From the beginning of the recorded history of many cultures, human beings have used art and creative expression as a powerful catalyst in the healing process. Producing and appreciating art is known to have immeasurable psychological healing properties. This has been recognised by the scientific community to such an extent that the field of art therapy was formally created.

Artists

With no formal training in art, Cindy Phua has shown a talent in drawing and painting since young. She worked as a nail artist for over 10 years before turning to art as a form of therapy, struggling with mental health issues, severe anxiety, rendering her unable to work.

Through the process, she re-discovered her passion and her eye for detail. Cindy’s paintings are her view of a hyper-realistic, dreamlike world where colour and nature colludes. Her paintings are her tangible expressions of hope, peace and happiness; the same feelings she hopes to bring to those who view them. It is Cindy’s dream and aspiration to be an artist and also advocate for mental health issues, where she is currently overcoming her own mental health issues.

Leslie Lim is 19 and is diagnosed with mild autism. His hobbies include singing, playing the guitar, keyboard and cello. He struggled with speech delay until he was five years old, when he started learning about art, and it has become an important form of expression and communication for Leslie. His artwork mainly involves different elements of nature such as animals, people, trees and leaves. He enjoys making art because it acts as a stress-reliever and helps him to understand the bigger picture of life.

Lucas is one of the three children in the family, all of the children have special needs. Lucas has an immunodeficiency disorder which requires him to be on lifetime treatment. Every four weeks, he needs to go to the hospital for intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in order to fight infections like the common flu. It is an eight-hour treatment day. Lucas also has dyslexia and struggles with academia in school. Lucas loves art and is incredibly talented. His mother hopes for him to be able to pursue a career in the arts when he is older. He loves animals and Sonic the hedgehog.

Titus is the youngest of the three children in the family, where all of the children have special needs. Titus and his brother both have an immunodeficiency disorder which requires them to be on lifetime treatment. Every four weeks, he needs to go to the hospital for intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in order to fight infections like the common flu. It is an eight-hour treatment day. Titus struggles both emotionally and physically with his disorder, where he uses art as a way forward. Titus enjoys creating in lego and his favourite colour is blue!

Larsen syndrome is a disorder that impacts the development of bones. They may suffer from hearing loss, spine abnormality and joint problems as their bones might not form properly. Nurin enjoys doing zentangle patterns, and she enjoys giving herself a challenge in scaling new heights in her art! In her free time, she enjoys listening to Korean pop music, her favourite band is Blackpink.

Escher loves to draw and often watches YouTube videos to learn how to draw.

Philemon likes playing games, drawing, swimming and building lego blocks. He aspires to become an architect!

Ashley enjoys Disney animation, video game characters and Ninjago! Ashley has many favourite characters, which he keeps close to his heart. His favourite characters are Anna from Frozen, Lloyd from Ninjago, Buttercup from Powerpuff girls and Young Cricket from Warioware. Together, he imagines they are part of Ashley’s dream team!

Caroline is the founder and counsellor of Calming Hearts Counselling. She started her career in the banking sector and a personal experience changed her perspective of what she wanted for her career. That is the point where she made a decision to be accredited as a counsellor. She then joined a non profit organisation where she supported clients who were facing different life stressors.