Through art, Anne Nurfarina, 51, opens doors to the souls of people with disabilities and pulls them out of the stigma. She assures everyone that they can be empowered with all their uniqueness.
By
MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA
·5 minutes read
Nurul Fatima, 22, was unable to hold back her emotion when the general manager of The Trans Hotel Bandung, Farid Ananta Patria, invited her to paint the walls of the cafeteria and the area of the hotel employees, Thursday (14/11/2019). She hugged Anne Nurfarina, lecturer at Widyatama University’s School of Visual Communication Design, who guided her to become a confident designer despite limitations.
Anne explained that Nurul had cerebral palsy, a disorder that attacks the motor system and is caused by abnormal brain development. Movement and communication are limited, but not creativity. Her imagination moves without limits to be poured into valuable designs. Anne said Nurul was able to follow regular classes and graduate with a satisfactory GPA. Her collection of designs is dynamic, adjusted to the wishes of clients.
Seeing Nurul\'s potential, Anne was increasingly eager to convince the public that the disabled could work well. Together with the chairperson of the Widyatama Foundation, Ontowiryo Abdoelkadir, Anne pioneered the Art Therapy Center (ATC). She proved that people with disabilities have different abilities and can live independently.
However, efforts to make them independent are not easy. According to Anne, they must open up first. Therefore, they need people around them as a bridge, so that they are not trapped in their own world. "People with disabilities, especially mental disabilities, are no different from us. They don\'t want to be pitied; just give them a chance," she said.
Sensation method
One of Anne\'s concerns was that people with autism had difficulty communicating with those around them. Healthy people have many doors to communicate, whereas autistic people don\'t, Anne explains. They seem to be trapped in a room and there is only one door to communicate. Communication with people with autism can be achieved through what she calls natural “stimulus doors”, which are the basis of human interaction, namely audio, visual or audiovisual. She researched a method of communication she calls the “sensation method” and made it her dissertation.
"If it\'s not a scientific study, people don\'t believe it. Apparently, it could be proven with several children. The point is, all humans, both normal and those with mental disabilities, can respond, not just stay silent," said Anne, who earned a doctorate from the School of Art and Design at the Bandung Institute of Technology in 2012 for this research.
I thought, there is no way God failed in creating.
Anne\'s interest in autism was not without reason. She has a sister with autism that made her despair. She had considered her younger sister a failure because she was unable to interact with her environment. One time, Anne could not control her emotion and hit her younger sister. Even when she was hit, her sister did not respond, staying silent with a blank stare. At that moment, Anne regretted her act and vowed to herself not to look down on her sister. "That became my turning point. While holding her, I thought, there is no way God failed in creating," she said.
Various experiences in communicating with her sister inspired Anne to find a method of sensation. The younger sister loved music from television commercials and sometimes murmured to the tune of the jingles. Anne observed that her sister would often bang objects using rhythm. When the rhythm was replicated by Anne, her younger sister turned to her and responded to the rhythm.
"From there, I could establish simple communication with her. I found the entrance to communicate through aspects she liked," said Anne.
Fighting against stigma
In 2014, Anne began to look closer at children with other special needs. She contributes to ATC, an educational and vocational institution for people with disabilities, especially mental disorder, run by the Widyatama Foundation. "Because my basis is art, I make the most of children’s potential in the arts."
She emphasized that ATC does not intend to empower children with disabilities, because they are empowered with their own abilities. All it takes is to push them to open the door of their soul. Then, the environment gives opportunity and recognition. During this time, the environment actually often stigmatizes people with mental disabilities. They are considered incompetent to work. "This stigma makes the industry believe they are not employable."
When she graduated, Anne was worried her students would not be employed. While fighting against the stigma, she prayed opportunities for these children would be wide open. The prayer was answered. In 2018, the ATC received an invitation to collaborate with singer Andien Aisyah to take part in an exhibition and the release of her song titled "Colors". In this exhibition, 80 percent of ATC students\' paintings were sold.
This collaboration opened the door to more opportunities. Until now, ATC students get a lot of projects from various companies, ranging from advertising designs to logos.
Anne Nurfarina
Born: Bandung, June 16, 1968
Education: Doctoral degree from Faculty of Art and Design at Bandung Institute of Technology (2012)
Activity/position: Director of Art Therapy Center Widyatama (2013-present)