Join Sarah Harrelson, founder and editor-in-chief of CULTURED, and gallerist & collector, Gordon VeneKlasen for a conversation celebrating The Cultured Collector , moderated by Guild Hall Museum Director & Curator of Visual Arts, Melanie Crader.
Offering an intimate look inside 30 distinctive private collections, The Cultured Collector explores not simply what people collect, but why. Through more than 200 photographs and conversations with collectors including Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, Rashid Johnson, Michelle and Jason Rubell, Joe Jonas, and Daniel Humm, Harrelson reveals how art and objects become expressions of taste, identity, memory, and personal history.
Book sale & signing to follow.
Sarah Harrelson
Sarah Harrelson is the founder and editor-in-chief of CULTURED, a magazine that covers, and has come to define, contemporary culture at the intersection of art, design, fashion, and food. The magazine was founded in 2012 as a definition-defying publication that seeks to break down the borders between creative disciplines and showcase the complexities of the art ecosystem. A nationally distributed magazine in print, CULTURED expands its reach online, connecting with a targeted demographic of tastemakers, artists, and collectors who engage with our platform as a 24/7 discovery vehicle. Harrelson’s decades- long career in magazines included positions with legacy fashion publications before launching the Miami Herald’s Home and Design section, in addition to becoming the editor-in-chief of Art Basel magazine.
Gordon VeneKlasen
Gordon VeneKlasen founded his eponymous gallery in New York and London in 2026. He previously co-owned Michael Werner Gallery, where he established international locations in New York, Los Angeles, London, Athens, and Berlin between 1990 and 2025.
Melanie Crader
Melanie Crader joined Guild Hall in Summer of 2023 as the inaugural director of visual arts as Guild Hall opened its newly renovated galleries. Recently, she served as deputy director at the Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, where she also served as interim director. For 8 years prior, Melanie held the role of Director of Exhibitions and Publication Management at the Hammer Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, where she was responsible for financial and administrative oversight of all curatorial initiatives, exhibitions, and publications. Managing the institution’s renowned exhibition program, she collaborated with local, national, and international institutional partners including The Met, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, MCA Chicago; Walker Art Center, Stedelijk Museum, and Pinacoteca de São Paulo.
During six years at the Menil Collection in Houston, she managed the operating budget and exhibition program, led a variety of special projects including institutional publications, oversaw major digital infrastructure initiatives, and implemented long-term budget planning for building projects and a capital campaign. Before entering the non-profit sector, Melanie worked in the marketing and communications department of an international investment company.
Originally from Louisiana, Melanie Crader, an artist and educator who taught at the university level, holds MFA from Ohio University, Athens; BA from McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA; and attended the Banco Santander W30 Program, UCLA Anderson School of Management. She is a member of the American Exhibition Organizers and served on the Steering Committee from 2017 to 2021. For several years, she served on the Board of Directors and was an Artist Board Member of DiverseWorks Art Space, Houston.
Photo: Lori Hawkins
Sponsors
Performing Arts programs are supported by 2026 season sponsors Galia Meiri-Stawski and Axel Stawski, with additional lead support from Henry and Peggy Schleiff, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, Monica and Peter Tessler, and Vital Projects Fund.
Additional support provided by Friends of the Theater: Natascia Ayers, Bonnie and Joel Bergstein, Gene Bernstein and Kathy Walsh, Amy Cooney and Marty Feinman, John and Joan D’Addario, Lynn and Richard Feinson, Suzanne and John Golden, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Steve and Susan Pesner and Peace, in memory of Michéle Pesner, whose entire life was devoted to all aspects of culture, Judy Roaman and Carla Chammas, The Schaffner Family Foundation, Lisa Schultz and Ezriel Kornel, Stacey and Oliver Stanton, Susi and Peter Wunsch, and Mrs. George Yates.