SPOTLIGHT: As executive director of The Parrish, how do you balance honoring its legacy while continuing to evolve it for a new generation?
Dr. Ramírez-Montagut: It requires an ongoing commitment to honoring the past while embracing the present. We achieve that through the rhythm of our exhibition program. In the fall, we celebrate the region’s artistic legacy through historical exhibitions. Winter focuses on local artists, schools, and community-centered projects, while summer highlights contemporary artists with meaningful connections to the East End. Our responsibility is to ensure that art remains relevant, engaging, and accessible for visitors.
SPOTLIGHT: What role do you believe the Parrish plays in shaping the cultural identity of the Hamptons beyond the summer season?
Dr. Ramírez-Montagut: The Parrish serves as both a keeper of the East End’s artistic heritage and an active contributor to its cultural future. While many people associate the Hamptons with summer, the East End has an extraordinary artistic legacy that spans generations. Artists such as William Merritt Chase and Jackson Pollock came here because of the landscape, the light, and the unique character of this place. Through their work, we can trace an important chapter in the history of American art. At the same time, we’re not simply preserving history—we’re helping shape what comes next. Artists continue to come here to create, connect, and build community, and it’s our role to support that.
SPOTLIGHT: Is there an exhibition that best reflects your vision for the museum?
Dr. Ramírez-Montagut: I hope every exhibition reflects that vision, but one that stands out is our 125th-anniversary exhibition, Artists Choose Parrish. We invited 40 contemporary artists with East End roots—including Cindy Sherman, Sean Scully, and Ugo Rondinone—to select works from the Parrish collection and exhibit their own work alongside them. The exhibition created a dialogue between past and present, celebrating the richness of the East End’s artistic community while honoring the history that shaped it.
SPOTLIGHT: What have you found most inspiring about the people who support the Parrish?
Dr. Ramírez-Montagut: What inspires me most is the community’s commitment to learning and to one another. The Parrish is, at its core, a learning community. Whether someone is an artist, collector, trustee, student, or first-time visitor, people come here with a genuine openness to exchange ideas. Despite the extraordinary accomplishments of so many individuals, there’s also a remarkable sense of humility. People engage with one another first as neighbors, and our supporters participate because they truly believe in the museum’s mission and the community it creates.
SPOTLIGHT: In an age when attention is increasingly divided, what do you think art offers that people need now more than ever?
Dr. Ramírez-Montagut: Art offers inspiration, understanding, and perspective. It helps us better understand ourselves and the world around us, while giving artists the opportunity to express emotions and ideas in ways that can be deeply moving. Art also offers optimism. In uncertain times, artists help us make sense of the present while opening new ways of imagining the future. At the Parrish, we hope every visit is memorable and transformative. The museum’s architecture, the surrounding landscape, and the art itself come together to encourage reflection, discovery, and a deeper connection to both place and creativity.
