After years of experimentations on the effects of art on people with health challenges, a former Head, Department of Painting, School of Art and Industrial Design, Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, Mr. Kent Onah, has said almost all colours can heal.
He said taking part in the art process has positive impacts, especially on children with disabilities, noting that most children love brilliant colours, which are for cognitive growth while red colour boosts energy.
“So, when children have motor-skill problems or physical disabilities, these colours will help them. They bring about motivation as well as help them more on the cognitive things. Children will prefer colour that is smooth because it suits them. These are forms of therapy,” he added.
In his book, Art as medicine for children with disability in Nigeria, due for launch on September 15 alongside a solo art exhibition tagged ‘’Children of the world (II)’’ to mark his birthday at Quintessence Gallery, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, Onah laments the inadequate attention parents pay to children with challenges, saying most parents do not always think of medical solution talk less of using art as therapy.
According to him, those who think of medical solution, see it as the last place to seek solution for their children.
“We know very well in Nigeria that most children with disabilities are locked at the backyard or kept in an inner room because their parents will not want them to see visitors or be allowed to go to school. They don’t feel as part of the family or society because they have already been stigmatised.
“Having known all these, I had to document something that will enlighten, create the awareness and let them know that art can bring some of these solutions. Parts of the book talk about different disabilities that children can experience and the kind of art remedies that will relieve the children of these disabilities,” he said.
He observed that often time, many are actually disabled unknown to them because their focus is on the physical disabilities.
He noted: ‘’We do not realise that there are cognitive disabilities and emotional disabilities. ‘’These,’’ he said, ‘’are what many children suffer the most because people will think they are not disabilities.
“When you enrol a child in a school and you can’t pay the school fees, you are already putting emotional disability in such a child. He is not given the right emotion to go to school. Also, when we send a child to school without school materials the child is actually going through a cognitive disability.’’
The book, which reveals the importance of creative art as a valuable tool in healing, also creates awareness of the usefulness of art beyond aesthetics. It also discusses the positive impact of partaking in the process of arts and the health outcomes, especially on children with disabilities.
The two-in-one event is to raise fund to promote and distribute the books in Nigeria, help to finance further researches and training in art medicine which is on-going. It is also geared towards collaborating with other health care providers to improve health care services in Nigeria, especially for children with disabilities.
The exhibition is the author’s continuation of his 2012 project titled: ‘’Children of the world’’ since it connects with speaking for children and creating awareness about their disabilities.
“I had to combine both to bring out my recent paintings tiled: ‘’Contributions of the children of the world.’’ One of the striking paintings is called: ‘’Trapped’’, which talks about children trapped in adult ideologies. A lot of children are expected to behave like adults. You see them forcing themselves at such tender age to behave like adults. They want to do everything we think they should do or we should be doing. Children are children. We want them to become adults at such tender age. So, Trapped is focusing on these children at such tender age in adult ideologies.
” Paintings, such as Love children and I am a child are among exhibits that talk about loving children, especially if the children have some forms of disabilities.
“Yes, I have gone through therapy. Though I started long ago, I had to look back at some of the things I had done and I found out that between 2006 and 2008, I did a presentation at Life in my city on this subject. So, it has taken so many years to put these together. It is not just something that I did in two years. The materials were coming all the way back up till present time,” he added.
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