The Kindness Gallery: 
Where Art Meets Heart

by Mike Markowitz, Dad of Sarah and member of The Price Center Board of Directors

Three and a half years ago, Sarah, Anne, and I traveled to the outskirts of Detroit for a milestone event: meeting our future in-laws. While the family introduction was a wonderful success — we love our in-laws — the trip sparked an unexpected epiphany for The Price Center.

In West Bloomfield Hills, we visited Soul Studio, an impressive art space attached to the Soul Cafe. The cafe is a bustling breakfast and lunch spot that provides vocational training and employment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Looking at their model back then, I saw a vision of what was possible. It is incredibly rewarding to see that vision manifesting today at The Price Center with the recent launch of our own Kindness Cafe.

However, it was the Soul Studio itself—a supported gallery where adults with IDD engage in professional creative expression and vocational training—that stayed with me. I left Detroit inspired to bring that same "art as vocation" spirit to our community. Today, that inspiration has taken flight with the launch of The Kindness Gallery.

To help our artists find their professional footing, we are thrilled to welcome Judith Hurwitz as a volunteer. Judith’s connection to us is a family affair; her son, David, serves as a dedicated job developer and coach in our Chuck Flynn Employment Program. A software business consultant focused on emerging technologies, Judith has been an artist focusing on both abstract painting and ceramics for more than 20 years. She is currently the president of the Newton Art Association, an organization of about 220 artists in the local area.

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Judith’s vision for the gallery is ambitious. She envisions future exhibitions that showcase the work of both Price Center and members of the Newton Art Association. Her organization wants to be able to contribute their love of art and collaboration to the community. She sees that a collaboration between the Newton Art Association and the Price Center can have a huge benefit to everyone in the community. Judith recognizes that expanding the gallery and providing a nurturing place for creativity is essential in the complex times we all live in.

My hope is to create a collaborative ecosystem where local Newton artists contribute their time and mentorship in exchange for access to studio space and materials provided by The Price Center. We are already looking toward our first major aspirational project: a collaborative multi-media mural created by Price Center artists.

We are just at the beginning of this creative journey, and I would love to hear your thoughts on this new chapter. What kind of art would you like to see featured in The Kindness Gallery?

mmarkowitz@thepricecenter.org