Mala is one of the facilitators in ABWA - an art program run for the neurodiverse who have difficulty in verbal and social communication. This is Mala’s home that has been converted into a make-shift space for her art class with Rishi, a student on the autism spectrum. Despite living 3000 kms away, Rishi and his mother Ramya are still able to continue their art classes thanks to the internet and ABWA.

Mala, one of the three facilitators at ABWA, is painting along with Rishi during their art class. As the physical art class came to a halt due to lockdown, Mala and her team started putting out small art tutorial videos and stringing together a bunch of photos as reference for the mothers to try doing the activity at home with their child. Thus ensuring they don’t lose touch with the free expression through art.

“Rishi, aged 15, has been with ABWA for a few years now. It is amazing how innately sensitive the ABWA team is to each child's needs, wishes, likes & dislikes. We mothers have learnt so much from them in terms of learning to let go, give our children the space and the freedom to explore through a creative medium. They have opened a whole new world of creativity, imagination and possibilities for our kids! ”- says Ramya.

Rishi is showing Mala the final art he created during the class. The ABWA team comes up with fun, creative yet simple ideas for the child to do every week. Each activity is tailored to each child's capability and the classes are minimally guided by the teachers and assisted by the parent. Ramya, Rishi’s mother, absolutely loves the art class because she finds it as a huge stress buster for both of them.

The art of teaching, itself is a reflective experience. Here, Haripriya is all ready for her class. Each facilitator begins their class with a nice warm up conversation involving a lot of smiles exchanged between them and the student just to get them more comfortable before the activity begins.

Priya begins her class with Pavitra by giving her some kind of direction on the process. Students are given a complete free hand to explore art materials. Only after a certain stage, when they are more comfortable using the materials, the facilitators start giving them some direction and guide them along their journey of art.

“ABWA has always been a place where our kids have the freedom to create their own masterpieces. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they all adjusted to the online classes. This was a learning curve for both the facilitators and the parents and I’m happy that we have found rhythm that brings out the same creative freedom in our kids” - Priya

Photographed Pavitra and her mother in a cute little art corner in their home. “Art has been a huge part of Pavitra's life ever since she was a child. Through ABWA, I have also learnt a lot in terms of letting go and not to intervene in her free exploration and at the same time improve my art quotient and finally to chill in the tranquility of art exploration.”- says Sowdhamini, Pavitra’s mother.

When the classes were held at the Cottage in Cholamandal Artists Village, the mothers would drop the kids off and would usually wait outside until the class was over. Due to the pandemic, the mothers have become assistants now, facilitating the teachers and actually helping their child execute the art, these online classes have enabled them to share a more special bond.

“Mredini has been ABWA for more than three years now. I love the way they let the child explore art in their own way. ABWA’s online art classes have been extremely helpful during the pandemic. The classes satisfy the sensory needs of each child by touching the paint, painting, pasting, etc. It’s a great way to keep them occupied.” says Nivrutha

A mothers hands are always full. Nivrutha attempts to satisfy the needs of both her children - preparing for the art class for her older daughter who is on the spectrum of autism while having the toys arranged for her toddler and Jyotsna, right in the middle, guiding Nivrutha through the class, ensuring she enjoys the entire process and has fun doing art with her daughter.

Nivrutha is having fun while talking to Jyotsna on a zoom call and finger painting with her daughter to decorate the Christmas tree. The online classes have become a great way for the mother and child to bond. They get to work hand in hand with their child exploring their communication through art. A process so self reflective for everyone who is a part of it.

Jyotsna Srinivasan has been with ABWA ever since it started in 2015. Working with the students of ABWA has been a completely different experience altogether. The entire learning process was new to her and pretty challenging because here she had to step back and see the results by letting the child explore the mediums themselves and not direct them in any way initially.

Madhav is making a Christmas tree under the guidance of his facilitator Jyotsna Srinivasan. ABWA focuses more on the process than on the end product. Every student is given a complete freehand on exploring their choice of materials and creating art with what they are comfortable with. Watching them enjoy the process of creating art is what inspires us.

“Art, without an agenda, is just their means of engaging with the outside world. Special needs children function differently, we need to give them the space and time to get comfortable where they are before they begin any activity. You got to realise they are sensitive beings and one has to treat them as independent human beings capable of expressing themselves and that’s what we aim to do at ABWA.” - Jyotsna Srinivasan

Madhav poses with the Christmas tree he made during the artclass and we see two happy faces who love what he has made. A convenient aspect about conducting classes online is that even if the zoom session ends, the kids continue doing the art with the help of their mothers, so there is no pressure of time to finish the final work.

“Madhav has been with ABWA since 2016. It’s had it’s challenging moments initially when he would put varied art material in his mouth. His facilitators would serenely forestall my scolding by saying he was just exploring the medium. They gave him freedom to do what he wanted with the material presented and he had so much fun. All the kids took to the new format like pros and lockdowns suddenly became rainbow hued.”- says Madhuca Krishnan, Madhav’s mother

Artist Velu Viswanadhan’s cottage space at Cholamandal Artists’ Village was where the regular art classes happened. He adored the work these children created and declared, "This isn't so much freedom of expression, but an expression of their freedom." The cottage space was a beautiful space for the kids to come explore different textures and materials available there, and learn and grow.

These are works created by Pavitra, Madhav, Mredini and Rishi when the classes were held in the cottage. ABWA has a strength of 20 students of which 11 are attending the online sessions now.Over the years ABWA has grown into a beautiful community of facilitators, parents and children who support each other and also learn and grow together as one community.

Over the years ABWA has grown into a beautiful community of facilitators, parents and children who support each other and also learn and grow together as one community. And because of this nurturing of their natural expression, the children have created stunning works, some of which were even displayed during the Kochi Biennale 2018, in the “Outsider Art” show, in Dravidia Gallery. Outsider Art or Naïve Art refers to works created by people who have not been 'taught' in a mainstream Art School or a standard curriculum. These are free spirits who are driven to expressing themselves without any thought about its commercial value or validation.