LI Design Lab Gets Arts Grant For Fashion Course For Disabled

GREAT NECK, NY — The Great Neck-based Open Style Lab has been awarded a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support an online fashion education program that will help people with disabilities create accessible and stylish clothing.

Open Style lab plans to use the funding to support salaries for the online education program, according to the NEA’s website. It plans to offer “online guest expert lectures with aligned accessibility and fashion partners,” as well as a comprehensive video library to help students “design and hack wearable solutions for their own dressing challenges,” the website states.

“I truly believe design can elevate people during disempowering moments,” she said. “Making style accessible to all people, regardless of cognitive and physical disability, has been our mission since 2015.”

Open Style Lab is a Smithsonian award-winning nonprofit formed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that has helped numerous people co-create more than 100 designs for people suffering from Cerebral Palsy, spinal cord injury, amputation, paralysis and autism, according to a representative from the company.

In the United States, there are nearly 61 million people living with a disability impacting their major life activities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In New York alone, 11.3% of the population has a mobility-related disability.

The office of U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) was notified recently that the NEA, which regularly awards between $10,000 to $100,000 to nonprofit arts organizations for specific projects, had chosen to fund Open Style Lab’s project.

Suozzi said design and accessibility have typically been overlooked for people with disabilities.

“Every person has the right to dress in clothing that makes them feel good about themselves,” he said. “Open Style Lab continues to make tremendous strides for people in the disability community by designing clothing that is inclusive, stylish, and functional. I’m proud to see the National Endowment of the Arts award this grant to Open Style Lab.”

Open Style Lab plans online events such as panels, lectures, and workshops throughout 2021.