Curatorial project for art exhibition: "where emotions take form, outsider art by everyday individuals"

Where Emotions Take Form: Outsider Art by Everyday Individuals, is an exhibition that celebrates the captivating world of outsider art created by individuals who are not traditionally trained artists but, rather, ordinary people from our everyday lives. This exhibition brings to light the raw, unfiltered expressions of ordinary people, transcending conventional artistic boundaries and offering a glimpse into the richness of human creativity. Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art world. Under this concept, in most cases, when people speak of outsider art, they think of patients with mental disorders, or psychopaths, who have always been the main creators of outsider art, not mentioning ordinary people who have not received academic training. However, nowadays, modern people are facing different kinds of stress in daily life, such as work, relationships, and so on. How they can use art to express their emotions or how art can work as a healing method is the main focus of the exhibition. The pieces featured in this exhibition are from three Chinese artists, Prapra, Zi Wang and Yanling Chen. Their works reflect a diverse range of emotions and narratives, where the act of creation becomes a form of self-discovery and storytelling. The independent study focuses on this exhibition and discusses the concept of Outsider Art, the healing function of art towards people, art as a conversation between artists and viewers, and a more detailed methodology for the curation of the exhibition which includes the statement, artworks, and artists, the choice of the venue, design, and content of the online platform, leaflet and poster, timeline, budget, partners and so on. It will also mention the feedbacks from viewers and conclusion of improvement. Through a thoughtful selection of artworks, the exhibition aims to challenge conventional notions of outsider art and highlight the transformative power of emotions in art-making. It is to encourage the viewers to set aside preconceived notions of artistic merit and beauty, to immerse themselves in the genuine and unpretentious emotions of these artists and to get a fresh perspective on what it means to create art, which is also a start of communication between viewers and artists.