Special children show skills in art

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fifteen-year-old Maulana Yusuf's mother says that, while he may not be talkative, for Maulana a picture is worth a thousand words.

Indeed, when judges declared his pencil sketch the best in its category at the Special Competition in Visual Arts, he responded in brief: "I'm very happy".

Clad in a plaid shirt, black pants and brown hat, the 180- centimeter-tall handsome-looking boy seemed self-conscious, smiling but avoiding eye contact.

"He's very shy. He's been like that since he was a kid. He doesn't like to talk much. He just likes to draw," said Jawanis, holding her son's hands to make him at ease.

Fifty-year-old Jawanis recalled that Yusuf had shown interest in drawing since he was small.

"He loved drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil. His drawings were quite beautiful. Look at this," she said, pointing at Yusuf's drawing titled Sungaiku Jauh Dari Pencemaran (My river is free from pollution), "I'm very proud of him".

Yusuf is one of 19 young adults with autism or Down's syndrome who participated on Tuesday in the visual arts event in the Kemang Training Center, South Jakarta.

The contest was organized by the Australian Special Education and Training (ASET) and supported by the Parents of Children with Down's Syndrome Association (POTADS) and Special Olympics Indonesia (SOIna).

The competition was divided into three age groups: Children (aged between six and 12), young adults (12 to 16) and adolescents (above 16). Seventy one participants -- 31 children, 19 young adults and 21 adolescents -- took part in the event. Eight of them finished as winners.

Emilio Cornain won the children's category with his Untitled work, while R. Anissa finished second with Si Belang Tiga.

The best landscape award went to Iskandar Pechler of the young adult's division for his work Train, and Shona was awarded the best abstract prize in the same division.

In the adolescent's division, the best abstract prize went to Christopher Gaze with I Think This Is Green, the landscape award went to Kenny Chandra for his piece Kuda Nil (Hippopotamus) and Pandu Mandala Putra's painting was named the best portrait.

"Through holding this event, we hope that parents who have children with autism or Down's syndrome realize that their loved ones need support to perform their hobbies, just like other children," said the event's marketing and promotions official, Elizabeth Andriani.