Newburyport Art (NAA) is thrilled to announce two new exhibitions opening May 2nd to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of its OpArt Program. Founded in 2004, OpArt is a partnership between Newburyport Art and Opportunity Works that encourages and supports individuals with disabilities to fulfill their life ambitions through the creative process. The Annual OpArt exhibition, a group exhibition by artists in the program, is titled 20 Years of OpArt and will be on view in the Sargent Gallery. 

The artists’ opening reception, complete with birthday cake, will take place Thursday, May 1, 2024 from 11:00am–1:00pm. To amplify the celebration of OpArt’s milestone anniversary, area and member NAA artists are exhibiting their artworks of flowers in a special fundraising show — Flowers for OpArt — running concurrently in the Hills and Mural Galleries. A portion of proceeds from sales of artwork in the show will directly benefit OpArt programming.

The 2024 Annual OpArt exhibition features 30 OpArt artists from Opportunity Works. OpArt is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to enrich their lives through creative expression and artistic practice by providing art instruction in a variety of mediums and techniques. Artists are encouraged to work freely with materials offered (paint pastels, collage, drawing, sculpture, etc.) to create artwork centered on a particular theme or work independently. 

This exhibition is full of vibrant colors, shapes, and textures that radiate off the gallery walls. If you miss the daytime artists reception, please join us for a community opening reception on Saturday, May 4th from 4:00–6:00pm for both exhibitions. 

The galleries are free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00am–5:00pm and Sunday from 1:00pm–5:00pm. Newburyport Art is closed on Mondays. The ground-floor Hills Gallery has an accessible entrance. More information, as well as an online gallery is available at newburyportart.org.

Founded in 1948, Newburyport Art is dedicated to promoting and exhibiting members’ work and to providing art education and access to the visual arts for the entire community.