WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 34-year-old artist with autism and epilepsy is turning his creativity into a career at Soul Studio in West Bloomfield, where adults with special needs receive professional training and community support to pursue their artistic dreams.
Watch Faraz's report below
Nick Gammicchia spends his days at the studio working on his latest project — turning people into cartoon characters. But his bigger mission goes beyond art.
"I want to make everybody happy," Gammicchia said. "I'm trying to save the world and the people."
Gammicchia was only 16 months old when he faced developmental challenges and was later diagnosed with autism and epilepsy. Doctors told his mother, Carolyn Gammicchia, that her son might never live independently and even suggested institutional care by age 10.
"When we put labels on people, think about how we are limiting our own thought process," Carolyn Gammicchia said. "Because we all should have equity, and that is something we have always fought for Nicholas."
Her search for a place where her son could truly belong led them to Friendship Circle's Soul Studio, where adults 18 and older can choose from classes in painting, ceramics, weaving, woodworking, and digital art — all taught by professionals with professional-level equipment.
"Soul Studio is not really let's give them something fun to do," said Bassie Shemtov, Friendship Circle founder. "It's created for any top artist who wants to come create work. They would choose the studio. But it happens to be for the best of the best for people with special needs."
The studio includes a gallery that gives artists a platform to display and sell their work, with shows planned for the next year and a half.
"If Friendship Circle and Soul Studio had never happened, that creativity would have been lost," Carolyn Gammicchia said.
I asked Nick about his ultimate goal.
"I'm going to be a concept drawing artist," he said.
For his mother, the studio provides peace of mind for the future.
"You know, someday as a parent you won't be there, it gives me a sense of peace to know that he will always have somebody that cares," she said.
Friendship Circle has been serving the special needs community for over three decades with programs like Soul Café, a bakery, and Soul Studio.
"As soon as I walk through, you see that incredible, deep, huge smile light up their face," Shemtov said. "And when you see them working together and hearing about their great friends that they've met right here at the studio. The feeling you can't really explain."
To see more of Nick’s work, learn how to join Soul Studio, or support Friendship Circle at this link.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
