6 Thursday <strong>April</strong> <strong>15</strong> <strong>2021</strong> Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz WESTERN NEWS Teacher finds her voice through art • By Bea Gooding ANH QUE CHU knows a thing or two about how it feels to not be able to communicate what’s on her mind. As an art teacher for people with intellectual disabilities at the Art for Life Trust, she understood how much of a barrier language can be. Not knowing a word of English when she first moved to New Zealand in 1982 as a refugee following the Vietnam War made tasks such as getting a job that much more strenuous. But through art, she was able to find her voice and has enabled others to do the same. Said Chu: “When I first came here I couldn’t speak English, so I went to Teachers’ College in the hopes of getting a full-time job. But my English wasn’t good enough at the time, so I was very depressed. I just wanted to have a full-time job, but I couldn’t. “The only thing I was good at was practical art and demonstrations on how to paint.” When teaching in schools did not go to plan, she drew on her strengths by selling off drawings and paintings. She later graduated from Ara Institute of Technology in 2000 with a Bachelor of Art and Design. After landing a full-time job privately teaching children and adults at Your Studio Trust for a number of years, Chu established the Art for Life in 2013. It provides art tuition to people of all ages who live with an intellectual disability. It did not matter if students had autism, Down’s syndrome, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – anyone could learn how to make art using acrylic and watercolour paint, ink pens or charcoal. At the end of year exhibition, it was also a chance to generate their own income by selling pieces they made. Art enabled them to express themselves and to learn more about colour therapy, but it was a safe and inclusive place to make friends while developing confidence, self-esteem and pride in their work. Teaching art in other places STRENGTHS: Anh Que Chu (right) with student Wendy Blackler at the Art for Life Trust, which teaches people with intellectual disabilities how to find their voices through art. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN like high schools often meant the end goal was to make students’ art stand out, but at the trust, it was a different story. “Here, that’s not the goal – show them that you love them, care about them, and help them express their feelings,” said Chu. “A lot of students here can’t talk or hear, so you have to find a way to understand and help them communicate.” Becoming a teacher was something Chu fantasised about as a teenager, but she never expected to do so in another country. Chu was a 25-year-old art student when her family was forced to flee Hanoi, Vietnam, in 1979, four years after the Vietnam War ended. External tensions stemming from the country’s dispute with Cambodia and China in the years that followed caused a mass exodus of nearly 800,000 people – most of Chinese descent, just like Chu’s family. After seven days of being crammed in a boat with 396 other refugees, they eventually made it to a refugee camp in Hong Kong. It was where she met her future husband, a New Zealander, who was working at the camp with the Salvation Army. Art has been a constant in her life since her teenage years. During the war, she was inspired by an encounter with two art students, who encouraged her to study at Hanoi Arts School. Now, Chu gets to live out her teaching dream in a field she is most passionate about while making a colourful impact within the disability community. “A good teacher follows the student. 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