In 1931, Mrs. Lorenzo E. Woodhouse dedicated Guild Hall as a cultural center for the community. Since then our primary focus has been to inform, inspire, and enrich our diverse audiences by presenting programs in collaboration with artists on the eastern end of Long Island and by also providing a meeting place.
Each year over 40,000 visitors take advantage of the hundreds of events offered by our three departments.
The John Drew Theater stage provides dramatic, comedic and musical entertainment, as well as films, lectures, literary series, and staged readings, all featuring prominent artists and writers with ties to the community.
The Guild Hall Museum features world-class art exhibitions of internationally renowned visual artists and emerging regional artists. The Museum also encourages local talent with community art exhibitions. One of the directives of the Museum is to collect, preserve and present the works of accomplished East End artists. We have a significant permanent collection and archive approximately 2,100 works of art.
Our Education program is devoted to serving the needs of the community and the local schools by integrating arts education into those programs that lend themselves to creative learning. We conduct master classes, studio workshops and outreach in the East Hampton School District.
While Guild Hall is proud of our heritage, we remain committed to shaping a future that nurtures creativity and inspires innovation.