Spectrum Art Ark

The Art Ark studio provides an exiting opportunity to undertake art and communication projects in a picturesque setting. The Art Ark, a  converted barge, is moored alongside a quay on the Penryn estuary.

Spectrum has made the barge available to visiting artists, partly as a source of insipration for them, and also as a place where our service users can come for some one-to-one interaction with people who understand the communicative power of art better than most. Service users have attended sessions with Stella Vine, Lucy McLauchlin, Paul McGowan and Mark Lascelles Thornton, as well as with some of our own artistically talented staff.

The artists found themselves interacting with people whose communication styles varied considerably, but quickly established a rapport through the creative process. Interestingly, the artists discovered they were learning almost as much about communication through art as the service users – something which went beyond conventional skills teaching and therapy. Because of this, we were inspired to investigate further into how creative expression could be a more precise conveyor of meaning, emotion, and state of being.

With the aid of the artists and the generous donations made by other contributors, we hope to turn what we have learnt so far into a research project with ties to local universities. By increasing our understanding of how art and music enable effective or improved communication, we believe we can have a significant impact on the communication barrier that affects so many people who have autistic spectrum disorders.