Arts & Entertainment
Looking Upwards Opens New Doors to Artists With Disabilities at Downtown Designs
Looking Upwards' new store, which also will help showcase the works of artists with disabilities, celebrated the Grand Opening of Downtown Designs on Friday night with a large crowd of art-lovers, family members and supporters.
Many of the Downtown Designs Gallery artists who work in partnership with Looking Upwards were on hand Friday night for the store's Grand Opening in Newport.
Looking Upwards is a Middletown-based private nonprofit agency that offers an array of services to adults with developmental disabilities and children with diverse needs.
The mission of Downtown Designs, which features the artwork, jewelry and special line of art from repurposed materials created by artisans with disabilities, is to share the space with other talented local artists working in various mediums.
The project came to life when a group of artisans got together to create their own unique line of jewelry, GALCHI ‘One of a Kind Designs’.   Downtown Designs is now home to GALCHI, as well as the work of Studio 57  "One of a Kind Repurposed Art" and Creations from the Heart, as well as other local artisans.
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"Downtown Designs has been in the works for about a year or two," said Dr. William Hilton, Looking Upwards founder. "The artisans wanted to move from just doing shows to a storefront and they wanted to use it incorporate other members of the artist community."
Jewelry Designer Lianna Slater came on board when Looking Upwards reached out for a jewelry designer with the passion to teach the students the art of jewelry-making. She is now the gallery manager and said she is on the "most rewarding career path."
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"It is fascinating to see the passion the artists have for their work and how it has grown," she said. "Their work is shining, and that is why I do it."
The Grand Opening ended a week-long celebration of Disabilities Awareness Week. Su Skelly, whose daughter Leah helped orchestrate the opening of the gallery and whose husband is one of the community of artists sharing the space said it was "a wonderful way to end this week of compassion."
"It makes you stop and think a bit about what being compassionate truly is and how it should come to all of us naturally. It is learning to accept the diversified groups of people we have around us and open our hearts," she said.
Click here for more information on Downtown Designs.