Newburyport Art presents the 2026 OpArt Exhibition

Newburyport Art (NAA) presents the 2026 OpArt Exhibit, on view from April 1st through April 25th. This exhibit features over 90 art pieces by artists from Opportunity Works, as well as a series of portraits of the OpArt artists created by John Douglass.

The OpArt program founded in 2004 is a partnership between the Newburyport Art Association and Opportunity Works with a mission to encourage and support individuals with disabilities to fulfill their life ambitions through the creative process. OpArt is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to enrich their lives through visionary expression and artistic practice by providing instruction in a variety of mediums and techniques. Artists are encouraged to work freely and experiment across different media (paint pastels, collage, drawing, sculpture, etc.) to produce artwork centered on a theme or their imagination. 

On view alongside this exhibit are 36 portraits of OpArt artists created by John Douglass.

John became an OpArt volunteer after meeting several artists during the 2025 OpArt Show at Newburyport Art. John writes that “At first I thought I’d paint just a few portraits, for practice. At a class, I showed one student his portrait, and the idea of including it in this show came up. The student was so excited about that possibility-I knew then I needed to paint them all." In the end, John painted 36 portraits (and one opossum) over a five-month period-getting more practice than he intended. The OpArt team of volunteers hopes visitors enjoy the artwork and John’s portraits, and recognize as we do, the joy these gifted artists bring to our community.

An Artist Reception & Celebration will be held on Thursday, April 9th from 11:00am to 1:00pm. The reception is free and open to the public, with light refreshments being served.

NEW Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00am–5:00pm. The NAA is handicap accessible. More information, and an online gallery is available at newburyportart.org.