Parrish Friday Night Dance Party

By Linda Lee

The Parrish Art Museum knows how to throw a party to raise money. Each year it has two parties on one weekend! Preceding its Saturday night sit-down dinner, it throws a dance party for its younger members.

That one, on Friday night, July 12, was headed by the co-chairs Laurence Milstein (Yale, Forbes “30 Under 30” etc.) and Kendall Werts (Detroit, talent manager, founder of “The Jeffries,” connoisseur of fierce), and their committee, which includes the actress Emma Holzer, the wellness influencer Marisa Hochberg and an assortment of doers from many walks of life.

Emma Holzer (Photo: Jason Lowrie/BFA)

No wonder the evening starred extroverted people like Linux, a self-promoter and night-life influencer, who can be counted on to show up in amusing get-ups and make striking poses. People like Linux spend half of their time perfecting their looks, so they are good at it. They are also stick thin, so everything looks good on them.

Linux (Photo Jason Lowrie/BFA)

Also attending, the entrepreneur Sharareh Siadat, famed for her unibrow, who used her degree from the NYU Stern School of Business to combine art, beauty and fashion to create the TooD beauty line of clean “high-performance” cosmetics.

Sharareh Siadat (Photo Jason Lowrie/BFA)

This mix of creative, entrepreneurial and society figures was possible because the committee included people with names like Alessandro Ford Rippolone (yes, generations down, that Ford) and triple-threats like Alexander Hankin (real estate, philanthropist in the art world, columnist).

The socialite Polina Proshkina and Alexander Hankin (Photo, Jason Lowrie/BFA)

The museum’s director, Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, greeted guests on both nights. Friday night featured hors d’oeuvres and desserts by Canard, and dancing on the terrace. Tickets ran $5,000 to $30,000 for various VIP sponsorships. Tickets were $500 at the door, a metaphorical door, since this was, after all, a dance on the terrace.

Anna of the North was hired for the evening’s entertainment, along with twin DJs. (Photo Jason Lowrie/BFA)

The dance evening is a way for the Parrish to cultivate younger members, to steer them toward a connection to the Parrish while they are still forming  philanthropic habits that could last a lifetime. The way to do that? Provide a fun night in Water Mill that is not the White Party. The music for this night more than proved that, with Scandi-pop that was accessible, new and nonthreatening.

Kendall Werts, the other co-chair of the evening, whose gift is discovering raw talent (Jason Lowrie/BFA.com)

Instead of  Shaboozey and Mary J Blige, the chairs of the Parrish chose Anna of the North (real name Anna Lotterud, from Oslo, a kind of budget Bjork) and the DJs Angel & Dren, possibly the only twin DJs who graduated from Dartmouth and run a trendy juice bar in Harlem.

George Wells (Photo Jason Lowrie/BFA)

Some people, including George Wells, a trustee at the Parrish with a financial background, the Vogue editor Lilah Ramzi, the art-loving socialite Polina Proshkina, and the influencer Irina Kro Eicke, attended both Friday and Saturday nights.

Irina Kro Eicke wore the same bustier with sheer, puffy sleeves and red skirt both nights, then posted it on Instagram to tag the outfit as from Hellessy. That’s what it means to be an influencer. Work, work, work.

Irina Kro Eicke with an artwork by KAWS (Jason Lowrie/BFA)At the center of  the evening was Milstein, who with his three siblings, stands to inherit billions from their family’s real estate dynasty. Laurence, in his own right, has started PRZM, a system that offers (insert words here: next-gen, game-changing, authentic, marketing, partner, insight, engagement and social media consultancy). So far his charities have included amFAR, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights and Covid 19 Relief.  It is possible he will be one of the architects of Parrish’s future. He is already a Parrish Trustee.

Laurence Milstein (Photo Jason Lowrie/BFA)

For now, back to having fun. Mix in Di Mondo, real name Edmundo Huerta, the long-term partner of the accessories designer Eric Javits. He has thousands of followers on Instagram. And more actresses and musicians and Gen-Z entrepreneurs and influencers. One of the guests on Friday night listed her home as Southampton & Bali.

Who would not want to go to a dance party in the Hamptons, and meet these people, have these conversations, come home with some stories to tell? It is not a typical Friday night in Water Mill.

Left, Lilah Ramzi, a writer and Vogue editor; Right Di Mondo, whose Instagram following may be bigger than yours. (Photos Jason Lowrie/BFA)

That is worth the $500 late ticket. Perhaps next year it would be worth a great deal more.

Most of the people mentioned here have been profiled in The New York Times and other national and international publications. They have been recognized for their accomplishments.

The way to join them is to meet them.