Art in a way constitutes a practice, a human experience. It brings out sensitivity and it can’t always be rationalized. Therefore, it connects us to what is real and what’s not. Art gives visibility to what is relevant in our world.
1 out of 59 children is diagnosed with autism in the world.
CreAAtive: Art Activities for children and teens with Autism focuses on providing children and teens with Autism with an inclusive opportunity to engage in meaningful visual arts activities. Our Community Outreach team designed activities that connected with the museum’s collection providing them with the opportunity to explore and observe different works of art. These activities were enhanced by vocabulary association cards designed by our in-house designers that encouraged children and teens to express their feelings and emotions, to learn routines, and to increase vocabulary through art. These activities were presented as part of our #MuseoModernoencasa (museum at home) program during a period of a 7-month lockdown in Argentina.
During this period of extensive lockdown, we’ve partnered with ASD Organizations and the Ministry of Education so that these activities were available for families and special education teachers to download. They were uploaded on the web, on our social media accounts, and presented on other museum and education websites.
There are no other museums in Argentina currently providing programs for people with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
The activities were aimed at providing bonding opportunities for children and families through art. We began in 2017, working with small groups of teens where we organized gallery tours and workshops before our opening time so that they could have the museum all for themselves. When the lockdown was established, we designed these activities to continue our relationship with these groups and included children as well. The activities were aimed at providing bonding opportunities for children and families through art.
We want to lead the way for other museums to follow and we are aiming at having an inclusive program for all people with disabilities. We are expanding our partnerships with more organizations and developing in-house training for our staff.
In the near future, we want children and teens with ASD to be able to engage in more inclusive activities including digital art and videogames design. We strongly believe that access to art and culture is a right and everybody should have access to it.
