Watermill Center Raised $2.2M at Benefit Featuring Resident Artists

The Watermill Center held its benefit “One Thousand Nights and One Night/Sleepless Nights of Sheherazade” on Saturday night with Jim Jarmusch playing guitar in the Zen room and guests such as Philip Glass and Isabelle Huppert milling about the grounds. The party raised $2.2 million for the center’s International Summer Program and its year-round artists residencies and education programs.

This summer’s artists in residence once again did up the grounds with a series of live performance and video work. As per usual, clothing was optional. A special performance of “Sisyphus,” conceived by Dimitris Papaioannou, was also presented with the cooperation of the Greek government and mesmerized the audience. A show of video portraits of Lady Gaga by Robert Wilson, based on classic art historical imagery, was displayed in the ground floor.

The arts center will open up its grounds on Aug. 10 from 3 to 6 p.m. for free tours and a chance to see many of the performances recreated from the party.