ink, watercolor, and gouache; 20×16″ 
“Whose voices should be focused on in a discussion? It is the voices of those who know what it’s like to be a part of that experience and have lived it, the voices that have been silenced. It’s time to shine a light on autistic voices and focus the discussion on them. My piece depicts a spotlight shining down on a person holding a microphone. The blue and pink in the background and clothes represent that autistic people can be any gender, not just men. The microphone represents the voices of autistic people, that they deserve a say and voice in the discussion about autism. I included infinity symbols along the bottom of the piece and colored the light rainbow, these both represent autism and the autistic community. The rainbow infinity symbol is a widely used symbol of the autistic community that represents that there are infinite ways to be autistic. Autism has widely been treated as a disease needing a cure. Instead of listening to autistic voices, they have been repeatedly pushed to the sidelines and ignored. This leads to more struggles for autistic people and leads to them being infantilized. We need to focus on and listen to autistic voices, as they are equal to allistic’s”.
ARTIST BIO: Dannan FASICK is a grade 12 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.