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Open Sky and Founder Derek Lucci honored with Governors Award for Arts in Health
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Board member, Dr. Cynthia Whitaker with Governor Kelly Ayotte at the Governor's Award Ceremony at the NH State House.
The Arts in Health Award recognizes an individual or New Hampshire nonprofit organization for providing increased access to the arts for people in health care settings and/or with physical, mental or emotional disabilities, or contributions that align with public health priorities to reduce stigma, increase awareness, and inspire action that drives positive health outcomes for populations or communities.

Learn more HERE.
Open Sky’s innovative approach uses the skills-based principles of advanced actor training to create space and opportunity for incarcerated persons to develop the individual and collaborative skills that will empower them to successfully reintegrate into society with their humanity flourishing; connected, and able to remain positively connected to the world around them.

OPEN SKY IN ACTION

This rare footage from Open Sky's inaugural presentation of True West includes interviews with participants, mental health experts, prison staff and Founder Derek Lucci and was featured in NH Chronicle's coverage of Open Sky, which aired on WMUR New Hampshire in 2022.
Open Sky offers incarcerated individuals the opportunity to exercise and cultivate individual faculties and facilities of communication, sensitivity, responsibility and effective, disciplined collaboration that will enable participants to actively choose a more pro-social narrative for themselves and develop the skills they need to re-enter society including:
  • better social relationships
  • reduction in substance misuse
  • meaningful employment​​
  • ​​reduced recidivism
  • improved public health and safety
  • fostering desistance
Conceived and created by actor Derek Lucci, Open Sky was launched in 2019 at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord, NH working with a core group of actors and a design, tech and build team. While the COVID pandemic necessitated a hiatus of the program, Open Sky returned to class late in 2021 and, in 2022, offered their first public presentation, Sam Shephard's True West, which was seen by 650 incarcerated individuals and an invited audience of supporters and stakeholders. 

Despite having launched our pilot programming just before the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, prison staff and participants in the program report experiencing clear, direct gains in important outcome areas including daily well-being and visibly improved demeanor.     
Open Sky's programming is made possible, in part, by support from:
Open Sky, Inc. is a 501(c)3 registered in the state of New Hampshire.
Open Sky
Derek Lucci, Founder & President
[email protected] 
Open Sky is a 501(c)3 organization registered in the State of New Hampshire.​All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.