OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — A new exhibit at the Oceanside Museum of Art invites the community to view autism through a different lens.
The exhibit, titled “Art of Autism: A Different Lens,” showcases art created by neurodivergent individuals, emphasizing that art is not just what you see but what you make others see.
Austin Jones, an artist featured in the exhibit, shared that his pieces represent stories.
"We have Intertwined, which is a story about how two people being in a relationship can have colliding feelings and that can be a very mixed bag of emotions, especially for different people on the autism spectrum," he said.
Jones, who is autistic, uses his art to explore challenges faced by individuals on the autism spectrum, including social settings and stereotypes.
“Some individuals on the spectrum do experience these episodes and I have gone through experiencing these kinds of episodes as well. And I wanted to make this as a message about it.” One of his pieces, titled “Hollow,” reflects the emptiness felt during such episodes. "When you go through these episodes, there’s a big sense of hollowness,” he told ABC 10News.
The exhibit is a collaboration between the museum and The Art of Autism, a nonprofit based in San Diego.
Debra Muzikar, the exhibit curator and co-founder of the nonprofit, emphasizes the importance of providing opportunities for artists with autism.
“Our artists, a lot of times it's very difficult for our artists because of executive functioning skills to like make contact with venues. We try to hook up artists with venues so that their art could be showed,” she said.
Muzikar also says that the exhibit aims to create a safe space. “This population is often marginalized and they're often put in the back and you know this is to put them out in the front,” she adds.
The exhibit features 14 artists, including Muzikar's son, who began creating art as a therapeutic way to communicate due to his delayed speech.
Austin hopes the exhibit teaches visitors that people on the autism spectrum are no different from anyone else; they just express themselves in unique ways.
“I have experienced discrimination for being on the spectrum, and the only thing I wanna say is that we love and accept everyone just as much as we would expect that in return,” he said.
The exhibit will be open to the public until Aug. 3.
