The exhibition poster (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – “Nhin | Picturing Autism Vietnam”, a photo exhibition by US photographer Debbie Rasiel, opened in Hanoi on March 26.
On display are portraits of Vietnamese people with autism, their families and caregivers, which were taken in Hanoi, Ha Long and Ho Chi Minh City.
The exhibition is also presenting pictures of their peers in Indonesia, New York, Mexico and Iceland, which Rasiel captured in the last three years.
Through artistic features, exhibited photos shed light on what autism looks like across diverse nationalities, languages and cultures. There are real stories of love and motivation to move on, embedded in every single frame.
Debbie Rasiel is a mother of an autistic child. She has been on a journey to different countries – called the Picturing Autism project – to document the lives of families living with autism.
A workshop on her project will also take place as part of the exhibition, which lasts through to April 9.
In respond to World Autism Awareness Day (April 2), Vietnam will organise an international seminar on the matter on April 1, a meeting and sport festival for the autistic community on April 2, and a fundraising musical concert is scheduled to run on the evening of April 2.
According to the World Health Organisation, for every 160 people in the world, one person has autism. No official statistics on the number of autistic people have been published in Vietnam; it has been estimated that there are 160,000 people with autism living in the country.-VNA
