Prize Competition and Exhibition 2013

'Not everything which falls out of line which is accordingly called abnormal, must automatically by that definition, be inferior' (Hans Asperger 1938).

After a break of one year the Hoffmann Foundation for Autism is back with its Prize Competition and Exhibition. 

The Hoffmann Foundation for Autism was founded by Alice Hoffmann de Visme OBE exactly 60 years ago in 1953 as the Noah’s Ark Trust, a school for children that contemporary statutory services had failed. The Trust grew and now has four residential homes, a supported living service, a day service, an art and craft service and its own psychology department providing a full range of support for adults with autistic spectrum conditions.

The art and craft department of the day service began exhibiting and selling the drawings and paintings by its service users in a disused travel agents at Oakwood LT in July 1994, since then we have held 37 exhibitions mainly in London but also throughout the UK. This is our fourth Prize Competition. It became evident that the drawings and paintings made by people with autism reflected that condition, what we were exhibiting was a different way of looking at and understanding the world.

The Hoffmann Foundation for Autism’s Exhibition, Competition and Prize has as its object the need to confront the dominance of art that depends upon a strict adherence to those normative visual rules that act as a barrier to people isolated by communication, social and interactive differences and to advocate through our exhibitions the inclusion of divergent formal visual approaches.

The competition and exhibition has helped to establish the special and unique character of the drawings and paintings of people who have autistic spectrum conditions, an approach that that reflects the special and unique way they understand and interact with the world around them. The competition and exhibition reveal their humanity disclosed in as skilled, varied and imaginative way as any other art.

 Since 2010 we have held an open competition and exhibition with cash prizes. The exhibition and competition have been very successful and attracted many entries from all over the UK. Our next exhibition will be run from October to December 2013 and we are inviting entries from now onward. All ages are welcome but only drawings, paintings, photographs, montage and collage, photo-copied and photo-shopped work (CAD) is permitted (in other words 2D in any media) this is because we can’t cope with sculpture at the moment. You will have to bring or mail your work here well before the opening date but in any case please contact me for our info pack and entry form Tel. 0208 8818 638 or E-Mail: art@hfa.org.uk . Or you can download an entry form and other details from our web-site www.hoffmannfoundation.org.uk 

Attachments:
How to get to the Day Service.pdf
How to get to the Gallery.pdf
Entry Form.doc
My Journey with Asperger Syndrome.pdf

Ian Wilson BA Hons.(Open) MA (Mddx.) is our art coordinator; he studied at Hornsey College of Art in the 1960’s where he learned the necessity of challenging established views of what it is to be normal. Since 1991 he has worked at the Hoffmann Foundation for Autism first as the art tutor and latterly as the art coordinator. Those intervening years were spent supporting service users to find their own way to make pictures and regularly exhibiting the results, which led to technical developments that have proved invaluable to people with autistic spectrum conditions.

Take and leave or send your work to:

Ian Wilson
The Exhibition Coordinator
The Art & Craft Studios
The Hub
2 Park Avenue
Wood Green
London N22 7EX

Tel.: 0208 881 8638
Mob.: 0771 934 5331
E-Mail: art@hfa.org.uk

Session Studies

In the mean time if you are an artist with ASC and would like to study art with Ian and his team at the art studios, please give him a ring 0208 881 8638 or e-mail him at ian@hfa.org.uk. and make an appointment for an informal visit and chat about your work. Sessions can be purchased at an hourly rate for anything from half a day to a full week, Monday to Friday. Our new light and well insulated workrooms are well equipped and our team of workers and volunteers are skilled and experienced. In addition we have placements available for volunteers or Fine Art and other students who want to take an art module as an accredited option as part of their term of study.

Hoffmann Foundation for Autism Limited. Registered in England and Wales No.2169783
Registered Charity Number 298166 Registered Office 99 Grays Inn Road, WC1 8TV.