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Creative Spirits: An Evening with 2025 Catalyst Artist Sam Van Aken

September 19, 2025 | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Creative Spirits: An Evening with 2025 Catalyst Artist Sam Van Aken
Friday, September 19
6 – 8pm
$35 per person, includes one complimentary cocktail.
Space is limited, registration is required.

 

Register Now!
 
Join us for a powerful artist talk with internationally acclaimed artist Sam Van Aken, as he shares the vision, process, and meaning behind his site-specific work, The Planting Fields Stand.
 
This special evening is part of our Creative Spirits series and features Van Aken, our 2025 Catalyst artist, in an intimate conversation about how his work blends art, agriculture, history, and environmental research. Best known for his TED Talks, National Geographic features, and the celebrated Open Orchard on Governors Island, Van Aken has exhibited at leading institutions including the Smithsonian Design Triennial, New York Botanical Garden, and Cube Design Museum (Netherlands).
 
At the center of the conversation is The Planting Fields Stand, a living artwork made up of four multi-grafted fruit trees that serve as living archives, preserving rare heirloom fruit varieties while telling the layered story of this land: from its origins as a Matinecock agricultural landscape to its legacy as the Coe family estate.
 
What You Can Expect:
– Exclusive first access to our new second-floor exhibition, featuring Van Aken’s cyanotypes, herbarium specimens, and more
– A complimentary cocktail or mocktail (see details on the signature drink below!)
– After-hours access to the historic Main House

 

Cocktail of the Evening – Cider & Stem 
A bright blend of apple cider and smooth vodka, perfectly balanced with just the right touch of autumnal spice. Served cold, this drink is a cool, flavorful tribute to the fresh, lively spirit of The Planting Fields Stand and a nod to a core part of our site and Long Island’s history.

 

Event Schedule
6 – 6:30pm: Self-guided exploration of the Main House and cocktails
6:30 – 7:30pm: Lecture by Sam Van Aken
7:30 – 8pm: Q & A

 

Learn more about Catalyst 2025: The Planting Fields Stand here. 

 

For questions, please contact Kayla Cheshire, Communications and Marketing Manager, at kcheshire@plantingfields.org 

By registering for this event, you consent to Planting Fields Foundation photographing and filming during the event. These images may be used for promotional purposes, including social media, on our website, newsletters, grant requests, reports. As it may not be feasible to identify individuals who may wish to opt out, your registration implies your consent to be photographed. If you have any concerns, please contact us at kcheshire@plantingfields.org 

 

About Sam Van Aken
Sam Van Aken is a contemporary artist who works beyond traditional modes of art making, crossing artistic genres and disciplines to develop new perspectives on such themes as communication, botany, agriculture, climatology, and the ever-increasing impact of technology. Van Aken’s interventions in the natural and public realm are seen as metaphors that serve as the basis of narrative, sites of place making, and in some cases even become the basis of scientific research.
 

More about Creative Spirits: A Lecture & Libations Series
This presentation-based series invites you to mingle with experts in the industries of art, design and architecture in the great spaces of Planting Fields! As knowledge is shared on these topics, conversation will commence between guests while they sip on signature cocktails.

 

Thank you to our in-kind sponsors:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more how you sponsor this event and the Creative Spirits series, please contact Kayla Cheshire, Communications and Marketing Manager, at kcheshire@plantingfields.org 

 

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