A Passion for Art is a half hour documentary about a very special kind of art making. It's about an art studio, Passion Works, where the artists are developmentally disabled adults -- the adults who work in a sheltered workshop making pens and sticking mailing labels on envelopes. Useful, but repetitive, tasks that keep the developmentally disabled out of the public view. But in Athens, Ohio the ATCO Sheltered Workshop has taken a different approach to assisting the developmentally disabled. Several years ago, a local artist, Patty Mitchell, did a residency with the sheltered workshop participants. It's never been the same since. Now the workshop participants create art that they display and sell in museums and galleries. The art they produce is winning awards, decorating restaurants, and changing lives. The documentary explores the workshop and how art can affect individuals and communities. It's also a story about how art can create community. In Passion Works professional artists work along side disabled artists and collaborate on projects. Both benefit. The professional artists learn new ways of looking at art and the developmentally disabled get to experience working with color, and light and texture. They're making choices and expressing themselves in ways they've never had the chance to. Mitchell says, "Artists are GREAT at working at people with developmental disabilities. They are, by nature of their craft, problem solvers. They have the ability to look at the individuals and SEE how their abilities can shine through the artwork." This documentary follows four of the workshop participants as they prepare a float for a parade. It allows them - and the people who know them to tell their story - a difficult process for the developmentally disabled. I fed this documentary as an independent in March, 2003. It aired on about 20 stations. Winner of the 2004 National Headliner Award for Best Human Interest Story

A Passion for Art is a half hour documentary about a very special kind of art making. It's about an art studio, Passion Works, where the artists are developmentally disabled adults -- the adults who work in a sheltered workshop making pens and sticking mailing labels on envelopes. Useful, but repetitive, tasks that keep the developmentally disabled out of the public view. But in Athens, Ohio the ATCO Sheltered Workshop has taken a different approach to assisting the developmentally disabled. Several years ago, a local artist, Patty Mitchell, did a residency with the sheltered workshop participants. It's never been the same since. Now the workshop participants create art that they display and sell in museums and galleries. The art they produce is winning awards, decorating restaurants, and changing lives. The documentary explores the workshop and how art can affect individuals and communities. It's also a story about how art can create community. In Passion Works professional artists work along side disabled artists and collaborate on projects. Both benefit. The professional artists learn new ways of looking at art and the developmentally disabled get to experience working with color, and light and texture. They're making choices and expressing themselves in ways they've never had the chance to. Mitchell says, "Artists are GREAT at working at people with developmental disabilities. They are, by nature of their craft, problem solvers. They have the ability to look at the individuals and SEE how their abilities can shine through the artwork." This documentary follows four of the workshop participants as they prepare a float for a parade. It allows them - and the people who know them to tell their story - a difficult process for the developmentally disabled. I fed this documentary as an independent in March, 2003. It aired on about 20 stations. Winner of the 2004 National Headliner Award for Best Human Interest Story