These artists paint with foot and mouth

The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPA) plan to set up centres in five more cities to support differently-abled artists.

Talking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a live demonstration by 16 artists at a resort near here on Sunday, Mr. Bobby Thomas, head of marketing and development, MFPA, Mumbai, said that they have plans to set up centres with training facilities in Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune in next two years.

Based on the concept of sustainable livelihood, the initiative aims to provide a platform to artists to exhibit their creative talents.

Unable to paint using their hands because of injury, illness or birth deformity, the artists use brushes held either in their mouth or feet to paint. Twenty-one such artists, who are at different levels of skills, namely, students, associate members and members, are part of the group.

 

Mr. Thomas said that when they are students, they get a stipend; at the provisional level of artist, they get a salary of around ₹10,000 to 12,000 per month; and as the artists grow in stature, they can earn from ₹30,000 to 40,000 per month and even up to ₹1,10,000 per month, in addition to an annual bonus. The money comes from paintings and exhibitions.

Established in 1956 and owned by disabled artists themselves, the MFPA association today has over 800 members spread across 74 countries. In India, it supports 21 artists.

“Driven by the motto ‘self-help, not charity’, the objective of every member is to earn his or her livelihood with self-respect and dignity, and free of any charity”, said Mr. Thomas.

“Our artists financially support themselves and their families, while their families stand behind them in their activities,” said Mr. Thomas proudly.

 

He said that in 2015, the Indian chapter of MFPA established a trust fund — IMFPA Training Foundation Trust — to provide vital financial and training assistance to physically differently-abled children and adults who are enthusiastic in pursuing their interest in the field of arts.

As of now, the Foundation has 10 trainees, next year it proposes to increase the number to 30 and then go on adding depending upon the resources it can mobilise.