'The Autistic Artist' fledges in business with Accelerate support

The Accelerate project, which offers employment advice and support to people trying to break through some of the common barriers holding them back, is still accepting referrals during Covid-19. Please visit www.accelerate.org.uk or call 024 7663 391 to see how their advisors can help you the way they helped 23-year-old Kitty to launch her business...

A young woman is painting a new future for herself after receiving support from leading employment support service Accelerate.

Kitty Kaur, who was diagnosed with autism four years ago, has overcome self-confidence issues and difficulties in social situations to launch a new business and feature in her first exhibition.

'The Autistic Artist' specialises in delivering creative art workshops to a host of community organisations and is also starting to offer a commissioning service for her paintings and sculptures.

Kitty has been supported by Tina Malin, Accelerate Journey Guide at Life Path Trust, who has provided one-to-one mentoring to address some of the challenges she faced, as well as a crucial introduction to Foleshill Creates, in Coventry.

“I really struggled at school and college and found it difficult when I was meeting new people or asked to do certain tasks,” explained Kitty. “Sometimes I was reluctant to go to places I didn’t know and the thought of talking in front of people would have scared me…well that was until I started to work with Accelerate and Tina.”

"Their advice, guidance and just having someone there to help me has transformed my life and given me the confidence to follow my dream and passion for the arts.”

“Doing a 9 to 5 job really isn’t for me. However, I quickly realised that I could channel my talent for art to teach people and to create pieces that people wanted to buy. It means I’ll be doing what I love every day and also learning new things and pushing myself to take on new challenges.”

Kitty has joined forces with her mum Gurdip Junjuha to launch the ‘Colours of Life’ exhibition at Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. This ran in November 2019 and featured some of her favourite pieces, including a spooky pumpkin, flamingo, theatre masks and Oscar the Octopus, which is fire clayed and took six weeks to produce.

“I am passionate about art and creating,” added Kitty. “When I get an idea, I just get into it and get lost in my own world. Being able to exhibit with my mum, who has been a big source of support for me, is amazing.”

Tina Malin, Accelerate Journey Guide, said: “I can’t quite believe how far Kitty has progressed and am delighted to see her unique talents are being showcased to the public. This will be a major confidence boost and give her the impetus she needs to develop her business.”

Kitty concluded: “Tina and Accelerate have changed my life, making me believe in myself and encouraging me to chase my dreams.”

Accelerate, which is part of the ‘Building Better Opportunities’ Programme and run by the Coventry and Warwickshire CDA, has surpassed many of its targets for helping disadvantaged individuals overcome barriers preventing them from getting a job, securing self-employment or accessing further training and education.

Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund, Accelerate brings together partners in Coventry and Warwickshire to provide participants with a Journey Guide to access confidence building, work experience and skills enhancement, including training on IT, Literacy, Numeracy and Enterprise. The Project has helped 170 people back into work and has secured funding to continue to help people in Coventry and Warwickshire until 2022.