CHAPTER 1:
Art Therapy
Art Therapy
The APRIL COLLECTIVE FOUNDATION
Skills:
🎯
Strategic Planning Skill
📈
Social Program Development Skill
📢
Public Communication Skill
When my brother was diagnosed with autism in Vietnam, people focused on what he couldn’t do. Teachers said he would never read, that he was “too difficult.” Everything changed when we moved to America. Here, he could write instead of speak, and no one scolded him for coloring a flower blue. For the first time, he was truly understood.
That question haunted me. I stayed up late reading journals, advocacy blogs, and forums written by autistic people. The more I learned, the more I saw children like my brother—bright, curious, and hidden behind closed doors. I realized I couldn’t wait to be older or “qualified.” I had to start now.
I thought passion would be enough. It wasn’t. When I first tried to launch The APRIL Collective Foundation, I emailed ten autism centers across Vietnam trying to organize a volunteering trip. None said yes. Some never replied; others told me, “You’re too young to understand.” I remember staring at those messages, tears in my eyes, feeling powerless.
Then I thought of my brother, how he fought to belong in a world not built for him. If he didn’t give up, how could I? I kept going. I posted educational content, reached out to parents, and messaged strangers. Slowly, families responded. Students joined. We began hosting art workshops, running awareness campaigns, and raising funds to support autism centers.
Art Therapy
ARTFUL HAVEN
Skills:
💰
Fund Management Skill
🤝
Vendor & Partnership Negotiation Skill
✨
Creative Direction Skill
🛍️
E-commerce Strategy Skill
🙋
Community Engagement Skill
Sỹ, a young artist I met at a workshop, had drawn a fantastical creature bursting with color and detail. When I suggested printing it on a shirt, he froze. “No one will buy it,” he whispered, fear shadowing his smile. I crouched beside him and told him what I’ve always believed: art is not about approval or perfection. It is a world you create, a story you tell. Colors, shapes, and lines can hold what words cannot, and sharing them doesn’t diminish their meaning—it amplifies it.
For children like Dũng, Sỹ, and Kiet, whose creativity is often overlooked, Artful Haven became more than a fashion line. It became a place where their voices mattered, their work was celebrated, and simply taking up space was brave. Every decision, from choosing art to production, was guided by empathy, authenticity, and the belief that every overlooked voice deserves to be heard.
In three months, we sold thousands of t-shirts, raising funds for therapy centers. But the real reward was seeing these children carry themselves differently, knowing their art—and by extension, themselves—was finally seen.
My drive to solve business problems stems from witnessing the harsh realities of underpaid neurodivergent individuals and child labor in Vietnam. These aren’t just statistics—they are stories of potential stifled by systemic injustice. Artful Haven taught me that change starts small: with patience, attention, and the courage to believe in someone’s brilliance before anyone else does. Through ethical business, I aim to transform lives, one intentional decision at a time.
Art Therapy
COLORFUL CONNECTION
Skills:
🎭
Art & Curatorial Skills
🪒
Charity Auction Management Skill
🎉
Event Management Skill
"May the connections we made today continue to ripple outward – so that art is not only a reflection of beauty, but also a voice of understanding, unity, and hope."
Văn Thuỵ Uyên Trang, Founder, Chairwoman & Head Organizer
Standing in AQUA ART during the Colorful Connection Exhibition, I realized what happens when art becomes a voice, not just an image. Over 3,000 visitors came, but the most unforgettable moment was quiet: Kiet hesitating before his painting, whispering, “Do you really think anyone will like it?” I held his hand. “Yes. They will see you. They will hear you.” And they did.
Twenty works were auctioned, drawing over 100 bidders and raising $20,000 for Sao Mai Center. Yet the real reward was watching the children see themselves reflected in others’ eyes. Sỹ, who feared no one would understand his whimsical Santa clown and Rudolph with glasses, worried his imagination was too strange, too different. And yet, it was seen—and celebrated—for exactly what it was.
In that moment, courage transformed doubt into visibility. The exhibition’s colors and lines carried their unspoken worlds, their fears and dreams made visible. Every brushstroke became a bridge between hidden lives and a community ready to understand. The exhibition was a reminder that art is more than beauty—it is empathy, connection, and a call to see what is too often overlooked.
Change begins with listening, making space, and believing in potential before anyone else does. Art teaches us what it means to be human: deeply personal, intimate, unpredictable, unique, messy, and alive.
Art Therapy
THE OUTPOST ART ORGANISATION
🎨
Art Historical Research Skill
💆
Art & Therapy Research Skill
When I first saw Điềm Phùng Thị’s art, I was struck by how seven simple forms could create an entire world. It felt like a metaphor for autism: beauty arising not from conformity, but from the unique way each mind arranges the same pieces.
During my internship, I saw art therapy not as treatment, but as translation. Some children stacked shapes carefully, others broke patterns into something new. It wasn’t about instructing or correcting; it was about creating space where each child could shape their own world.
Through this, I came to see art as empathy. Điềm Phùng Thị’s modular philosophy taught me that within boundaries lies infinite expression, and healing comes from reimagining, not breaking, rules. Art is dialogue, a bridge between inner worlds and shared understanding. Like humans, it is imperfect, irrational, and alive.
Art Therapy
MELODY OF ME PROJECT
Skills:
🎧
Music production
💃
Contemporary Dance
🤸
Modern Dance
Tool:
🎛️
Ableton Live
Music has always helped me make sense of emotion, speaking when words fail. This project was different—it was about listening. I choreographed movement that carried both my feelings and my brother’s, blending contemporary fluidity with hip-hop’s grounded energy. Each step reflected our shared moments—laughter, tension, release. In rewriting every lyric, I faced the vulnerability of telling a story that was ours, learning that honesty takes patience, persistence, and courage.
What began as a personal reflection became a story for the autism community, a call to empathy. Through music and movement, our private bond became public dialogue. Every leap, turn, and beat carried both our voices—vulnerable, honest, and alive.
Art Therapy
Digital Painting
Tool:
🤗
Procreate
I started digital painting in high school, when art began to stretch beyond paper and reach into something larger—something shared. Unlike quiet sketches in notebooks, my work could travel. Posting online, I connected with artists worldwide—different languages, same colors. I learned that art is both personal and collective, a conversation across cultures, time, and silence.
As I explored digital art, I discovered how light, texture, and composition could turn feeling into image. The canvas became a space to build worlds that didn’t yet exist. Mistakes could be undone, reimagined, transformed. Creativity itself is not perfection, but exploration.