The Summer Shift: What's Happening at Art Talk
Being based in Newport, Rhode Island, it’s no coincidence that Art Talk starts to feel a little more alive when summer arrives.
By Angela Gallo
Being based in Newport, Rhode Island, it’s no coincidence that Art Talk starts to feel a little more alive when summer arrives.
The locals have made it through another grueling winter. The days get longer, the sun stays out a little later, and everything feels just a bit lighter. People start spending more time outside, reconnecting with friends, exploring new experiences, and becoming more active participants in their own lives again.
As a therapist, I notice this shift every year. There’s often a little more confidence, a little more willingness to try things we’ve been putting off, and a little more openness to stepping outside our comfort zones. Maybe it’s because things genuinely feel easier. Or maybe it’s because if something doesn’t go according to plan, we can always just go sit at the beach.
Whatever the reason, summer tends to create movement.
For me, it’s also the start of gallery season—a time when the therapy office and gallery become especially intertwined. Art Talk becomes a space where people can explore themselves through therapy, through art, and through community.
Here’s what’s happening this summer.
Art as Therapy: Summer Groups
This summer I’ll be offering small Art as Therapy groups designed for adults who feel stuck in the same emotional or behavioral patterns and want a deeper understanding of themselves.
Over four weeks, we’ll explore:
Core beliefs — what made you who you are
Emotional patterns — what keeps you stuck
Cycles you want to break
What healing and alignment could actually look like for you
Each session includes guided reflection, discussion, and art-making in a supportive environment. No artistic experience is necessary.
These groups are less about creating “good art” and more about using the creative process as a way to access parts of ourselves that talking alone doesn’t always reach.
Adults only - 6 spots per group
Saturdays at 10 am - 11:30 am
Two groups are now open for enrolment. Sign up using the links below!
June group [6/6, 6/13, 6/20, 6/27]
July/Aug group [7/18, 7,25, 8/1, 8/8]
Summer Exhibition: Let’s Pretend
Our summer exhibition, Let’s Pretend, opens July 18 and explores the many ways we escape.
Living in Newport during the summer often feels like stepping into another reality. The beaches are full, the boats are out, the days are longer, and for a few months many of us are given permission to loosen our grip on everyday life.
Inspired by Newport’s summer culture, Let’s Pretend explores the ways we use beauty, leisure, and seasonal rhythms to momentarily step away from reality. The exhibition celebrates both the relief and the complexity of escapism—honoring the ways summer creates space to rest, reconnect, imagine, and feel more alive.
The open call is currently accepting submissions, and I’m excited to see the many different interpretations of this theme.
All Art Talk exhibitions are non-juried and non-competitive. They are thoughtfully curated around themes that explore mental health, personal growth, and the world we’re living in.
Please submit up to two images of work to [email protected] to be considered
Diving Into My Therapy Intensives Era
Over the past few months, I’ve found myself asking a question:
Should therapy evolve to better fit the way people live today?
Many people don’t necessarily need years of therapy. What they need is dedicated time and space to understand a pattern, make sense of it, and begin moving forward differently.
That’s what led me to develop Therapy Intensives.
Rather than traditional weekly sessions, Therapy Intensives offer a focused, structured approach designed to help people identify the cycles they’re stuck in, understand why those cycles exist, and begin creating meaningful change.
Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time refining this process, and it’s quickly becoming one of the things I’m most excited about.
It’s deep work. It’s intentional. And it’s designed for people who are ready to stop circling the same problem and start understanding how to break the cycle.
I’ll be sharing more about Therapy Intensives in the months ahead, but for now I’ll leave you with a phrase that’s become something of a guiding principle for this work:
Because most people already know what they’re doing. The challenge is learning how to interrupt the patterns that keep pulling them back.
If any of this resonates with you, I’d love for you to take a closer look at what Therapy Intensives have to offer.
- Angela
