Wee (left) paints over a spot on the mural after the unveiling. Seen on the mayor’s left is Audry.
KUCHING (Jan 14): A first-of-its-kind neurodivergent mural project here stands as a symbol of acceptance, awareness and understanding of neurodiversity, as well as empowerment for neurodivergent individuals.
Highlighting this at the opening of Neurodivergent Mural Art & Bazaar 2023 here yesterday, Kuching South Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng also regarded such cause as being ‘beautifully aligned’ with Kuching South City Council (MBKS)’s vision of ‘enhancing the quality of life of the people of Kuching South’.
Nineteen neurodivergent artists representing Autsome Kuching, Heart Treasures, Perkata School and Kuching Autistic Association, were commissioned to undertake the mural drawing at Telang Usan Hotel here.
The artists carried out the works from Dec 19 to 22 last year. According to the associations, the project is on-going.
Yesterday’s unveiling was held in conjunction with the opening of the Neurodivergent Mural Art Bazaar, a three-day charity event also taking place at Telang Usan Hotel.
In his speech, Wee cited data from the Welfare Department (JKM), which stated that as at May 31, 2021, there were a total of 579,150 individuals with disabilities (OKUs) in Malaysia, accounting for 1.8 per cent of the population.
“These people are also effective members of our communities and as such, they deserve more awareness, support and recognition.
“This (information) also emphasises the crucial need for Malaysia to look at and re-evaluate the People with Disabilities Act 2008, so that we can be more globally-aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in order to empower the OKUs and progress as a nation,” said the mayor.
Meanwhile, Autsome Kuching founder and project director Emma Zainal Abiddin said the neurodivergent mural project today highlighted the collaboration between her organisation, Telang Usan Hotel and Place Borneo, aimed at creating ‘a powerful and meaningful art’ that could serve to raise awareness of neurodiversity and empower neurodivergent individuals.
“Our goal is to change the frame through which society views autism. We choose to see autism through the lens of neurodiversity, which means that we view autism as a valuable, worthy and naturally-occurring brain difference.
“We want to change the narrative to fit a strength-based view. Ultimately, our goal is to improve long-term autistic mental health and wellbeing for both our current and future generations,” she said, also describing the term ‘neurodivergent’ as referring to ‘individuals with brain development or functions being atypical in some ways’.
In her remarks, Telang Usan Hotel general manager Audry Wan Ullok said her team was very honoured to be a part of the cause.
“Our hotel underwent refurbishment recently, and we realised that one of our walls was still plain white. We knew it needed something special, and that’s where the idea of creating a mural came about,” she said.
Audry added that the design concept was created by Autsome, with the theme of ‘nature’.
“I believe that nature is good for mental health.
“The neurodivergent mural project is not only an opportunity to showcase the talents of neurodivergent artists, but also an opportunity to raise awareness of and support for this community,” she pointed out.
from Borneo Post Online https://ift.tt/3KSbyaQ
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment