acclaimed poet, journalist, musicologist, and political activist on behalf of the city’s Latino community.
In a review, Samuel Cruz, associate professor of religion and society at Union Theological Seminary, said, “Luciano’s writing is both poetic and compelling as he weaves the reader through his life — a riveting account situated on the equally captivating foreground of the historical happenings of the Young Lords Party.”
Plants in Small Spaces
Next up in the lecture series of the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons is “Native Plants for Small Spaces: Rock Gardens, Containers, Crevices and Troughs,” a talk by Michael Hagen, on Sunday afternoon at 2 at the Bridgehampton Community House.
Mr. Hagen is curator of the native plant garden and the rock garden at the New York Botanical Garden, and an institutional conservation officer for the Center for Plant Conservation. He previously served for almost 13 years as staff horticulturist at Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, N.Y., and was garden manager at Rocky Hills, in Mount Kisco, N.Y., a preservation project of the Garden Conservancy
Film Noir Two Ways
The Stella Flame Gallery in Bridgehampton, which showcases contemporary art and jewelry, is launching its winter film series on Saturday at 5 p.m. with Otto Preminger’s “Fallen Angel,” a 1945 film noir starring Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Alice Faye.
It’s no coincidence that the screening coincides with the introduction of nine Film Noir fragrances by Curatrix, a fragrance company whose founders will introduce the complete collection on Saturday. A trunk show of jewelry by Wendy Brandes will also be on view, tomorrow through Sunday from noon to 5.
