Join us at Surf Point during our 13th Community Day for a chance to explore Surf Point’s oceanfront residency and grounds through art, archival discoveries, and food. No prior knowledge of Surf Point is needed, all are welcome.
The day invites guests to explore the lives, work and archives of Surf Point founders Mary-Leigh Smart and Beverly Hallam through Archive Live with the Smithsonian Archives of American Art (AAA); experience new artwork at Wild Knoll by Surf Point alum Ja’Hari Ortega ’23; and enjoy food prepared by Kathryn Ferguson and inspired by recipes preserved in Surf Point’s archives.
Poster by Annika Earley ‘25.
Program Details
Archive Live with the Smithsonian Archives of American Art
Artist Beverly Hallam and philanthropist and arts patron Mary-Leigh Smart envisioned Surf Point as a retreat for artists. Surf Point carries that vision forward through its residency program and the preservation of Hallam’s home, artwork, and archival materials. The collection known as the Beverly Hallam papers is divided between Surf Point and the AAA. Together, the two portions include biographical materials, correspondence, personal and professional records, writings, journals, teaching materials, printed materials, photographs, film, video and sound recordings, guest books, recipe books, posters, blueprints, and artwork.
Collector-at-large Josh T Franco of the AAA will be joined by Christa Blatchford, Executive Director of the Joan Mitchell Foundation and Chair of Surf Point’s Board, and art historian and Surf Point board member Olga U. Herrera ’22 for a discussion exploring Beverly Hallam and Mary Leigh Smart’s lives, work, and archives. For this program, Franco has selected documents from the AAA’s portion of the collection that connect closely to Hallam’s life and work in Maine. These materials will be considered alongside selections preserved at Surf Point, bringing new attention to Smart and Hallam’s work and legacy while offering an unusual look at a collection cared for by two attentive and collaborative stewards.
The discussion will also consider archival practice more broadly: how living artists document, organize, preserve, and share their work, and how those choices can shape the ways their lives and practices are understood over time.
Ja’Hari Ortega ‘23 with her 2025 Greenway installation Big Hoops to Fill
Performance and Installation at Wild Knoll Foundation Garden by Ja’Hari Ortega ’23
Surf Point alum Ja’Hari Ortega ’23 returns as the featured artist for the 2026 Wild Knoll Foundation Garden Activation. Centered on rest, care, and what it means simply to receive, Ortega’s new work offers a mindful counterpoint to narratives that treat productivity and output as measures of value. Inspired by Tricia Hersey’s Rest Is Resistance and May Sarton’s The House by the Sea, Ortega considers what it feels like to inhabit a garden that asks nothing in return. Through performance and written response, she will begin with the question: “What does it mean to enjoy a garden you didn’t have to create or tend?”
Ja’Hari Ortega (she/her) is a multidisciplinary Boston-based artist, educator, and advocate who uses a vernacular language to capture the pulse of her city. Primarily drawn to sculpture, jewelry-making, and performance, Ortega attended Boston’s only public high school for the visual and performing arts, Boston Arts Academy, as well as the nation’s first and only public independent college of art and design, Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Ortega developed her practice through hands-on art education at Boston Arts Academy, Massachusetts College of Art and Design where she received her BFA, and North Bennet Street School in 2024 where she earned her diploma in jewelry-making and repair.
View Ja’Hari’s work here.
Thematic Food by Kathryn Ferguson
Drawing from a 1970s dinner-party book and recipe cards preserved in Surf Point’s archives, caterer and friend of Surf Point founders Kathryn Ferguson will prepare a selection of dishes inspired by meals hosted by Smart and Hallam at Surf Point during the 1970s and 1980s. These records offer a glimpse into another part of life at Surf Point: the gatherings, conversations, friendships, and carefully planned meals that brought artists, writers, and friends together around the table.
One table plan documents a luncheon on June 10, 1978, with guests May Sarton, Mary Jane and Tom Masters, and Greeley Summers.
Registration and Contributions
Community Days are free and open to all, with a suggested donation of $25 to support Surf Point’s public programs.
We welcome donations above or below this amount based on your ability to give.
Registration is required. Address and directions will be provided via email ahead of the event.
Surf Point is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Support from a broad base of donors helps us maintain that status by demonstrating public support. Contributions of every size, including $1, make a difference. Your gift strengthens Surf Point’s public support and helps sustain programs for artists and the broader community. Learn more about Surf Point here.