Cao Zhen caozhen0806@126.com A total of 109 colorful and inspirational paintings created by children with autism are on display at the Guan Shanyue Art Museum through this Friday. At the opening of the exhibition last Saturday, handicrafts made by students from eight local primary schools and middle schools and a kindergarten were sold at a flea market in the art museum and all the proceeds are being donated to children with autism. The exhibited paintings were collected from autism service organizations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the event is to mark the 14th World Autism Awareness Day, which is an internationally recognized day on April 2 every year. According to Dong Xiu, the Party chief and director-general of the Shenzhen Disabled People’s Federation, about 0.7 percent of the Chinese population has autism spectrum disorder, including 2 million children aged below 12. In Shenzhen, there are more than 10,000 autistic children. “When one door closes, another door opens. People with autism are more attentive and skillful in painting, music or calculating. The exhibited 109 artworks here are the best renditions of their wild imaginations and self-expression,” said Dong. “These ‘children of the stars,’ a phrase to describe autistic children, have difficulties in communication, so we hope that through the artworks, the public could get closer to them and know their inner world. If we could create an inclusive environment for them, they would fit into the society smoothly,” said Zhang Wenli, director-general of the Shenzhen Pengwan Charity Foundation. | 