BHUBANESWAR: A small painting on autumn shades of a forest adorns the wall of the Lalit Kala Akademi here. Drawn by a nine-year-old Kaushal Dash of Bhawanipatna, who suffers from leukemia and is currently undergoing chemotherapy, the painting stands out for its colour play.
Kaushal, who took to drawing to spend his time during his stay at the hospital, has donated his painting for ‘Art for Autism’ exhibition the proceedings of which would be utilised for furthering the cause of children with autism. Kaushal and 25 other children like him, including those suffering from neurological conditions, have exhibited their paintings at the exhibition which was inaugurated by actress Nandita Das on Saturday.
Organised by ‘I Am The Best Mom’, a community dedicated to supporting mothers in their motherhood journey, and Zain Foundation, the ‘Art for Autism’ exhibition is part of an initiative where artists, across age groups, are given space to express themselves and raise awareness on autism.
Gargi Bhattacharya, the founder of Zain Foundation, said the exhibition is showcasing a total of 80 pieces of art including those by autistic children. Among the paintings, a series of 18 on autism by children of Jajpur also stand out.
Like Kaushal’s, these paintings have been donated by the children to raise funds for autism care. “The children are students of an art school that was opened by an artist of Jajpur who pursued his art degree from the prestigious JJ College of Art. He decided to return to his native and train children in art. This is why he opened an art school in Jajpur,” Gargi said.
This apart, the exhibition has paintings on myriad themes and different mediums, sculptures done by established artists of the country. The exhibition will close on March 18.