47 specially abled persons to showcase artwork in Bengaluru

47 Persons with Disabilities from various parts of the nation, who were trained by faculties of College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, will be exhibiting their paintings for two weeks from November 21. The exhibition in the first week from 21 November to 27 November, will be at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and the second week from 28 November to 3 December at NIMHANS.The event will culminate on the International Day Persons with Disabilities.
Two five-day Art Workshops were conducted in July and October, in which 47 PwD’s from across India participated and completed 100 canvas paintings.
The exhibition cum sale of about their canvas paintings will present works by Persons with Mental illness, Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Neurological Disorders and Multiple Disabilities. The exhibition will be open to all for free at both venues. The proceeds from the sale of the paintings will go to the participant who had painted it, as per a note by NIMHANS.
Dr K S Meena, Head of Mental health Education Department, NIMHANS said that the exhibition is a unique opportunity to encourage, promote and highlight the creative expressions of Persons with Disabilities. “It is a recognition of the unique skills that have emerged due to a collaborative network of various stakeholders. This initiative also heightens awareness about the abilities of the Persons with Disabilities in their pursuit to be belonged and minimise stigma,” she said.
Dr Aarti Jagannathan, principal coordinator of the program said that art has a unique feature of helping the artist transmit a part of himself, his emotions on to his work, thereby being therapeutic. “Apart from this, art can also act as a medium of employment,” she added.