Tell us how your artwork addresses this year’s theme ’I can’:
My artwork addresses the theme “WE BELONG” by showing how deaf children create belonging even in environment that was never designed for them. This piece contrasts chaotic, inaccessible classrooms with the warm, connected space deaf children build through sign language and community. Despite the headlines of “Budget cuts” “Access Denied” and “No Funding” the children’s shared language becomes a source of strength. The glowing phrase “WE BELONG” represents their refusal to disappear inside systems that overlook them. Instead, they reclaim the classroom through connection, culture and identity.
Tell us about the ideas or themes your artwork explored with the theme ‘I can’:
The artwork explores the tension between exclusion and resilience. It highlights how structural barriers – lack of funding, inaccessible communication, and institutional neglect – shape of daily experiences of deaf students. At the same time, it celebrates the power of Deaf culture, sign language, and peer connection. The central idea that belonging is not something granted by institutions: it is something deaf children create together. Their joy, their language, and their solidarity, transforms silent, isolating classroom into a place of community and pride.
What type of art have you submitted and why? :
I submitted a hand-drawn artwork created on thick paper using markers, pen, pencil. I chose these materials because they allowed me to combine bold, expressive colours with fine detail. The markers helped to create a strong contrast between the chaotic background and the warm, glowing connections between the children. The pen and pencil allowed me to add texture to the headlines, scribbles and classroom elements. Working by hand also gave the piece a raw emotional quality that matches the message of struggle and resilience.
Anything else you’d like to add?
This artwork is dedicated to deaf children who continue to shine despite system overlook them. It is a reminder that belonging is a right, not a privilege. When Deaf culture and sign language are respected and supported, deaf children don’t just fit in – they thrive, they lead, and they reshape the spaces around them.
