ABOUT BAFFA
BAFFA stands for the Bay Area Friends of the Fine Arts. It was founded in 1968 and is a not- for-profit 501(c) 3 organization. BAFFA is unique as it is comprised of a symphony orchestra, a chorus and an art gallery. To our knowledge, there are no other organizations quite like ours on Long Island.
Our mission is to bring music, fine arts, and cultural events to the residents of Long Island and to enrich our society. Originally, BAFFA was established to serve the communities of Bayport and Blue Point. However, BAFFA’s influence quickly spread, and today BAFFA has members from 50 communities throughout Long Island as well as from seven states and has impacted the lives of thousands of people.
For an in-depth look at BAFFA’s history, we invite you to watch the videos below, BAFFA Beginnings Part I and Part 2.
About the Gillette House
The office of BAFFA and the art gallery share space in the historic Gillette House in Sayville at 47 Gillette Avenue just south of Main Street, Montauk Highway. The art gallery is located in two rooms with a separate entrance on the south side of the building. BAFFA has hosted juried high school invitational exhibits for a number of years each spring at which time the recipient of the Jacqueline C. Palmer Art Award for a graduating senior is chosen. BAFFA also has sponsored many individual and multi-artist shows featuring local artists.
The Gillette House was built by Capt. Charles Z. Gillette for his wife, Phoebe Edwards and family, after his maritime days at the end of he Civil War. In partnership, he ran the local mercantile, served as postmaster of Sayville and was elected as Town of Islip Supervisor for eight years. In 1905, Captain Gillette was instrumental in having Gillette Avenue dedicated, paving the way for electric lighting. “…charitable and with a good word for everyone, this gentleman of the old school was beloved by the whole village.” (6/8/06 Suffolk County News).
Having bequeathed the family homestead to his daughter, Ida, who preserved his community interest, the Gillette House and property, was gifted in 1944 to the Town of Islip for park purposes, giving Sayville its second park. Today the Gillette House and Park house not only the BAFFA Art Gallery, but the Village Improvement Society, the Wet Paints Studio Group, the Sayville Pantry, as well as the Boy and Girl Scouts, and the Little League. The old carriage house (on Collins) is used by the Sayville Cabinet for the Sick. Rotary Park (between Gillette and Candee Avenue), along with Gillette Park is the site of the Sayville Summer Festival.