Art Omi: Education
Art Omi: Education engages people of all ages with contemporary art and ideas in a stimulating and dynamic community. Through creative exploration, hands-on learning and making experiences, collaboration, and critical thinking, Art Omi: Education instills understanding, appreciation, and lifelong curiosity in the arts.
Click here to view Student Volunteer opportunities for teens.
Program Director
Sasha Sicurella is a Canadian-born arts education specialist, artist, and consultant. She is the Education Director at Omi International Arts Center. She has been the Director of Camp Omi since its inception in 2005. Educated in visual arts and photography, Sicurella received her MFA from New York University and her BFA from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Previously, she taught art to students ages 3-18 in both public and independent school systems and continues to develop arts enrichment programs at local schools in her community.
Sicurella is also the founding director of the I AM: International Foundation, a non-profit organization that works locally and globally to provide opportunities for children to explore identity through art and self-portrait photography. Since 2010, the I AM: Projects have served more than 1,000 children and youth in fourteen countries including Rwanda, Mongolia, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Brazil, Romania, Israel, Mexico, and Ethiopia. Projects target marginalized populations such as children with disabilities, victims of human trafficking and abuse, orphans, juvenile offenders, and impoverished communities. Sicurella’s work has been exhibited in the United States and internationally at museums and art centers in Tel Aviv, Milan, Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Bratislava, Ulan Bator, and New York. Her project, I AM: Mongolia is the subject of the documentary film, Water, Ice, Snow (2013, dir. Karim Raoul).
As an arts-education consultant, Sicurella works with schools, arts organizations, and international NGOs to establish integrated creative learning models, specializing in groups with limited resources. Clients include the Rwanda Education Assistance Project (REAP), Goutte d’Eau (Switzerland/Cambodia), Berkshire Country Day School (Lenox, MA), and the Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation (SASF) in New York City.
Education Programs
Saturday Workshops
Join us on Saturday mornings for this popular workshop for young artists ages 4 1/2 - 12! Based on a weekly theme and inspired by artworks in The Fields and gallery, each workshop includes an outdoor adventure and a hands-on artmaking activity.
Artful Playgroup
A creative offering for our youngest artists, ages 2-4! Using artworks by renowned contemporary artists in the gallery and sculptures in The Fields as inspiration, toddlers and their caregivers investigate color, shape, form and more through multi-sensory play and exploration.
Vacation Camps
Art-filled escapes during Winter and Spring vacations. Shake off that cabin fever with 2D and 3D art projects, music and movement workshops, sledding or hiking in The Fields, storytelling, and play.
Summer Camp
Columbia County’s most popular day camp for young artists! Draw, paint, sculpt, dance, play, perform, collaborate, explore, encounter, and create at Camp Omi. Campers explore contemporary art and ideas through daily activities including 2-D Art studio, Sculpture Shop, Music & Movement, Field Studies and swimming.
Teen and Adult Programs
Omi has growing education offerings for teens and adults, including drop-in classes and summer workshops.
School Visits and Public Tours
Guided visits to The Fields are available for people of all ages and levels. Whether you would like to bring a class of K-12 students or a group of curious adults, we are happy to work with you to tailor an experience to suit your interests.