I Help Disabled Artists Turn Their Art Into Income | Extraordinary People

Key Concepts

• Artis (Arts & Disability Singapore): An organization dedicated to supporting and promoting artists with disabilities.
• Shop for Arts and Disability Singapore: The commercial arm of Artis.
• Parasports vs. Arts: A comparison highlighting the lack of a professional pathway for disabled artists, unlike the established structure in disabled sports.
• Capacity-Focused Approach: A methodology for developing arts programs in the social sector, emphasizing building skills and potential.
• Mainstream Artists Collaboration: The strategy of involving professional, non-disabled artists to work alongside and mentor disabled artists.
• "Exam" Concept: An artistic methodology introduced by Justin Lee, focusing on combining disparate elements to create unique and interesting new forms.
• Deficit Model vs. Equity Model: A critique of societal perceptions that view disability as a lack, advocating instead for equal access to opportunities.
• Livelihood Programs: Initiatives designed to provide vocational training and commercial opportunities for artists with disabilities, enabling financial independence.
• Ceramics Open Studio: A specific livelihood program focusing on commercial ceramic making.
• Pocket Fest: A mini-festival organized by Artis to increase visibility and connection between the public and artists with disabilities.
• Pi Equation (Art Interpretation): An example of how artists with disabilities can offer unique and profound perspectives, challenging conventional interpretations of art.
• Art Prize: A platform, supported by UOL, to recognize artistic talent among disabled artists and build patronage.
• Artistic Merit: The primary criterion for judging art, regardless of the artist's disability, emphasizing quality, ideas, and technical skill.

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The Mission of Artis: Bridging the Gap for Disabled Artists

Angela, the Executive Director of Artis and Shop for Arts and Disability Singapore, highlights a significant disparity: while "parasports" offer a professional pathway for disabled athletes to pursue excellence, a similar structured pathway is largely absent in the arts for disabled individuals. Artis aims to fill this void, advocating for the disability community as an integral part of the "Singapore story." The organization focuses on nurturing talent, such as a young artist who could visualize and draw complex shapes like elephants without formal training, demonstrating innate artistic ability.

Historical Context and Program Development

A policy officer from the Arts Council, who encountered the organization (then called "Very Special Arts") 15 years ago as a funder, recounts developing a framework for arts in the social sector. This framework adopted a "capacity-focused approach" to support "underserved or marginalized" communities. A key aspect involved training health practitioners, social workers, and program managers to effectively run arts programs, acknowledging the sector's "underresourced" nature and the scarcity of artists available for social service organizations.

Fostering Collaboration with Mainstream Artists

One of the biggest challenges faced by Artis is the lack of professional artists willing to work in the disability space. To overcome this, Artis actively persuades "mainstream artists," industry veterans, and professionals to collaborate. The belief is that by working directly with disabled artists, these professionals will discover "a lot of creative possibilities" and challenge preconceived notions about artistic potential.

Artistic Processes and Unique Perspectives

Justin Lee's "Exam" Concept: Singaporean artist and educator Justin Lee, trained in Western painting, installation, murals, and performance art, joined Artis to contribute to this meaningful project. He introduced the "Exam" concept, which encourages artists to combine two different objects or elements to create something new and unique. An example given is an "apple but with a mon screen on it," emphasizing the creation of "interesting, not the usual thing." This approach aims to push artists towards more unique and vibrant expressions.

The Work Ethic of Disabled Artists: The video highlights the exceptional dedication of disabled artists, noting that their "hunger for opportunity pushes them to always give like 120% 130%," a work ethic often overlooked.

Harry's Detailed and Story-Rich Art: Harry, an artist who loves details and bold, "pop-up style" colors, draws inspiration from his surroundings. He photographs streets, high-rise buildings, old structures, and people during his travels, then translates these observations onto canvas. A notable example is his drawing of a demolished old Singapore theater. Angela initially saw it as a "bit of mess" with mixed clouds and buildings, but Harry explained that the sky and clouds resembled his grandad's head, and the ruined theater represented a memory of a place that no longer exists. This revelation profoundly impacted Angela, who stated, "I doesn't know that art can tell stories and that that just open up my mind like boom like oh okay this is the different level of art right." Harry himself expresses that "Painting help me to relax and free my imagination to feel like combined and unique. That how the art feel so special."

Challenging Societal Perceptions and Advocating for Equity

A significant challenge for Artis is ensuring their artists are "treated equally as non-disabled artists" within the industry. This issue stems from a "lack of exposure," a "fear of how do you work with artists who are disabled," and a "certain perception that maybe artists with disabilities are less good, you know, less talented" – a "deficit model." These societal perceptions limit opportunities. Artis actively seeks to shift the narrative from one of "pity and charity" to one of "equity," emphasizing that what disabled artists need is "access to opportunities" given in the same way as to non-disabled individuals.

Programs for Livelihood and Visibility

Artis serves a diverse group, with about 50% either in school or working, and the other half being adults over 18 who have graduated from special education and face limited "workmates" options. Artis provides a crucial "sandwich class" solution for this latter group.

Paint Pouring Workshop: Inspired by artist Ricky, who loves to draw but not color, her mother taught her to paint. This led to the development of a "paint pouring workshop," converting home-based art into a structured program.

Ceramics Open Studio: This initiative aims to create "meaningful work" and livelihood. It identifies 8-10 individuals with foundational ceramic skills who are not in full-time employment. They receive further training in "commercial-based ceramic making" to produce "more commercial products that we can take to market," fostering "some form of livelihood."

Moon Cakes Project: An annual collaboration for a business-oriented gifting occasion, where Artis artists contribute to premium mooncake boxes. This project adds "storytelling" and "meaningful" elements to corporate gifting and facilitates unique interactions between Artis artists and sales teams, chefs, and housekeepers.

Pocket Fest: The first-time "mini festival" organized by Artis to celebrate and showcase the diverse work of their visual arts faculty. It aims to build "greater visibility and opportunities for the public to connect" with the artists and their capabilities.

Hugh's Pi Equation Artwork: Hugh, a 19-year-old artist with Artis for 8 years, created a visually impactful piece that Angela initially interpreted as abstract. Her team later revealed it was a "pi equation." This discovery "fundamentally shifted the way I saw working with this community," moving from a perspective of "me helping them" to understanding that they "just come from a space where they have a different perspective of how they look at the world."

Joyce's Progression and Commercial Focus: Joyce's journey from foundation-level art to ceramic sculpture demonstrates a "full progression program." Her work evolves into "more functional objects" as part of the "livelihood program," with a focus on creating commercially viable products. An unnamed artist, initially without knowledge of ceramic clay, was given an opportunity by Artis, leading to his art piece being selected and sold, filling his family with pride. An artist expresses, "Having my paintings being exhibited here gives me allows me allows me to have the opportunity to share my talent with everyone in this world. It doesn't matter your It doesn't matter whether you have special needs or not. You just have to be yourself."

The Artis Art Prize: Recognizing Excellence and Building Patronage

Recognizing the absence of a structured system for artistic excellence comparable to "parah athletics" in sports, Artis established an "Art Prize." Its purpose is to "provide a platform to recognize artistic talent across different stages of your artistic career and more importantly it was to provide a platform to build patronage for these artists."

UOL's CSR Partnership: UOL (United Overseas Land) commissioned its flagship CSR program in 2023 for its 60th anniversary, specifically an art competition for artists with disabilities.

Judging Criteria and Perspective: The judging process, involving art professionals, emphasizes that criteria are "not very different from any other kind of art competition," focusing on "interesting ideas and technical skills." A crucial consideration is that artists' "technical ability is always going to be informed by their physical conditions or their mental conditions," which "adds a point of interest and diversity in the stories that they tell." Judges are encouraged to view this not as a weakness but as a strength, contributing to the competition's uniqueness. The importance of viewing a series of works as a whole to understand the "whole concept" and "story" is also highlighted, as a single piece might not fully contextualize the artist's vision. The judging process is described as a "robust discussion," focusing on "artistic merit" rather than the artists' disabilities.

Conclusion

The work at Artis, though physically tiring, is deeply energizing due to the nourishing interactions with families and the community. These engagements reinforce the mission of fostering talent, creating opportunities, and shifting perceptions to ensure artists with disabilities are recognized for their artistic merit and unique contributions to the Singapore story.