Performers
Location
About
Art Omi Upstate Benefit 2026
When: Saturday, September 26, 2026 | 5:30–10 PM
Where: Pocketbook Hudson | 549 Washington Street, Hudson, NY 12534
Join us for the annual Art Omi Upstate Benefit on Saturday, September 26 from 5:30–10 PM as we honor philanthropist, art collector, curator, and photographer Jack Shear.
This year's benefit unfolds at Pocketbook Hudson Hotel and Baths, the recently opened hotel, restaurant, and cultural complex in a historic 1885 textile factory and our newest partner in bringing art and community together across the Hudson Valley.
The evening at a glance:
- 5:30 PM: Cocktail party with libations, hors d'oeuvres, and live music from FlamenKora.
- 7:00 PM: An Argentine feast prepared by Ambos Executive Chef Norberto Piattoni.
- After dinner: A spirited live auction and paddle raise hosted by Jacqueline Towers-Perkins.
- The night concludes with dessert.
FlamenKora
By sensitively and skillfully interweaving improvised trumpet and flamenco guitar with traditional mandinka kora and vocals from Senegal, FlamenKora creates timeless and enchanting multicultural music; a welcome balm in these troubled times.
Volker Goetze’s evocative trumpet lines dance gracefully with the soulful vocals and kora of Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko. Flamenco guitarist Roberto Monteiro adds Spanish flair. As the group’s founder and producer, Goetze brings decades of devotion to West African Mande music, jazz composition and arrangement, and an engagement with flamenco and maqam.
“FlamenKora exudes a remarkable sense of cultural diversity... showcasing an uncanny ability to listen and respond to one another, resulting in an exquisite musical beauty.” – JAZZIZ
Jacqueline Towers-Perkins
Jacqueline Towers-Perkins is an international auctioneer and CEO and Founder of Towers & Co, an auctioneer agency and fundraising consultancy. Her clients have included international royalty and major figures in entertainment and business; she has auctioneered to thousands of bidders and raised millions for charity. She previously held senior positions at top global auction houses, including Sotheby’s New York.
About Art Omi
Art Omi is home to five international residency programs for architects, artists, dancers, musicians, and writers, welcoming creative minds from around the world to live and work in Columbia County. Our 120-acre Sculpture & Architecture Park is home to more than 60 artworks on view at any time, alongside rotating exhibitions in the Newmark Gallery—all free and open to everyone. Arts education programs, from summer camps to public school partnerships to weekend workshops, bring hands-on art experiences to kids and families across the region.
All of this is possible because of nights like this one. The Art Omi Upstate Benefit is a chance to gather the community that makes this work possible and celebrate everything we've created together. Your support at any level makes this evening, and Art Omi itself, possible.
Jack Shear, Our 2026 Honoree
Jack Shear has supported local organizations throughout Columbia County and arts institutions globally. In 2022 he donated a collection of 75 Tibetan Thangka paintings and objects to Skidmore College, Vassar College, and Williams College. He serves on the executive committee of MoMA’s International Council and the board of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies.
Jack has built a collection of over 2,000 works on paper ranging from Old Masters to contemporary artists. In 2020 he was honored by The Drawing Center and serves on the Drawings and Prints Committee at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
As a photographer, Jack has published books including Knot, paired with poems and prose by Forrest Gander. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Albany Institute of History and Art.
As the husband of Ellsworth Kelly, Jack continues to honor his legacy as President of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation and Executive Director of the Ellsworth Kelly Studio. In 2023 he donated 207 artworks by Ellsworth Kelly to 22 American museums and oversaw related exhibitions and publications.
Questions? For more information, email Lux Krueger, Associate Director of Development, at [email protected]