Kara Patterson column: Kids with autism get a chance
to showcase art skills in exhibit
"One of the main diagnostic criteria for autism is limited communication and their ability to interact with others and socialize. I think that this is a way for us into their world," said Nichols-Green, who selected 11 young artists ages 7 to 15 for an art show running April 1-30 at Harmony Cafe in downtown Appleton during Autism Awareness Month.
"I think that it serves a lot of times as a form of communication for them and it gives us more of an understanding of how they're perceiving things," she said. "The kids are very individualized, and we need to embrace that."
A Leadership Fox Cities small group volunteered to organize the show, "Artists of Note — Young artists share their world," as its final project of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry-sponsored program. The art show follows the group's study of issues that face the community, and is the group's response to a need it identified for awareness about autism's role in local families' lives.
"This is something that will hopefully have positive impact first for the children, who are doing the artwork," said group spokesman Mike Vanevenhoven. "The point of the show is more to give them something positive to do, and then pull people in and let them know a little bit more about what Beyond Boundaries of Autism is doing. An art show seemed like a good way to expose these kids to people outside their normal realm of experience, and maybe give them something to do that would really make them feel good about themselves."
Vanevenhoven, multimedia specialist at Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin Inc., delved into his own experiences with art to help frame the project. One of Vanevenhoven's bachelor's degrees is in art education, and he says art is a formative part of his life that he wants to share with others.
"It helped me see the world in a different way, and any way you can pass that on, any way you can generate some excitement particularly with young people, the better off the world will be," Vanevenhoven said. "If you ask a group of kindergarteners, who are artists, they'll all raise their hands. If you ask seniors in high school, who are artists, you'll get half a dozen, maybe. If you get a group in the business world together, you'll get one or two. There's something sad about that."
Goodwill Industries is another common denominator in the project. Beyond Boundaries of Autism and Harmony Cafe both are programs of Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin.
Leadership Fox Cities small groups must create their projects with funds they raise. Vanevenhoven said his group assembled the art show for about $500, the bulk of which went toward framing materials.
Fox Valley Technical College printed note cards of the artwork at a discounted rate, he said.
The youths' art display is a testament that they also can give back to their community, Nichols-Green said.
"They're children first, and we need to focus on their strengths," she said. "I think that it's really important that we create that connection for the kids with the community, because we need the people in the community to understand autism. They're going to be adults in the community at some point, and we want them to participate."
The community is invited to an artists' reception from 6 to 8 p.m. April 11 at Harmony Cafe in downtown Appleton, 124 N. Oneida St. The artwork will be available for sale both in original form and also as printed note cards (one pack of 12 for $15.) Proceeds will benefit ongoing training and program development at Beyond Boundaries of Autism.
Kara Patterson's Words of Art column focuses on Fox Valley arts each Sunday. She's reachable at 920-993-1000, ext. 215, or kpatterson@postcrescent.com.
