Mainstreaming Autistic Art

Coming soon: A narrative changing event in Delhi

In Delhi, we are seeing green shoots appear. The participation of Autistic Artists in top-rated professional art events is largely a no-go zone. Usually art exhibitions by autistic artists are held as charity shows. They have generally been low-budget and kept out of the ambit of art buying market. Now, one top gallery has taken a bold step to change this narrative and integrate artists on the autism spectrum. The Ravi Jain Memorial Foundation Awards for Upcoming Young Artists, the annual flagship event of Dhoomimal Gallery (DMG) is a big draw for art aficionados, connoisseurs and collectors. In its 31st edition, the gallery has added an autism layer to demonstrate the values of Inclusion and spread awareness; the Gallery in association with AuTypical.in, will create a section to showcase works of select young autistic artists in the professional grade.

Apart from this, a high profile jury comprising of Pallavi Khandelwal, Rahul Kumar, Mithu Sen, Manisha Gera and Kanchan Chander, felt the works of few autistic artists were at par with mainstream submissions and these will be exhibited in the main section. The event will be held in New Delhi, spread over a month and a half. It commences with an Exhibition Opening Preview on September 29, 2022 and ends with a Physical Auction on November 10, 2022.

Established in 1936, DMG is the oldest Contemporary Art gallery in India. In the previous years, DMG has felicitated several young artists who went on to become known names and established themselves in the art fraternity. Every year, they award four scholarships to young artists (working across mediums) decided by a panel of esteemed judges. In previous years, the jury has included renowned artists such as KS Kulkarni, Krishen Khanna, Bimal Dasgupta, GR Iranna, Pooja Iranna, Jagannath Panda etc. Awardees from the past include renowned names such as Sonia Khurana, GR Iranna, Nidhi Aggarwal, Hemraj and many more.

Speaking about the event, Uday Jain, Proprietor, DMG said, “In its 31st year the Ravi Jain annual exhibition has provided a budding platform to over 100 artists and sculptors. Mr Ravi Jain always believed that if the art movement is to be perpetuated in the country, we cannot rely on the seniors alone and new talent should constantly be nurtured and promoted. The participation is from all over India across all medium painting, sculpture, installation, digital and judging is done by an eminent panel comprising of senior artists, sculptors, critics and collectors. Hence the standard of the artists selected is quite high.”

Started in 2020, AuTypical.in is a non-profit public purpose platform for showcasing the abilities of autistic children and young adults in the field of art. Autistic artists from all over India, from district towns to mega cities have exhibited their creations on this online platform.

Why I began AuTypical.in

My experiences led me to five conclusions. First, in India children with autism are exposed to colours and art from their pre-school level just like all other neurotypical children. Second, the grade of art teaching and guidance rarely progresses beyond formative years’ content even when the child is passionate about art and is fuelled by a natural ability. Third, creations of autistic children, teens and young adults are unrepresented in professional art shows. Fourth, their art has only one outlet - awareness raising charity events organised by few organisations to mark World Autism Week. The presentation is amateur. Fifth, there did not exist any art platform which would collate their work and undertake advocacy on their behalf.

I wanted to create a digital platform to showcase autistic art from all over our country. For this, I needed a brand name and a logo. I reached out to our family friend, celebrity chef, Suvir Saran, also a columnist on holistic living. After several rounds of conversation on the nature of autism and the scope it should have, AuTypical.in emerged. The atypical development of the autistic child is his personality, simply because it is different from the neurotypical or ‘normal’ perceptions and understanding of the world, it should not be castigated. The autistic person has an alternate sensory experience of the world and it is vivid, intense and real, sometimes very rich in visual acuity. I wanted a progressive orientation towards the capabilities of autistics. Suvir understood the moral motivations for this advocacy and came up with the lexical innovation – AuTypical. I liked it since it sounded like affirmative identity. Suvir’s friend, Aamir Rabbani did the logo. After the operational aspects were set, word was circulated in various communities across India for submissions. The artworks started pouring in, many times raw feeds, our teams worked on it and a stylised, neat presentation was put out with a story about each artist. Besides promoting art, it created a community and brought together mothers who shared their experiences, offered tips and advised hope and patience.  

Autism awareness and inclusion are our important objectives. Our aim has always been to connect our wonderfully talented artists with patrons and to demonstrate that autistics can do meaningful work and lead quality lives.

How do I mainstream our autistic artist cohort, was a nagging question that kept me restless for months. I wanted to break out of the ‘Special’ silo.   

Globally, Autistic Art does not belong to the conventional art world. It is part of a category called ‘Outsider Art’ which also includes also self-taught artists. Outsider Art Fairs are held in New York, Paris and other European capitals. The category gained ground in the last decade and many top galleries and auction houses like Christie’s feature and sell works of Outsider Artists. However, the term is controversial due to its history. Also called Art brut, this was a genre of artworks created by those with no training usually on the social and cultural margins though as Roger Cardinal who popularized the concept defined Outsider Art as art of unexpected and often bewildering distinctiveness.

…. & DMG takes up the Inclusion cause

Art Curator, Writer and Adviser, Kiran Mohan whom I met, became an enthusiastic supporter for mainstreaming. She advised me to meet Uday; I explained the rationales, he did not need much convincing given the ethical moorings of his gallery and was happy to collaborate. It was Uday’s idea that this be given a big platform. Autistic Artists were onboarded for the 31st Ravi Jain Memorial Foundation Awards for Upcoming Young Artists, the eligibility criteria was same as those of conventional artists from the mainstream except an age relaxation of two years.

Later, the jury cheered Inclusion. In all, 438 entries were received out of which 73 have been chosen, 10 among these are autistic artists. The medium is varied-painting, sculpture, performance, installation, drawing, photography, printmaking and digital art.

A big and bold step has been taken. Our teams are working very hard to make this a unique experience. We are delighted that the Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology, Skill development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be opening the Exhibition. On this occasion he will address participants, parents, art collectors, media and other invitees. We are enlisting everyone’s support for embracing change, acceptance and diversity. And we are excited. Hope to see you all.