59-05-032 Proceeding

335 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress In 2007, Swedish sociologist Elisabeth Person started a project using art as a therapy for the blind and as a way to help them overcome their inferiority complex and become optimistic and self-confident. Art House, co-sponsored by the Swedish Lion Club Foundation and German EDE, created a special space for sight-impaired schoolchildren. The people who encouraged them and made their dreams come true were their families, teachers and art lovers. The outcome of the project was the exhibition Light from Hands, which displayed nearly 200 ceramic pieces and approximately 100 drawings at 29 Hang Bai, Hanoi, in 2008. The works expressed a world seen throughhands and emotions rather thannormal eyes. VietnamMyHomeland,Thousand-Year-Old Thang LongHanoi and Rising Dreams were among the works which drew the audience’s attention and won their appreciation. Especially, blind boy Bui The Thanh’s naïve and optimistic dreams depicted in his The Shoes That Travel the World moved a lot of viewers. Despite their blindness which prevented them from seeing shapes, with encouragement and support from their teachers such as artist Đào Ng ọ c Hu ỳ nh, sculptor Đ ỗ Qu ố c V ị , artisans from Bát Tràng ceramic village and those who sympathized with them and with their own touch and hearing, the children of Art House managed to express their inner feelings through their ceramic pieces and drawings. The greatest value and importance of Art House was that it created a space where the blind children were given care and love and had the opportunity to show their passion and rise above themselves. In September 2008, Art House was invited to the program Art Exchanges - The Humanitarian Path to Friendship and Understanding in Sweden, where the participating children’s pottery and drawing skills inspired and amazedmany people.The exhibition “Art Beyond the Sight” in January 2011 at the VietnamNational Museumof Fine Arts proved how effective the introduction of art to the blindwas.The exhibitionArt Connecting Friendship held in January 2015 at Heritage Space in Hanoi displayedworks of art and sculptures by schoolchildren fromNguy ễ nĐìnhChi ể u school in Hanoi, VPA Center in H ả i D ươ ng province and Toumelila Art School in Sweden. The exhibition was meant to bring art to sight-impaired children and those with disabilities so as to help them live better lives, but it was their works that moved and inspired exhibition goers. The outcome of Figure 3 Art Beyond the Sight project