To Mark World Autism Awareness Day, Apple Is Unveiling a New Digital Gallery for iPad-Created Artworks by Artists on the Spectrum

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, and Apple is marking the
occasion by posting a digital art gallery of works created by
artists on the autism spectrum, all using the iPad and Apple
Pencil.

The project, which is curated by the nonprofit the Art of Autism, will be unveiled over the
course of April, which is National Autism Awareness Month.

“This project brings such a great focus to autistic individuals
and how they express their creativity in the world,” Sarah
Herrlinger, Apple’s director of global accessibility policy and
initiatives, told Artnet News. “Each artist reflects their own
neuro-diverse perspective on art creation.”

“It’s about accessibility in the arts,” added Art of Autism
president Debra Muzikar. “We want to celebrate the creativity and
talent that regularly comes out of the artistic community.”

Muzikar and Keri Bowers cofounded the Art of Autism 11 years ago
to support the artistic efforts of their own sons and other artists
on the autism spectrum.

The “Created on iPad
Gallery” features the work of 15 artists from the autistic
community who hail from across the US and Canada, most of whom had
not previously used an iPad in their practice. As part of the
company’s accessibility program, Apple provided each participant
with a tablet and one-on-one instruction in how to use Apple Pencil
as well as iPad drawing apps like Procreate.

“Some autistic people may not want to use traditional art forms,
and they may be more inclined to be on a more technological
platform like the iPad,” Muzikar said. “Technology can really help
people of differing abilities in creating.”

“I found the iPad to be really surprisingly intuitive for
drawing,” artist Frank Louis Allen told Artnet News in an email.
Allen, a digital artist who is legally blind, considers the iPad to
be a great addition to his artistic arsenal. “I’m using it everyday
and find it extremely relaxing.”

Painter Sydney Edmond, who is nonverbal, already uses an iPad to
speak, thanks to Augmentative and Alternative
Communication, but she had never explored the device’s artistic
possibilities.

“At first, [Apple Pencil] seemed really difficult and impossible
because it was new to me. I have motor processing challenges, so
any new movement takes time and patience to learn,” she told Artnet
News in an email. “It’s very different from painting with a
brush.”

But Edmond soon found herself appreciating the ease with which
the iPad allowed her to make changes or start over. “My body
frequently makes movements I don’t want, and these movements cause
horrible mistakes to be made,” she said. “The iPad allows me to
remove that dastardly mistake quickly, which is so wonderful!”

The iPad was also a game changer for Canadian artist April
Griffin, who has seen her once prolific art-making dwindle to a
mere trickle in recent years as her eyesight has failed.

“This makes art more accessible for me because I can zoom in
while drawing,” she said in a statement. “The Apple iPad and Apple
Pencil have me back on track, and this month l made more art than I
have done in three years!”

For Apple, the collaboration with the Art of Autism reflects a
much bigger priority for the company. “We build features into
our products to enable individuals to be able to use our technology
regardless of what need they have. That includes voiceover for the
blind community, voice control with physical motor limitations,
made for iPhone hearing aid for those with hearing loss,”
said Herrlinger. “But it’s also our stores, our services, our
own workplace—supporting people with disabilities matters to
us.”

See more works from the exhibition below.

The post To Mark World Autism Awareness Day, Apple Is
Unveiling a New Digital Gallery for iPad-Created Artworks by
Artists on the Spectrum appeared first on artnet
News.