‘Art of Autism’ student works to show at Laguna gallery
Sixteen students at the Kids Institute for Development and Advancement, or KIDA, in Irvine will have their artwork displayed and up for sale Dec. 6 in an exhibit at a Laguna Beach gallery.
“The Art of Autism: Creative Perspectives” will run for about a week at DeBilzan Gallery with part of the proceeds going to the KIDA program.
KIDA serves students with autism and related disorders in kindergarten through seventh grade. The school also offers services for both occupational and speech language therapy.
Laguna Beach resident Dianne Aoki has been teaching art at KIDA for nearly three years.
“There’s no such thing as failure in the art room,” Aoki said. “It’s a place that’s freeing where they can develop self-confidence and a sense of comfort, so the pressure to perform isn’t there.”
When Aoki first thought of the idea to have her students’ work showcased, she reached out to a friend, Diane DeBilzan, to find a gallery to display their art.
Aoki’s comrade is the director of the DeBilzan Gallery in Laguna Beach. She offered up her space for Aoki’s students to present their art.
The teacher has worked with her students in painting, pastels and monoprinting, a form of printmaking that involves making impressions onto the artwork.
Aoki has been instructing art in Orange County for 25 years and teaching the subject in KIDA for nearly three years.
The school serves 16 students, and all of them will have their work showcased in the exhibit, Aoki said.
“Having Dianne Aoki as an art teacher has been a blessing to our students at KIDA,” interim Principal Kianna Collier said. “Most of our students have challenges with communication. Art has offered our students an outlet for creative expression without any words necessary.”
“The Art of Autism: Creative Perspectives” will have an opening reception from 3 to 6 p.m. on Dec. 6 at the DeBilzan Gallery, 224 Forest Ave. in Laguna Beach.
Aoki said the student artwork will be up for around a week and possibly longer.
