I am by no means a social individual.
I must admit that I dread the thought of having to speak to new people.
There’s just something about the meaningless small talk and cautious eye contact that I never quite seem to ‘get’.
However, after being recently diagnosed as autistic, it’s all starting to make a little more sense.
But what I lack in social skills, I believe I make up for in my passion for creativity and pop culture. Now that is something I can talk about for hours!
When I heard about the Colourful Minds artist market, I thought what better opportunity to get outside. This is an event that promotes itself as an inclusive space for neurodivergent and disabled artists and attendees.
What is Colourful Minds?
The market took place on Saturday 21 March at the Ainslie Football Club. It was Colourful Minds’ first event in Canberra and their fourth event ever, featuring both new and experienced vendors.
All 44 of them either identify as neurodivergent, disabled, having a chronic illness or having experience with mental health challenges.
It is these four ‘lived experiences’ that are the beating heart of Colourful Minds, and each one is represented by its own adorable mascot!
There is an axolotl creature for neurodiversity, a phoenix for chronic illness, a white tiger for disability and an octopus for mental health. The Colourful Minds website has detailed descriptions of the significance of each of these animals.
My experience
As I walk through the doors on the rainy Saturday morning, I am immediately greeted by one of the friendly volunteer staff at the information desk.
He offers me a variety of free badges and hands me a stamp sheet for vendors to fill, which he explains comes with a small prize for completion.
I gleefully claim my little axolotl pin and pick out a conversation starter badge: ‘ask me about my special interest‘, and I’m all set.
As I step into the market buzz, it’s full of people in colourful outfits selling plushies, paintings, stickers and crochets of all my favourite pop culture characters.
One thing becomes abundantly clear to me: these are my kind of people.
I am at first a little apprehensive to approach any of the tables too closely though. There’s nothing I dislike more than nervously browsing through artworks under the hopeful gaze of the person who made it, only to walk away without buying anything.
However, after working up the courage to start talking to the vendors, I am pleasantly surprised by what I find.
Everyone is incredibly friendly, and the conversation starter badges are clearly something I’ve not known I needed all my life.
All the usual awkward small talk is put behind me as I dive straight into asking about their art, favourite movies or special interests.
The founders
Talking to the founders of Colourful Minds, mother-daughter duo Nicole and Annelise Cullen, it becomes clear exactly what makes this market so unique: first-hand experience.
“Annelise has just been recently diagnosed with autism… I’ve had chronic illness for the past 10 years. I can’t walk some days… and I have just been recently diagnosed with ADHD,” says Nicole.
“We both noticed that there’s a lot of inaccessible places, [and] that it’s hard for people who are neurodiverse or don’t have someone with them to be able to fit into a space… So [we thought] we’ll make this market. We’ll see how that goes and see if anyone else is interested. And, yes, people were interested,” she adds.
The vendors
Colourful Minds strives to put their vendors first, ensuring that their needs are listened to and met wherever possible. As I talk to vendors, it’s obvious how successful they are in making everyone feel welcomed and accommodated.
Breezy (FoxFaceFaerie)
“One of the first markets I ever did was this event… you meet people from so many different walks of life, different communities, and it’s just such a unique place… a place to bring us all together. Especially when it’s so accommodating to so many different types of people.”
Aj (UnElysian Art Studio)
“[At] a lot of other markets, you’re very separate… You’re in your own bubble. But here, everyone’s messaging each other, helping each other out, and building each other up. So it’s built the market into a very friendly community, more than just a market.”
Parker (BoxPuppyGifts)
“I love Colorful Minds market… [they’re] very accepting and very understanding, even of really quirky things that are very niche. For example, I’m a Therian, and not many people know what that is. But here, I feel like I can say that and not feel like people are going to judge me.”
Accessibility
Something that stands out to me is how thoughtful Nicole and Annelise are about people’s sensory and accessibility needs.
“Sometimes, [conventions just] go ‘oh, it’s low sensory hour. We’ll turn the lights down. And now we’re neurodiverse friendly.’ …We were at an autism expo on the weekend and the music was so loud. There were balloons popping. There were flashing lights all over the place,” says Nicole.
“We choose a venue that has carpet, that is bigger. We keep our vendor size small so it’s not daunting as an attendee… our tables are two together with access out each side for both both people,” she adds.
Colourful Minds also offers whiteboards for non-verbal attendees and a designated ‘chill zone’ for people who can get overwhelmed in crowded spaces.
My purchase
Once I’ve finished socialising with vendors and have thoroughly browsed through all the tables, umming and aahing about what to buy, it’s finally time to make my decision.
I find that I keep looking over at Handmaiden’s Tail, a stall that’s full of handcrafted plush animals. And as I walk past again, I spy something new has made it onto the table.
It’s a small black scorpion, that the vendor explains to me is a new prototype creature she has recently designed.
Something about its vibrant green eyes piques my interest, and soon enough I am walking back to my car with it nestled safely in my bag.
While struggling to think of a name for my new friend, I start scrolling through the artist’s social media, where I immediately find my answer: Mr Stingy!
Final thoughts
All in all, I really enjoyed my day out browsing through handmade crafts and chatting with friendly vendors.
The market managed to foster community between sellers and attendees. This was truly special to witness, and something that other markets may struggle to achieve.
Colourful Minds will be arriving in Castle Hill on 17 May. For more information, you can follow them on Instagram @colourfulmindsmarket.
Whether they will be coming back to Canberra is yet to be determined, but if or when they do, you will certainly find me there again.
Original photos by Abigail Graham