NOMAD, a Traveling Design and Art Fair, Comes to the Hamptons for Its First U.S. Edition

The international design art fair makes its U.S. debut at Watermill Center, bringing invitation-led exhibitions, collectible design and VIP talks.

It was only a matter of time before NOMAD arrived in the Hamptons.

The traveling design and art fair known for its invitation-led format and internationally site-specific exhibitions fosters  design and art in “extraordinary places.”

NOMAD Hamptons will make its U.S. debut June 25–28 at Watermill Center, a multidisciplinary arts campus founded by Robert Wilson that already functions less like a traditional venue and more like a sanctuary for ongoing experiment in performance, installation, and cross-disciplinary creation.

Collectible Design, Art & Jewelry in Extraordinary Places

NOMAD sits outside the typical art fair model. Founded by curator Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, it is built around staging exhibitions of collectible design, contemporary art, and jewelry inside highly specific architectural environments, where the setting is an active part of the work.

Past editions have taken place inside a clinic in St. Moritz, a villa in Monaco, a 15th-century palazzo in Venice, and a decommissioned airport in Abu Dhabi. Each location is chosen not as backdrop, but as a defining layer of the experience.

“The Hamptons hold particular significance as a place historically shared by artistic experimentation,” Bellavance-Lecompte said.

NOMAD operates through invitation and registration, supported by its private NOMAD CIRCLE network of collectors and members. There is no standard public ticket model, and entry is expected to be tiered, ranging from VIP guests and invited collectors to a limited number of approved public registrations during select days.

Inside Watermill’s wooded campus, galleries including The Future Perfect, Todd Merrill Studio, Gallery FUMI, Maison Gerard, Leila Heller Gallery, J. Lohmann Gallery, Jeff Lincoln Art + Design, and Tristan Hoare will present installations created specifically for the site.

NOMAD describes its approach as collectible design “not as spectacle, but as an intimate, site-responsive conversation shaped by context and cultural intent.”

Special projects will include “Giorgio Armani / Unveiled,” curated by Abby Bangser, featuring artists focused on material and craftsmanship including Ariel Dearie and Jonathan Kline. Sisley Paris will present a collaboration with Hamptons-based artist Sydney Albertini centered on her Botanical Series, while additional presentations include Mathieu Lehanneur, Silvia Furmanovich, and Object & Thing.

A Circle of Talks, Private Events & a VIP Program

Alongside the installations, NOMAD will host talks, private events, and a VIP program extending beyond Watermill into private homes and cultural sites across the East End — effectively turning the fair into a temporary collector circuit for the duration of its run.

Preview day is June 25 by invitation only. Public access runs June 26–28 with registration required.

In the East End context, however, the defining question may not be what NOMAD is bringing to the Hamptons — but who gets access to it.

Stay tuned.

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .