Organizer Information
Art Omi, originally founded as the Omi International Arts Center, is a non-profit international arts organization based in Ghent, New York, in the Hudson Valley about two and a half hours north of New York City. It was founded in 1992, when 21 visual artists from 11 countries gathered for a month-long residency in a refurbished dairy farm, and its residency programs have since expanded to serve architects, dancers, musicians, and writers alongside visual artists. Since its founding, Art Omi has been guided by the principle that artistic expression transcends economic, political, and cultural boundaries, and has hosted more than 2,400 artists from over 114 countries to date. The organization's grounds include the Sculpture & Architecture Park, founded in 1998, which now presents more than 60 large-scale contemporary works across roughly 300 acres of farmland, wetlands, and woods, open to the public free of charge year-round.
Title & Description
Art Omi: Artists — 2027 Open Call
Art Omi: Artists invites two dozen artists from around the world, representing a wide diversity of artistic styles and practices, to gather in rural New York each summer to experiment, collaborate, and share ideas. Concentrated studio time is balanced with cultural exchange and critical appraisal: each session, two critics or curators join as Critics-in-Residence, leading discussions, shaping the program's Visitors schedule, and conducting individual studio visits with the artists in residence. The Visitors Program connects residents directly with visiting art critics, curators, gallerists, and prominent artists, offering an engagement with the New York City art world that the organizer describes as distinctive among comparable residencies. The residency culminates in an Open Studios event, giving the public a look at what the artists have produced during their time on-site.
Categories
- Residency
- Visual Arts
- Sound/Music
- Performance
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Multiple Disciplines
Eligibility
- Open to artists from all over the world who have been professionally active for at least the past five years
- Disciplines include visual arts, sound art, performance, and social practice
- Having studied art or received a formal degree/certification is not a requirement; applications are accepted from self-taught professional artists
- Resumes/CVs must reflect at least five years of professional experience as an exhibiting artist
- Artists currently enrolled in a BFA or MFA program are not eligible to apply; applicants must be out of school at the time of application
- PhD students, or professional artists with at least five years of professional experience currently enrolled in a master's degree program outside the arts, are eligible
- Alumni of the Art Omi: Artists program are not eligible for a second residency (per the general Residency FAQ, which applies across Art Omi's programs)
- Applications must be submitted in English (per the general Residency FAQ)
Program Benefits & Awards
- Selected residents attend at no cost except travel expenses
- Comfortable lodgings and dedicated workspace on Art Omi's roughly 300-acre campus
- Fresh, prepared meals provided throughout the residency
- Access to the Visitors Program, including studio visits and discussions with two Critics-in-Residence per session, plus visiting art critics, curators, gallerists, and artists
- Participation in the Open Studios public event at the end of the residency
- Residency runs for four weeks
Application Fee
$15. The organizer states this fee covers the cost of administration to process applications.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 14 September 2026
- Notification of acceptance: the following March
- Residency dates: Thursday, June 17–Monday, July 12, 2027
Location
Ghent, New York, United States
Additional Details
- In 2026, 24 artists were selected to attend from a pool of 796 applicants based in the U.S. and 599 applicants from outside the U.S.
- Art Omi's stated goal is to invite approximately 75% of residents from outside the United States.
- The application fee applies specifically to Art Omi: Artists and the other residency programs under this Open Call; exact fee policies for other Art Omi programs (Writers, etc.) are not covered by this source.