Draw to find joy in life.
Artist Van Y (74 years old), the founder of the art class, recounted that one time he saw children wandering the streets doing various jobs. Upon asking them, he learned they were deaf and mute. He gestured and wrote on a piece of paper: "Do you want to learn to draw? Come here and I will train you; it's free."
Initially, there were 4-5 students, but later they found it so enjoyable and captivating that they spread the word, and the class grew to over 20 people. To date, this art class has been running for over 8 years, under the auspices of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association. Most of the students are deaf and mute, around their teens and twenties. Some attend special needs schools or work to make a living, and can only gather on Saturdays.
Here, nothing costs anything; everything is provided, from canvases and paints to brushes. Funding is sometimes partially covered by benefactors, but mostly, the teachers and students "take care of it themselves." They hold several art exhibitions each year, with 25% of the proceeds going to the class to maintain it, 50% to the students, and 25% to charity.
Teacher Van Y named the class "The Sound of Painting," meaning that through painting, deaf and mute children can hear themselves and express their feelings, joys, and even frustrations through art. Because their primary communication is sign language, their written vocabulary is very limited. Therefore, painting is a tool for others to "hear" their "voices." This is also the main goal of the class: not to learn to paint to become famous artists, but to learn to be closer to those around them, to be able to love life, and especially to "gain more aesthetic knowledge so that they won't be at a disadvantage in life."
Nguyen Huynh Kim Ngan, 18 years old, took out her phone to introduce herself: “Hello, I’ve been taking drawing classes for a year now. I really love colors and want to be able to draw the things around me that I see and feel. I’ve drawn many beautiful paintings, and benefactors have bought them to support me, so I’m very happy.”
Open your mind through paintings.
The class was almost completely silent, with no talking, yet full of joy. Here, everyone spoke using the same sign language, allowing them to communicate and have fun together. Initially, the biggest obstacle was that the teacher didn't understand the students, making interaction difficult, but over time, the teacher became as proficient at gesturing as the students.
One particularly unique aspect of this class is that students rarely miss lessons because they are so addicted to drawing. In the class, there's a young man nearing 30 with autism who stays up all night before class, restless and anxious, pacing back and forth in the house waiting for morning to come so his mother can take him to school. Once in class, he chatters incessantly, even though he hasn't spoken to anyone at home all week. He's enthusiastic, greeting everyone with "Excuse me, teacher," fetching paints and water, tidying up, and taking care of his classmates. His mother shared that thanks to learning to draw and meeting others with similar disabilities, her son has been able to relieve his stress and gradually become less autistic.
The young people are very sociable wherever they go. Once, they were sponsored for a vacation in Phan Thiet, where there was a deaf-mute Russian couple who stayed for a whole week without speaking a word to anyone. Yet, the whole class recognized them and quickly helped them cheer up, inviting them to go sightseeing and swim at the beach. In Da Lat, the students also found and connected with another group of deaf-mute young people who worked as baristas at a coffee shop.
From the time they started learning until they reached a level where their paintings could be sold, it took at least a year. When the teacher said, "25% of the proceeds from the paintings will go to charity," the students objected: "That's not right, we have disabilities too, teacher!" The teacher thought, "Take it slow, they'll understand gradually."
“Just like the first charity trip, supporting the Association of the Blind in Binh Thuan province. The blind students had a talent for singing and performed several beautiful songs, but only I could… hear them. The deaf-mute art class enthusiastically used sign language to show their support while the blind were singing, but they… couldn’t see. Yet, through some special sense, both sides felt each other’s presence. At the end of the trip, everyone hugged each other goodbye, which deeply moved me,” shared artist Van Y.
Nguyen Ngoc Quy, born in 1993, has been attending the class for eight years. Quy shared: "Thanks to drawing, I've come to love nature and people more. I'm striving to become a professional artist, to have my own art studio, and from there I will help other disabled people like me."
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/noi-voi-doi-nho-hoi-hoa-post799412.html
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