The Sag Harbor Church’s Talking About Art series, which focused on painting in May, will turn to photography on Saturday at 4 p.m., when Sheri Pasquarella, its executive director, and Ben Hassett, a photographer, will consider 10 photographs that date from the advent of the genre to today.
Each will present five photographs, whose identities will only be revealed as the program unfolds. They will then spontaneously examine, discuss, and appreciate 10 images individually, engaging the audience with a conversation designed for art fans at all levels of experience, whether new to art criticism or experts.
The program is part of the current exhibition “Here and There: The First Churchennial,” which features works by artists in residence at The Church between 2021 and 2024.
Mr. Hassett, a 2024 resident artist, explores themes found throughout the history of photography, examining the medium’s recurrent subject matter in an effort to re-evaluate and challenge convention. His “Photograph of a Chair #11,” a large archival pigment print now on view, consists of multiple exposures of the creation of a chair, which seems to explode in a riot of different colors.
Tickets are $10, $5 for members.
The Power of Poetry, another recurring series, will return on Sunday afternoon at 2. “Unbound and Boundless,” its fourth verse, or iteration, will celebrate poetry that explores the many dimensions of liberation, including works by Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Robert Hayden, Audre Lorde, Aja Monet, Mary Oliver, Ocean Vuong, and others.
Poems are chosen in advance, then assigned to readers upon arrival. Which ones they get remains a mystery to the readers until they step up to the mike. Instead of being pre-selected, rehearsed, or memorized, the poems are felt, experienced, and actively engaged with in the moment.
Those interested in reading must first buy or reserve a ticket. After checking out there will be a link to the “request to read” form on the confirmation screen. Questions can be addressed to [email protected]. Tickets are $10, free for members who R.S.V.P.
Johnnoy Johnson, a dancer, choreographer, and educator, will lead Moving With the Feminine Divine and Exploring the Yoruba Traditions, a workshop for all skill levels, on Monday at 3 p.m.
The program will illuminate the “feminine divine” that lives in all of us, says Mr. Johnson, regardless of gender, and will explore deities of the Yoruba tradition through movement. The Republic of Benin and Nigeria contain the highest concentrations of Yoruba people in Africa, but their cultural influences have been evident in Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, Mr. Johnson’s birthplace.
Participants will engage in mindful activities designed to honor and awaken their “divine energy,” according to The Church. Comfortable clothing that allows for easy movement has been recommended, along with sneakers, socks, or bare feet. Jeans have been discouraged.
Mr. Johnson holds an associate’s degree in dance, performance, and choreography, and a postgraduate diploma in arts education from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. At present he is producing his first documentary, a portrait of Ivy Baxter, the Jamaican matriarch of concert dance.
Tickets are $10, free for Church members who R.S.V.P.
