The Project of the Psychosocial Rehabilitation ‘Confrontation’,
The Exhibition ‘Puzzle’


Puzzles not only mean creativity, but, also, a free time activity and effort to discipline the actions for a purposeful project. The whole of it is very important, when we talk about mental patients or people having mental disorder. Sometimes they need special effort for expressing themselves creatively. So, for that purpose the continuous project of the Psychosocial Rehabilitation ‘Confrontation’ and the Exhibition ‘Puzzle’ are dedicated. The clients of Šiauliai mental hospital and the visitors of the day-centre ‘Goda’ take part in the exhibition. The coordinator of the exposition is a devoted and creative person in this sphere- Ilona Būdavaitė.


On the 17th of December 5p.m. during the opened exhibition a book called ‘Physical education for children with the mental disability’ will be presented by its authors and publishers who will participate in the event as well. The concert of the dancers of the children’s home ‘Šaltinis’ will be shown. Whereas the work with people, who has mental disorder is motivated not only by benevolence, devotion and by a specific methodology of work; the acquaintance with the authors of the book will be very interesting for everybody, one way or another, related to the world of disability, its challenge for the relatives and for the whole system of education.




‘Confrontation’ with those who are close to you

Two days of the previous week the final continuous events of the Psychosocial Rehabilitation ‘Confrontation’ were played out in the gallery of Šiauliai. The visitors of the day-centre ‘Goda’ and the patients of Šiauliai mental hospital organized the exhibition ‘Puzzle’. The authors Ona Bandzienė, Laimutė Bobrova and Zofija Staponkienė presented the book, called, ‘Physical education for children with the mental disability’. The day-centre of ‘Goda’ and the dancers of children’s home ‘Šaltinis’ showed the artistic programme.

‘Confrontation’ started in 1998.
Several exhibitions of the disabled were organised and presented for the public of Šiauliai city and the whole country during the six-year. According to the themes of education, rehabilitation and integration of the disabled, the reports were presented in the national and international conferences, as well as, the lectures on the same previously mentioned subjects were discoursed.
The methodical support is provided to the social work and day centres of the city. The disabled take part in the events of the gallery, whereas the artists of the city and performers visit the mental hospitals and these institutions where the disabled people live.

The initiator and coordinator of the project ‘Confrontation’ is an art critic, the deputy of the Šiauliai art gallery director-Virginijus Kinčinaitis. He was interested in the existent or apparent bound among the talent, genius and insanity. He was surprised and attracted by the pieces of the sampler history of art, when the impressive, artistic and valuable masterworks were created by people, who were considered being as strangers in the daily life and often marked with the sign of obvious physical or psychic disability.

The conclusions of the studies of the psychoanalysts and psychologists present that nature; giving the disability for a person by one hand, sends the frankness, emotionalism, and creativity by the other one. He was concerned to dip at close of this summary.

The first partner of the art gallery was the Šiauliai mental hospital and its director Eugenijus Mikaliūnas.
Presently some other educational and social institutions have involved into the project ‘Confrontation’.
Eugenijus Mikaliūnas, the director of Šiauliai mental hospital:
-To your point of view, what is the sense of the project ‘Confrontation?’
-Every person has a wish to live an equal life, to feel the equal joy of life. The arranged events in the gallery these days are the opportunity to feel everybody equally the same.
When a person does not have any possibility to do anything, one feels isolated and disabled. And if one acts- draws, dances, plays-lives the fool-blooded life, one not only feels oneself but also gets healthier.
-How can you comment the reactions of people who are strong and healthy, who have came to a such exhibition and can not rejoice over it or welcome those people naturally, exactly the way they are?
-You have to communicate more often with those who have problem. Later the joy, sincere smiles or pleasure will appear and the barrier will not remain any more, which differentiates one from another. Usually we, the strong, feel this barrier. Our great matter of concern is to overcome it. These disabled do not need our undue sympathy, care or special communication. They only need association with us.





Natalija Pugačienė- the social worker of the day-centre ‘Goda’, the manageress of music with the disabled people for 11 years:
-It is very easy and open to be with them. They need a lot- theatre, art, and music. We have got orchestra of colors for 8 years; we are the members of the disabled orchestra of Lithuania and Europe as well. They are weightless, capable at music, but it is really very difficult to tell you how much effort we need to put towards the programs we have these days. We have started with the several notes. Later we have improved according to the abilities of the pupils. They can rehearse till the exhaustion. They have such a big wish to rejoice, show up, and go out. They feel each other very much. They believe in me. They trust me.

Ilona Būdavaitė, the social worker of the day-centre ‘Goda’, the teacher of art with the disabled for 5 years. In their drawings you can see the diaries of their souls:
- I wanted to present such works that express the most secret wishes, dreams and desires of the disabled in this exhibition. They tell about themselves, the horror, danger or threat they imagine. They dispose such fears while expressing it on a plain paper, and in that case, they feel much better. There is no nary a red cent of lie, trick, wish to express oneself the way they are not. The best virtues of these people are honesty, sincerity and confidence, which cannot be ruined in any case.

Source:
Vita Morkūniene
2004 12 23 Šiaulių kraštas
The Daily Newspaper ‘Šiaulių Kraštas’ about the Project ‘Puzzle’