A bouquet of impressive artwork lit up the manicured gardens of Gymkhana Club in Jalandhar in the first week of April. An endeavour by children and artists from neurodiverse backgrounds and autistic spectrum wowed the audience and even made the Lalit Kala Akademi in Chandigarh take note.
‘Soch Ke Rang’, an endeavour of NGO SOCH, started in 2023 to showcase artwork of students from across the state and beyond, hosted its seventh event this month. What started as a seed has now become a plant, receiving affection from artists across the state and country. The artwork includes handmade crockery, paper art, paintings, soaps, dry flowers, besides pickles and cakes.
A deaf and mute artist, painter Harmanpeert Singh, conversed with people for hours through the written word. By evening, he left everyone impressed with his art and even artists from adjoining stalls urged people not to miss his exhibits.
Abhishek (28), who suffers from cerebral palsy, started painting during Covid and has got his artwork exhibited at Lalit Kala Akademi in Chandigarh. Other artists and entrepreneurs, including Nandini Aggarwal, Anaysha Rathour, Shiraz, Vihana, Jeasyrna and Ruhani, are involved in fundraising. SOCH founder Anjali Dada said, “The Chairperson of the Lalit Kala Akademi, Bheem Malhotra, is highly impressed by the range of artwork on display. About a month before the exhibition, we give a “call to artists” who express the desire to showcase their art and craft. While majority of the artists come from the neurodiverse background or autistic spectrum, the participants also include a lot of young neurotypical school kids, who are working to raise funds for SOCH and those with autism and other neurodiverse conditions. The proceeds go to future exhibitions and SOCH’s other activities aimed at reaching out to more and more parents and kids.” Anjali added that the proceeds from a show averaged Rs 1 lakh.
“Last year, we saw a phenomenal outcome. Soch Ke Rang 1.0 in Jalandhar was a resounding success with over 400 visitors. A community has come together to applaud and celebrate diversity,” she added.
Speaking on plans, Anjali Dada said, “We are now gearing up for more shows after extensive dialogue with those connected to us and inviting others to join in.
For another endeavour — “Artist in Spotlight” – Meri Soch Meri Pehchan — we are collaborating with cafes, home stores and art curators, in the state and region. The artists create notebooks and diaries bearing their artwork as cover. The notebooks are then sold at select cafes and stores.
