Changes and a movement-focused member exhibition are on the horizon at East End Arts & Humanities Council.
The non-profit organization has called the 133 E. Main St., Riverhead campus home since 1977, with administrative offices, a gallery and the arts and music school operating out of it. As part of the Town of Riverhead’s revitalization initiative, the five on-site buildings will be lifted for flood mitigation purposes.
In September, the school and headquarters moved to 206 Griffing Ave. in Riverhead to prepare for the renovation, and the Andy Tarshis Fine Art Gallery will close its doors after the upcoming members’ gallery show wraps in March.
East End Art’s other gallery at 11 W. Main St. in Riverhead will remain open through the main campus’s construction. The organization also opened another gallery at 48 W. Main St., Riverhead on the other side of the street, thanks to help from a generous donor.
“It will be really fun to have the two Main Street galleries directly across from one another,” says executive director Wendy Weiss. “And I think we can get really creative with what we can do with that.”
The 2026 Elizabeth Richard Memorial Members Show titled In Motion will have pieces of all different mediums in both galleries, submitted by over 100 East End Arts members, plus children’s artwork in the mini-members exhibition. The motion focus for the show was inspired by the organization’s physical move.
“We’re always trying to think of a theme that can give the artists a lot of creative licenses to say what they want to say but still makes sense as a curated exhibition,” says Weiss. “No matter what kind of artist you are or what your discipline is, you can still somehow participate because it’s really all about bringing our member community together.”
The exhibition’s opening reception is on Jan. 24 from 4 to 7 p.m., with quiet hours from noon to 4 p.m. It will run through March 7 with a closing reception and people’s choice awards at 7 p.m.
While this is the last show in the original gallery, the organization plans to return to its campus after renovations, which are projected to take about three years.
In the meantime, the music and art school’s 206 Griffing Ave., Riverhead location sports a larger recording studio and new programming, including printmaking coming soon, plus more opportunities for artists with disabilities and neurodivergences.
For more information on the move or the upcoming exhibition, click here.
