The Pavilions was founded by Francis Greenburger, the Founder of Art Omi in Ghent and the Greenburger Prize, as well as a board member of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Through Greenburger’s long-term involvement in the arts, he cultivated close relationships with artists, and noticed a persistent concern among established artists: beyond their lifetimes, artists have little agency in determining the context in which their oeuvres will be viewed and received by future generations. The same was true for collectors, for whom the curatorial and scholarly narrative of their acquisitions would likely be dispersed across museums and placed in storage, displayed selectively according to shifting curatorial agendas. Having acquired the site of Art Omi Pavilions in Chatham decades ago, it occurred to Greenburger that the sprawling, scenic hillside could be populated with venues dedicated to specific artists and private collections, designed in collaboration with leading architects.

Along with Co-Executive Director Natalie Diaz, Greenburger assembled a foundational roster of collaborators: artists Alice Aycock, Torkwase Dyson, and Rakuko Naito and Tadaaki Kuwayama; collectors Michael and Susan Hort and Ariel Aisiks of the Institute for Studies of Latin American Art; and architects BKSK, Gluckman Tang, Jahn/, SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership, SO-IL, and unit a, freie architekten bda. A multi-phase project, Art Omi Pavilions will eventually comprise 16 pavilions devoted to artists’ and collectors’ legacies; BKSK’s Visitor Center with a cafe, exhibition space, and education wing; SKOLNICK Architecture’s Biennale Exhibition Pavilion that will present shows on long term view; and SO-IL’s Mini Pavilions, a set of five interconnected galleries designed to showcase one artwork at a time for an intimate, contemplative encounter.

Art Omi Pavilions broke ground in the Summer of 2024, with a Groundbreaking Ceremony in October 2024 that drew artists, collectors, local residents, elected officials and organizations such as Empire State Development and New York State Council on the Arts–the collective community whose generosity and support was instrumental in making Art Omi Pavilions a reality.

Art Omi Pavilions follows Art Omi’s 33-year history as one of Columbia County’s most important cultural institutions: serving tens of thousands of visitors who come to enjoy its exhibitions and programming; thousands of artists, writers, architects, musicians and dancers from around the world who participate in the residency programs; and hundreds of local children through the art education program. Art Omi Pavilions will expand Omi’s education programming, providing classrooms and resources for students to attend workshops year round. Art Omi Pavilions will also extend the tradition of visionary exhibitions at Art Omi, not only as an innovative model in which exhibitions are directed by the artists and collectors they showcase, but also through the inclusion of rotating exhibition pavilions that will facilitate lively and ongoing cultural context.

Art Omi Pavilions will open to the public in June of 2027, debuting the Visitor Center, the Aycock Pavilion, the Hort Family Museum, the Rakuko Naito and Tadaaki Kuwayama Pavilion, and the Australia Pavilion. To date, Art Omi Pavilions has received advance coverage in publications such as Artnet, The Architect’s Newspaper, Dezeen, Chronogram, Cultured, Archinect, and World Architecture. Art Omi Pavilions has also been recognized with generous state funding from Empire State Development and New York State Council on the Arts.

We look forward to welcoming you to our campus in June 2027.