Art Omi is a locus for the arts in the Hudson River Valley that offers international residency programs in literature, visual arts, dance, music, and architecture, as well as a noted sculpture park, public exhibits and events, and an education program.
Surrounded by sculpture, gardens, and fields, artists from around the world find an opportunity for intense focus on their work, as the exchange of diverse artistic viewpoints and traditions fosters community, transforming individuals and building international understanding.
Each November, Art Omi: Writers hosts an annual Translation Lab, in which four English-language translators are invited to work alongside the writers whose work they translate.
Lab residents personify the importance of translation as a fundamental means of cultural exchange. Year after year, participants discover that they can have in-depth conversations about text and context, leading to critical refinements, subtle reconsiderations, and new understanding. In a world where authors often do not meet their translators in person, this opportunity is rare and is always embraced with excitement.
Professionally, the residency serves as an essential community-builder for English-language translators working to increase the amount of international literature available to U.S. readers. Work relationships are expanded and friendships formed, taking the impact of the time spent at Art Omi around the world and into the future.
Translation Lab is fully funded, including travel, room and board, meals, and workspaces, and is made possible in part by a generous grant from Amazon.
We are grateful to InTranslation for presenting a selection of exciting work by Translation Lab alumni. They have not been gathered for publication together before, and the only theme that could possibly be seen to tie them together is that of diversity itself–a foundational principle for Art Omi.
– Carol Frederick and DW Gibson