Continuum of Care Resident Art Show
109 Legion Ave.
Through Nov. 13, 2025
It was opening day for the second annual resident art show at Connecticut mental illness and developmental disability support organization Continuum of Care, and artist Raymond Bell’s name was ready to hang on the wall.
The only thing left to make was…his art.
Though Bell was on the show’s program, he decided to just come as an attendee, supporting friend Cristian Marvin. Wellness coach and art show organizer Daniel Onorato was fine with this, but he still slid Bell some art supplies at the opening reception Monday in case inspiration struck.
Onorato’s instincts were correct. Bell got to work drawing one of his classic renditions of city skylines, and it was starting to look like he might have something gallery-ready before the reception was over.
The exhibit, filling a hallway on the first floor of Continuum of Care’s 109 Legion Ave. offices, was an extension of an art club Onorato piloted when he first joined the Health and Wellness team. As a whole, the organization works to provide case management, crisis care, and housing support to its clients. The Health and Wellness team works to bring clients out of their shells and discover new parts of themselves, and Onorato’s art club served as a way to provide these encouragements in a low-pressure environment.
Onorato remembers the first session as being pretty structured, beginning with everyone sharing a bit about “what art means to you in your life.”
Now, the sessions are more open-ended. The facilitators put on soothing jazz music, offer supplies, and enjoy a calm art session with their clients. Onorato often joins in the fun as a fellow artist. No one is expected to make art in a particular way, and even sitting down and doing “nothing” is a welcome way to participate.
As the Health and Wellness team knew well, having permission to do nothing can sometimes be the perfect starting point to make brilliant art.
“Some of them have never done art before,” Program Manager for Health and Wellness Ivette Altieri said. Now she gets to see the clients’ creations on display, noting that it’s a “big boost” for clients to know that people will get to witness what they have created throughout the year.
“We get really excited,” Altieri said of her own team’s anticipation of the annual shows.
The art at Monday’s show ranged from photography to ceramics to painting and beyond. A super up-close photo of a squirrel by Elizabeth Rivera put the fuzzy creature on equal footing with the viewer, making it feel like a friend. A science fiction comic from Sarah Allen took viewers all the way to planets Zorg and Zars in the year 3025. A solid red heart drawing by Jose Borrero, with “Jose” scrawled elegantly on the upper left, said all that was needed to be said.
Vibrant abstract paintings by Sam Panthauer felt like they might leap off the wall, with colors and lines dancing freely across the canvas. (Panthauer’s art is for sale; you can contact Onorato at healthwellness@continuumct.org to inquire further.)
Interactions and collaborations were welcome. A “take a book, leave a book” library painted by Jem Towne sat on a pedestal in the corner, lovingly decorated with literary quotes. Two canvases, one labeled MHS for Mental Health Services and the other DDS for Developmental Disability Services, held doodles and drawings from each of these groups of Continuum of Care’s clients. Resident artists had made their mark on the canvases at the organization’s annual cookout at Lighthouse Point Park.
When Bell made a mistake on one side of his art piece at Monday’s reception, he wasn’t afraid to ask Onorato for help.
“I need to ask you, do you have a buzz saw?” he asked the wellness coach. If so, maybe Onorato could help him cut the canvas in half to remove the mistake.
Unfortunately, Onorato didn’t have such power tools on him, but he did have some large pieces of black construction paper, which did the job quite well.
Onorato taped the black paper over half of the canvas, creating an effect one attendee called a “day and night” view of the skyscrapers. It was enough to satisfy the artist, and Bell’s art made it to the gallery wall just in time.
