Guild Hall Summer Gala Celebrates Andrea Grover, Ross Bleckner and Eric Freeman in East Hampton

East Hampton’s landmark cultural institution marked Grover’s 10th anniversary as executive director with a first look at new exhibitions by Bleckner and Freeman, followed by dinner and dancing on its newly transformed campus.

Guild Hall brought artists, supporters and members of the Hamptons community together Friday, Aug. 7, for its 2026 Summer Gala, one of the institution’s biggest nights of the year.

The evening began with cocktails and an exhibition preview, giving guests a first look at two new shows: Ross Bleckner: Never The Less and Eric Freeman: The Volume of Color. The exhibitions feature luminous abstract works by the two artists, who share a longstanding artistic and personal connection.

Bleckner, a 2000 recipient of Guild Hall’s Academy of the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award, also has a long history with the East Hampton institution.

This year’s gala put a special spotlight on Executive Director Andrea Grover, celebrating her 10th anniversary at the helm of Guild Hall. During her tenure, Grover has overseen an expansion of the institution’s artistic programming as well as the transformation of its historic campus.

Following the exhibition preview, the evening moved outdoors for dinner and dancing on Guild Hall’s grounds, with an after-party continuing later into the night.

Co-chaired by Barbara Lane and Galia Meiri-Stawski, the Summer Gala serves as Guild Hall’s most important annual fundraiser, supporting its year-round visual arts, performing arts and arts education programming.

Photos by Lisa Tamburini @hamptonsphotog

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Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .