For over twenty years, Dia: Chelsea (formerly Dia Center for the Arts) has played a vital and original role among arts institutions in New York, as well as nationally and internationally, by initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving projects in nearly every artistic medium, and creating a primary locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism. The name Dia, taken from the Greek word meaning "through," suggests the center's role in enabling the realization of extraordinary artistic projects.

Dia's Chelsea program provided a laboratory for artists to conceive significant new works and distinctive exhibitions. Exhibitions typically offered an artist an entire floor on which to develop a new project or create a focused presentation of existing work, and were on view for approximately one year to allow extended viewing.

Public programs at Dia:Chelsea, based on the work on view, encompassed scholarly research and publications, the Arts Education Program, commissioned artist web projects, Readings in Contemporary Poetry, the Robert Lehman Lectures on Contemporary Art, the Artists on Artists lecture series, film and video screenings, performances, and book launches. Dia:Chelsea became a seminal attraction for national and international visitors to New York City, as well as a familiar cultural destination for many New Yorkers.

Do visit Dia: Beacon in the Upstate town of Beacon to see much of the phenomenal permanent collection of the Dia Foundation.