A former New York City resident and a Claverack resident since 1984, Kathy Pakay owned and operated Relics Antiques in Hudson for more than 20 years. At one time, the shop was housed in the United Methodist Church on Warren Street and now operates exclusively online.

Following the death of her husband, acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Sedat Pakay, in 2016, Kathy assumed management of his company, Hudson Film Works, which distributes his films and photographic work. In 2023, Sedat’s film James Baldwin: From Another Place screened at major international festivals, including the New York Film Festival and the Viennale in Austria, and received the New York Film Festival’s award for Best Film Restoration for the Yale Film Archive. A major exhibition of Sedat’s Baldwin photographs recently concluded at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza as part of the writer’s centennial celebration.

Currently, nine of Sedat’s Baldwin photographs are on loan to Atelier Jolie at 257 Great Jones Street in New York City, alongside a watercolor by Beauford Delaney that the artist gifted to Sedat. The gallery—formerly owned by Andy Warhol and once Jean-Michel Basquiat’s studio—provides a historically significant setting for the display.

Earlier in her career, Kathy worked in public relations for more than 14 years, including positions at the Waldorf Astoria and the Metropolitan Opera National Council.