Special children show skills in art

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.