American Idol for Landscapers
The artistic potential of the garden will be on full display in East Hampton this weekend at LongHouse Reserve’s fourth annual garden-container exhibition, Planters: On & Off the Ground. Dominique Browning, former editor of House & Garden and an award-winning garden designer herself, will judge the competition, while spectators are encouraged to vote for the People’s Choice. The competition ends Saturday, but Browning’s own work will remain on display at the center until October 8 (133 Hands Creek Rd., East Hampton; 631-329-3568; $20, members $10; tickets available by phone or online at longhouse.org).
Graffiti on Wheels
Artist Kenny Scharf has been leaving his mischievous, swirling spray-paint figures on the walls of downtown Manhattan since the early eighties, but lately he’s been concentrating on a more specific canvas: the storefront gates of the Lower East Side. On Friday, Anonymous Gallery, the three-year-old public art gallery behind the Gates Project, will conduct a scenic bike tour stopping at many of Scharf’s storefront pieces and culminating in one of the artist’s famous “cosmic cavern” parties at his Brooklyn studio (for times and location, go to anonymousgallery.com or contact a info@anonymousgallery.com).
Meet Your Makers
Socrates Sculpture Park will host the third annual Makers Market, beginning Friday and continuing all weekend. The market, presented in collaboration with the Noguchi Museum, will showcase the work of more than 50 American artisans whose products include hand-turned wooden bowls and ceramics, glasswares, lighting, and surfboards. Thursday night’s preview benefit event will give attendees a first crack at the goods, but free workshops throughout the weekend allow everyone to take something home with them (32-01 Vernon Blvd., at Broadway; benefit tickets available by phone at 718-956-1819, ext. 12, or online at socratessculpturepark.org, $50; market Fri-Sa, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Su, 11 a.m.–5 p.m; RSVP in advance for the adult workshop; kids workshop accepts drop-ins.).
Empty Calories, Heavy Designs
Jell-O rises above its humble cafeteria-food origins this Saturday at the Gowanus Studio Space’s third annual Jell-O Mold Competition, the culminating event of a workshop co-sponsored by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Eyebeam Art + Technology Center. Participants are required to develop completely new molds and must provide tasting portions to the judging panel, which includes Allan Chochinov, editor-in-chief of industrial-design blog Core77, and Emily Elsen, half of the sister duo behind Gowanus pie shop Four & Twenty Blackbirds. Public viewing starts at 6 p.m., and winners will be announced at 8 p.m. (166 7th St., nr. Third Ave., Gowanus; 347-948-5753; gowanusstudio.org; $8, students under 16 free).