Shenanigans: Pocketbook Hudson Omi Opening Afterparty
Bibbe Hansen, readings, and DJ sets follow the debut of major new commissions by Nayland Blake and Tschabalala Self
June 27, 8:30pm–late (Summer Opening 3–6pm) | Ghent, NY | Free, RSVP essential
Art Omi closes out its Summer Opening with "Shenanigans" at Pocketbook Hudson, a late-night afterparty at the hotel, in collaboration with Elephant magazine, starting at 8:30pm. The lineup includes a performance by Bibbe Hansen and readings by Peter McGough, Isaiah Davis, Whitney Mallett, and Shanekia McIntosh, hosted by Mistress of Ceremonies Dusty Shoulders, with dancing and DJ sets to follow.
The party caps a day built around two major new commissions, both opening earlier that afternoon. Nayland Blake's "Haunt: Being the Folly of One Victorya Spectre" is the artist's first outdoor installation, on view in the park through fall 2030. The piece draws on the history of the ornamental hermit—an 18th- and 19th-century practice in which wealthy landowners hired a man to live alone on their estate for a term of years, required to remain visible to visitors, forbidden from speaking or cutting his hair, performing a fantasy of a simpler life that predated the Industrial Revolution.
Blake has spent decades building a body of work around play, eroticism, and the politics of desire and representation, with pieces in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, SFMOMA, and the Whitney, and inclusion in the 1991 Whitney Biennial and 1993 Venice Biennale.
Alongside it, the park presents Tschabalala Self's "Pioneer" (2023). Self has become one of the most closely watched figurative painters and sculptors of her generation, known for large-scale work that reconstructs Black bodies through textile, paint, and collage in ways that challenge how those bodies have historically been represented and consumed.
The afternoon opening, from 3 to 6pm, features two newly commissioned performances: M. Lamar, whose work spans opera, metal, video, and installation, debuts "AURA EXTRACTION" in dialogue with Blake's project, and "DANIRO" premieres a new performance responding to Self's installation.
Free shuttles run from Pocketbook Hudson to Art Omi in 30-minute intervals from 3 to 7pm. The whole day falls during Upstate Art Weekend.
Art Omi, 1405 County Route 22, Ghent, NY. Free, RSVP required at artomi.org.
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After a decade of writing for RI (along with many other publications and organizations) Jamie took over as editor in 2025. He has a masters in journalism from NYU, a wonderful wife, two kids and a Carolina dog named Zelda.
