l’m excited to share that for the upcoming school terms, I will be collaborating with head teacher Mrs. Mitchell and her team at Crossgates Primary School, Rochdale.

Together, we’ll be engaging in various art projects to enhance the SEND students’ experience, focusing on art and neurodiversity.

Myself and Mrs. Mitchell have been speaking for the past few months, where I have been sharing with her my visions for positive inclusive change and what I have been doing to action this. We both share the same passion for making a difference around this topic and clicked immediately. 

WONDER WALL

Mrs Mitchell has been making many changes to the school, and one of them is adding to the reception area an ‘Art wall’ which will focus on the artwork I will be creating with the students. 

I think this is a great idea as the art collaborations will be focused on personal experiences of the neurodivergent pupils to enhance their understanding of themselves and others who see it. This helps promote awareness and acceptance, which is so important at an early age. 

MEET ‘AUTCHARMON’

The first piece of art to go up on our ‘Wonder Wall’ was a collaborative piece I had previously created with Charlie, a boy whom I mentored from another school last year. 

Charlie was 15 and going through the assessment for Autism, ADHD, Complex PTSD and Pica. I met him whilst I was speaking with an NHS service about possibly using my art course for a pilot scheme.

Whilst speaking with him and his family, I asked if he wanted to be part of the exhibition I was putting together. We agreed that I would mentor him, and with my support, ‘Autcharman‘ was born.

Autcharmon – A Neurodivergent Pokemon.

Autcharmon takes on many different forms as they try to navigate the world around them, dealing with the demands and expectations of living in a world not adapted for their neurotype”

This is another collaboration piece from ‘A Neurodivergent Art Exhibition‘.

We collaborated on this art collection to not only help Charlie process his emotions and work through his feelings, but to help many others who also struggle in daily life with the visual aid of Autcharman.

Pokémon has been one of Charlie’s longest-standing interests, and is a place where everything makes sense to him. Creating a Neurodivergent Pokémon has been helpful for Charlie in helping him to understand and process the trauma he has experienced, explaining and looking at these things through the lens of Pokémon. This has enabled Charlie to start to work through some difficult experiences.

Charlie wants to be accepted for who he is and to feel that when he asks for help, he won’t be met with frustration, indifference or disbelief (which has been a major issue due to lack of understanding) and instead, feel heard and believed. Charlie passionately wants these things to change for himself and for others like him.

FROM ‘CROSS’ TO CROSSGATES

Charlie and his family are not from the North West, but they still made the long journey to the opening night of the art exhibition in Spinningfields, Manchester, in March earlier this year. Despite being visibly nervous, Charlie and his family were really proud to see the final piece exhibited at a public show (officially opened by the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester).

Charlie and his family spoke to his school about him featuring in this exhibition, and the school said they would mention it in a school assembly, as it was a great achievement. He recently told me this never happened!

Speaking with Charlie, he explained to me how he was extremely nervous before each assembly; he doesn’t like the fuss, but at the same time, he was proud of his accomplishment and wanted to share it with the school. Unfortunately, the school overlooked this. He explained to me that each time there was an assembly, his anxiety was pushed to the extreme, but when it wasn’t mentioned, he was also ‘kind of relieved’.

I personally feel very upset about this, that the school overlooked not only Charlie’s accomplishment but also the impact on his mental well-being. For whatever reason, this didn’t happen, which i find very sad.

Although Charlie didn’t attend Crossgates Primary School, I am proud that his artwork is the first piece on display and is receiving the praise and recognition that it deserves. I have informed Charlie and his family about this, and they are all very pleased.

EXCITING TIMES

“No child should have to recover from their educational experience. My aim as Headteacher of Crossgates Primary School is to ensure that all children, regardless of need, social, economic or cultural background, have a powerful sense of belonging and feel able to be their true, authentic selves within our school environment. 

Collaborating with Dez is a fundamental part of achieving this for our children. His passion, talent, understanding, and lived experience of neurodiversity provide a powerful platform to enable all to feel seen, heard, and valued for their unique contributions to our school community. 

I’m excited to see what Loveartpix and Crossgates Primary School can achieve together – our unity of values sparks a movement toward a brighter, more impactful future for all involved. 

Charlie’s artwork has pride of place in our school entrance and has sparked many conversations amongst our school community already. I can’t wait to see the impact of the collaboration with Loveartpix – the buzz that has been created is palpable and it’s only the beginning!” – Mrs. Mitchell (Crossgates Primary School Head Teacher)

I am looking forward to sharing updates in the coming months.