Omi International Arts Center is a not-for-profit arts organization with residency programs for international visual artists, writers, musicians, and dancers. The 300 acre campus is also the site for The Fields Sculpture Park, a public exhibition space with nearly 80 contemporary sculptures; Architecture Omi, exploring the intersection of architecture, art and landscape; and arts education programs for children.
There are four distinct residency programs: the Art Omi International Artists Residency, which invites thirty artists from around the world for three weeks every July; Writers Omi, formally Ledig House International Writers Residency, which sponsors forty writers and translators for up to two months each year; and Music Omi International Musicians Residency, which brings together twelve to fifteen musician-composers to collaborate actively and perform in August; and Dance Omi International Dance Collective which brings together ten individual dancers from around the world for three weeks of collaborative dance.
Located in Omi, New York, a Hudson River Valley hamlet two and a half hours from New York City, Omi is situated on 300 acres of rolling farmland with spectacular views of the Catskills and theHudson River valley.Omi provides residents with room, board, and a place to work. Our Program Boards, comprised of peer group professionals, review all applications. As an integral part of our programs, Omi broadens the scope of traditional retreats by hosting visiting international and New York artists, critics, gallerists, publishers, collectors, curators and agents who help residents cultivate valuable career opportunities. Our strong commitment to fostering professional success and growth in the lives of serious artists, writers and musicians makes Omi unique
Omi recognizes the importance not only of nurturing creative individuals, but also of bringing the arts to the public. Each of Omi's residencies offers the opportunity for the public to become involved in such activities as "Open Day" studio visits of the visual arts program, the Writers Omi spring and fall authors' readings, a Dance Open Day Performance and the Music Omi Collaborative Concert - in which our international residents share their work with the community at large, free of charge.
The Fields Sculpture Park, open year-round since 1998, provides hundreds of visitors with the opportunity to experience the impact of important international contemporary sculpture in striking natural surroundings. Educators, schoolchildren, and various community groups take advantage of Art Omi's educational outreach program, and enrich their knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art and sculpture.
Since its founding, Omi has been guided by the principle that artistic expression is a vehicle that transcends economic, political, and cultural boundaries. To date, Omi has hosted over a 1,600 residents from over 85 countries. By inviting a synergistic mix of artists, writers, musicians and dancers from all over the world to create a diverse, positive working community, Omi transforms this guiding vision into an exciting reality. It has been said that "Life imitates Art". It is the hope of all those who work on behalf of Omi that the world will emulate our artistic community in finding ways to remove those obstacles which separate people and nations from one another.
