Jason Licht has described Passion Works Studio many times as a “delivery room.”
“Creativity is born here,” said Licht, who has been creating art at Passion Works for the last 11 years. He served on the choosing committee, which oversaw the decision to establish Passion Works as a nonprofit, something he said was a good choice.
Passion Works previously existed as an ATCO art program under the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities. ATCO was dissolved because of a federal mandate that bans county disability boards from providing their own programming, which is a "conflict of interest," according to a previous Post report. The studio will continue to provide opportunities for people both with and without developmental disabilities.
Creative Foundations, a service provider from central Ohio for people with disabilities, was the agency selected to oversee the changes with Passion Works.
A branch of Creative Foundations moved to Athens during the summer and will share the same space on East State Street, as well as collaborate with the studio, David Robins, the executive director of Passion Works and Creative Foundations, said. Passion Works will provide employment opportunities for individuals served by Creative Foundations, but both operate as separate nonprofits.
“I wanted to make Passion Works its own,” Robins said. “Passion Works, which is this free bird. It’s this free program that doesn’t do well when it’s being confined. It’s like this life of its own.”
Creative Foundations was selected because of the similar philosophy it shares with Passion Works, he added. Both nonprofits emphasize the importance of freedom, integration and community, rather than control.
Passion Works founder Patty Mitchell said she was “over the moon” about the future for the studio and Creative Foundations.
"It just feels like a next chapter that’s just right,” Mitchell said. “Just fertile, like just ready for growth and expansion and sharing and demonstrating what’s possible.”
She added that Passion Works is living out its mission of creating a space for people to come in, create and hang out.
This change to Passion Works will also renew the connection with Ohio University and bring the entire production of Passion Flowers into the studio, Robins said. Some OU classes have recently reached out to the studio to work with the artists.
Passion Flowers are sculptures constructed from recycled aluminum printing plates and then sold out of the studio.
"Since I’ve taken over, it blows my mind away the amount of volunteers and outreach from the community of people that want to be involved with this organization,” Robins added. “Passion Works is so deeply rooted in this community that it can’t leave.”
