Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation Breaks Ground On Longleaf Art Park
Art and culture destination featuring Richard Serra's work to open in 2026
The Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation (BCF) held a groundbreaking ceremony on October 7, marking the start of construction on Longleaf Art Park, a transformative cultural destination in Walton County, Florida. The 15.5-acre public art park and pavilion is designed by OLI Architecture and will be anchored by the late artist Richard Serra’s monumental sculpture Passage of Time.
Plans for Longleaf Art Park were first announced in 2024, when BCF unveiled a vision for a dynamic cultural space that unites Serra’s work with the natural landscape of the region. The site’s design, led by OLI Architecture in close collaboration with Serra prior to his passing, emphasizes environmental sensitivity, with construction disturbances minimized to preserve and protect the existing ecosystem.
At the heart of the park will be the Berkowitz Pavillion, a bespoke architectural structure housing Serra’s iconic sculpture of the same name. The 217-foot-long, 540,000-pound installation consists of eight towering weathering steel plates, each 13.5 feet high and two inches thick, arranged in Serra’s signature parallel formation. Visitors will approach the pavilion via a winding path and boardwalk that leads through native flora, berms, and a tranquil pond before entering the glass-walled vestibules that usher them into the sculpture’s immersive environment.
“The park and pavillion are inseparable, designed to feel as though they have always been here. Native plantings recall the land’s history, while concrete facades – cast with the textures of felled pines – capture the passage of time, ” said Hiroshi Okamoto of OLI Architecture. “In front, Longleaf pines extend this dialogue in living form. Inside, steel structure and trapezoidal skylights harmonize to create a space suffused with shifting natural light.
Additional park features will include an outdoor event space and areas designed for future public programming and education. The park will host a range of free, year-round offerings, including workshops, guided tours, community events, and collaborations with local arts organization Cultural Arts Alliance and the Walton County school district. When complete, Longleaf Art Park will provide free and direct access to world-class contemporary art in a setting designed for reflection, discovery, and community engagement.
“Longleaf Art Park represents BCF’s deep commitment to making groundbreaking art accessible to everyone, ” said Chloe Berkowitz, Founder and President of Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation. “We believe that powerful artistic experiences should be available to all, and by placing Serra’s “Passage of Time” at the heart of this open, free-to-access park, we’re creating a cultural destination for locals and visitors alike. ”
Richard Serra (1938–2024) was one of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, known for radically expanding the possibilities of sculpture. His work, housed in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, emphasized material, space, and the viewer’s embodied experience. Longleaf Art Park is expected to open in 2026.
About Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation
Founded in 2013, the Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting remarkable contemporary and modern art to the public. Through exhibitions, site-specific commissions, and strategic cultural partnerships, BCF fosters inclusive, multidisciplinary art experiences that inspire and inform diverse audiences.
About OLI Architecture
Founded by Hiroshi Okamoto and Bing Lin, OLI Architecture is an internationally recognized architecture and design studio based in New York, Shanghai, and Paris. Noted for its civic and cultural work, including past collaborations with Richard Serra, OLI brings a deeply considered and site-specific approach to the design of the Passage of Time Pavilion and Longleaf Art Park as a whole.
Media Contact:
Tripp Potts
President, Mandatory Assembly
(502) 235-8040
tripp@mandatoryassembly.com
