For more than three decades, Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center has been a place where artists go to think, a working laboratory tucked into ten acres on Long Island’s East End and dedicated to experimentation. This June, that same ground takes on a new role as the site of NOMAD’s first American fair, marking a significant expansion for the itinerant design platform that has previously landed in St. Moritz, Monaco, Capri, and Abu Dhabi.

Running from June 25 to 28, NOMAD Hamptons will bring together international galleries, designers, and artists across Watermill’s grounds and architecture, transforming its gardens, pathways, and interiors into a series of curated encounters. The partnership feels particularly apt. Since its founding, NOMAD has distinguished itself by selecting destinations with strong architectural and cultural identities rather than conventional exhibition venues. Few locations embody that philosophy more fully than Watermill, where artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning once worked in the surrounding landscape long before Wilson established his multidisciplinary center in 1992.

Giorgio Armani returns as the fair’s official partner, continuing a collaboration with NOMAD that began earlier this year in St. Moritz. The relationship also reflects Armani’s longstanding connection with Wilson, a creative dialogue that has spanned theater, fashion, and the landmark retrospective dedicated to Wilson at the Guggenheim in 2000. That history resurfaces here through the second edition of an exhibition platform dedicated to material-focused artists, accompanied by a large-scale outdoor textile installation on Watermill’s South Lawn. Conceived as a place to sit, gather, and spend time, the work encourages participation rather than passive observation.

Courtesy of Giorgio Armani

Across the grounds, the program draws on Wilson’s own sensibilities as both a collector and theatrical visionary. One presentation explores the unexpected friendship between Wilson and Italian designer Gio Ponti. Through drawings and archival materials, while another offers rare access to Wilson’s private apartment, a space he has long treated with the precision and imagination of a stage set. A separate initiative, developed in collaboration with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, introduces three Emirati artists, establishing an exchange between Gulf craft traditions and the East End landscape.

Lastly, jewelry, sculpture, and collectible design complete the program, broadening the dialogue between disciplines that defines NOMAD’s approach. Presented alongside large-scale installations and gallery exhibitions, these works highlight a range of contemporary practices, from traditional craftsmanship to experimental forms of making.