Southampton Arts Center–A Glamorous Gala

They called it Summerfest, and it lived up to its name, right down to a dinner for 500 in the garden, under fairy lights, with a strolling saxophone player. (We think this is a trend.)

(Photo credit: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com)

But first there were cocktails and mocktails, and delicious passed plates of food. There was also a chance to see an inspiring art show called “Beyond the Present: Collecting for the Future.”

The 71 works offered multiple disciplines from 20 years of collecting by Christine Mack, the night’s honoree as 2025 Champion of the Arts. Her Mack Art Foundation and Greenpoint Studios offers New York living space and studio space to emerging artists from outside the New York area. (Thus recognizing the creative caldron that New York remains and answering the question “How do young artists make it in today’s New York real estate market?”)

Simone Levinson, the co-founder of the Southampton Arts Center, Christine Mack, the honoree, and Lauren Levinson (Photo credit: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com

Guests had a chance to dance and to meet some of the artists represented in the collection, which will be on display at the Southampton Arts Center until September 27. One of the earliest works is a tarp from the 1980s by Keith Haring; more recent works include Cindy Sherman and the British art world darling George Rouy.

Christine Mack, in pink, with the artists Arcmanoro Niles, Andrei Kozlov, Megan Gabrielle Harris, Austin Lee and Su Su (Photo credit: Jason Lowrie/BFA.com)

The successful event was co-chaired by Alina de Almeida and John Paulson, Jamee and Peter Gregory, Aima Raza and Agha S. Khan, Simone and David Levinson, and Phyllis and William Mack.

Aima Raza, Agha S. Khan, Beth Redmond (Photo credit: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com)

The seated dinner, catered by Acquolina, responsible for the dinners at the New York Public Library, was held in the garden. Tables were crowded under strings of lights. August 23 was a beautiful Saturday night in Southampton. Among the guests were the board members Jamee and Peter Gregory, the artists Sylvia Hemingway, Megan Gabrielle Harris, Arcmanoro Niles, Austin Lee and Su Su, and the art curator Kim Heirston.

The philanthropist Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos and Kim Heirston (Photo credit: Jason Lowrie/BFA.com)

The real estate investor and art collector Jane Holzer was at the dinner as was Fern Mallis. Also in attendance: Elyn & Jeff Kronemeyer, Nancy Jane & Jeff Loewy, Mayor Bill Manger; John Monsky & Jennifer Weis, Fairley Pilaro & Joe Messina, Aima Raza & Agha S. Khan, Nicole & Allen Salmasi, the architect Siamak Samii, Representative Rebecca Seawright, Jean Shafiroff, Chris Smith, J. Whitney Stevens, Paul Travis & Mark Fichandler, Helena Willner Vahradian and Rob Vahradian, Paula Viscogliosi, Marcy and Michael Warren and the fashion and lifestyle expert Bettina Zilkha.

Jamee Gregory, Peter Gregory, Audrey Gruss (Photo credit: Jason Lowrie/BFA.com)

Christine Mack, who has been coming to the Hamptons since she was a child, told Cultured Magazine, one of the sponsors of the event, that she is now thinking of offering some of the artists in the Mack Foundation program a chance to live and work in the Hamptons, to enjoy the light that had drawn artists there 70 years ago.

Representative Rebecca Seawright, philanthropist Jean Shafiroff (Photo credit: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com)

Proceeds from the event will allow the Southampton Arts Center to provide four world-class exhibitions and more than 100 programs annually. Every year SAC welcomes over 45,000 visitors. It offers film, music, dance, theater, children’s events, talks, wellness programs and workshops. — LINDA LEE

Elizabeth Steimberg, Julie Auclair, Maria Fishel, Dr. Mar Morosse (Photo credit: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com)