A young artist working in partnership with the publishing house, Hertfordshire Press (UK), has published the second volume of “Elish and the Wicker Tale”, along with a book containing both volumes one and two, intended to support children with autism.

The comic adaptation “Elish and the Wicker Tale” was created by a graduate from the London Film Academy, Timur Akhmedjanov. It is based on the original book by the Azerbaijani writer and child psychiatrist, Kamran Salayev. The main feature of the comic, as well as the book, is that it is dedicated to children with autism and highlights their social problems.

The project’s main aim is to attract the community’s attention to children with autism. The publishing of the comic became possible due to a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. More than 240 people from 25 countries supported the initial  project, among these people are musicians, writers, public figures, diplomats and other kind hearted people.

To gain more readers and supporters, during upcoming months there will be roadshows in different countries and online-presentations of the comic book.  As well as this,  the publishing house is now working on the translation of the comic to Ukrainian, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Belarusian and Azerbaijanian languages to introduce more people  to the work and to important social problems.

TESTIMONIALS

“For many suffering ASD, the biggest problems are often not being understood – and not understanding yourself. That’s why ‘Elish and the Wicker Tale’ is such an amazing project. This series of comics, based on the children’s book by Kamran Salayev, uses the simplicity and visual impact of cartoons to break through the barriers that often confront autistic children when faced with a sea of words” – the 12th Earl of Portland, actor, Tim Bentinck. 

“ We bring you to the story of Elish, a boy who spends all his spare time making wickerwork baskets. He is an artisan in the true original sense of the word, yet not always appreciated by the wider society. It is always important for your life to serve a higher purpose as you grow up. And I hope that more people continue to adopt the ways of Elish as the world continues to change and these skills are needed more than ever”–   jazz musician Matt Savage.

‘…I am full of admiration for your drive to be forced for good. I hope, as you say, that this publication inspires the next generation of writers and artists and helps those with autism to feel better represented in society’ – Boris Johnson, former UK Prime Minister.

‘In today’s world, the problems of childhood autism are especially acute. Any help to such children always commands special respect and support’ – Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan.

‘We are immensely glad that creativity is reflected in charity projects and helps in solving current problems of our time thanks to such talented personalities as Timur Akhmedjanov’ – Akmal Nur,  Chairman of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan
 

The second volume of the comic is now available for pre-orders as well as a book containing both volumes for future readers. 

This is the first of campaigns aimed to get a proper funding. All proceeds from book sales will go to support creation of comic themed museums that will display Elish among staples such as Spider-Man (USA) and Tomiris (Kazakhstan) giving people on the autism spectrum someone to relate to and represent them in the world of comics.

You will find more details about the museum below and in the illustrated brochure HERE.

INTRODUCTION

Meet the ambitious project: the ‘Elish and Superheroes’ museum. Where a wide pantheon of superheroes are ready to support you by saying ‘You don’t have to have some supernatural power to be special. Everyone can be a hero.’

This is the first international museum, for children, dedicated to the exploration of autism and inclusivity through a unique medium. The project is not trying to just be a place for people on the autism spectrum but rather promoting the  inclusion of such people into social, cultural and business relationships.

We had started this project from scratch and believe that we can open, not only one museum, but at least three, located in: Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria.

So logistically we would need the museum to be low budget, eco friendly, and simple and fast to build. So we had the idea of building the museum out of 40ft sea freight containers, like how nearby coffee shops in the area had been built. You can find several references below. This solution is not only highly functional but also gives us some aesthetic freedom without needing to make an entire architectural plan with tons of engineering documentation.

THE BIG IDEA: ELISH AMONG LEGENDS

As previously mentioned, the plan is to create a museum of comic superheroes with ties to the ideas of autism and inclusion, via the inclusion of Elish. The philosophy of the project is built around the thesis that everybody can become a ‘Superhero’ – a valuable and significant part of a team or society. And even though the museum is oriented to children and teenagers we also will work with the aim of the inclusion of adults with autism in society. As this issue is not widely supported in comparison to the aid and support given to autism found in children.

That’s why this museum is not just an educational project FOR autistic people, but also a space for anyone to learn more ABOUT autism and its impact to human’s life. So the key concept is to display Elish (a hero with behaviours that parallels Austim) among other well known faces, showing that not only is Elish like the rest but that his unique behaviour is a key factor in his success (as seen by many famous individuals with autism). 

The  first museum of its kind is planned to be built in the city of Schuchinsk, Burabay National Park (Northern Kazakhstan) in the summer of 2024. It will be a part of the ECG HORIZONS Burabay Creative Residence of the Eurasian Creative Guild (learn more below). The complex will include not only the museum itself but also a playground equipped for HIA children as well as appealing to all the local youth. The playground will be related to the museum, being themed as a superhero’s workout. In addition, Schuchinsk has very few operational public playgrounds, and no playground available for children with HIA.

The museum will become a venue for cultural and educational events, showing the creativity of people with HIA to the ECG international audience.

LAYOUT OF THE MUSEUM 

Territory & Building

The piece of land available for the project is a city territory of 735 square metres (7,911.47 square feet). It will include the museum itself, a parking lot and a playground (196 square metres / 2,109.73 square feet) equipped for children with HIA . 

The museum will be built out of four 40 ft sea containers – two for the first floor and two for the second floor. The way of placing it in two levels with the spaces between each couple of containers gives us 287.8 square metres (3,097.85 square feet) of useful space.

The Museum is projected as a fully self-contained unit with an independent power station with solar panels, water renewing station and dry closet.

The design will be reviewed by civil engineers and others to take into consideration all safety, convenience and availability requirements. 

Inside the Museum

Inside the Museum we have four halls with different functions, an inner courtyard/atrium under a rooftop and an observation deck for the summer period on the rooftop.

First floor

1. Main hall with a permanent exhibition 

2. Secondary hall for temporary exhibitions and events

3. Library

4. Courtyard (atrium)

5. Terrace

Second floor

6. Coffee shop

7. Souvenir shop and coworking area

8 a,b. Galleries between halls

9 a,b. Second floor small terraces

10. Solar Panels area

Third floor

11. Summer observation deck

12. Technical area

13. Rooftop

CREATING THE EXPERIENCE 

Changing the rhythm

Today’s idea of super productivity and high level of involvement doesn’t leave a space for contemplation and mindfulness. However autistic people live beyond the common feeling of time, they are more concentrated at the process and their inner world, that’s why it’s so hard for them to be integrated in society’s idea of social relations. 

In support of the central concept of the museum we want to design the space to consider two main mechanics of interaction between the museum and the visitor – slow down the rhythm of activity and make the interaction more tactile. 

The first mechanic is about changing the speed of moving inside the space of the Museum. The structure of the Museum building is built on the principle of labyrinth, so visitors can’t walk as fast as usual constantly making a decision where to go next.

We also want to use ceiling and floor as well as walls for exposition to make a space nonlinear and more insular. Placing the pieces in a non-tunnel order creates the tense like if you need to move very carefully to not injure yourself. The lighting of the exhibition halls like laser tag without windows but with a lot of spotlights is continuing  the main idea. You can see the similar things on the references.

Not only visual 

The second mechanic is concentrated at all of the five feelings instead one – visual perception. 

White noise like sounds of rain or city, symphony music or total silence and other sound effects are absolutely necessary to develop the concept of the Museum and the exhibition.

The sense of touch is probably the most important channel of perception for autistic people and people with HIA in general. Different materials of surfaces, curves of the space and natural elements like rocks, water and plants will make the experience deeper and brighter.

The same concept will be supported through the interactive exhibits like a desk for macrame (many individuals with autism, as well as Elish, have a lifesaving hobby like this).

Smell and taste may be overlooked yet they are very influential senses. We want to include a ‘superpower cocktail’ with the admission ticket to welcome visitors and create a good mood from the very beginning.

What We Need

Pre-opening of the Museum is planned for 1st of July, 2024. This is a perfect time because of the high tourist season in Burabay region, where a large portion of Astana comes for the summer, so we can promote the museum effectively.

To continue and develop the project we will use three main sources of income:

The first one is selling tickets. The main attraction is not only the exhibition but also different events with international speakers. All the events will have a free entrance for the Museum visitors only as well as a playground (we will provide concessional season tickets to locals). 

The second income source is a coffee shop. The concept of it will be closely related with the philosophy of the Museum. Every visitor will have an opportunity to not only get a cup of coffee but also create his own mix of ‘superpowers’ out of different syrups.

The third point is a souvenir store. This is extremely relevant for such themes as comics. The fans community is built around the artefacts of comic books superheroes, so we will use this approach to develop the Museum. It also will be a unique venue for the local artisans.

The charity will be continued as well. There will be an opportunity to join a membership and become a “Friend of Elish” providing seasonal tickets. We plan to reach the breakeven point by the 1st of December, so the project will have a 5 months starting period.

To set up the project we need £300,000.00 of approximate funding.

Containers – £10,400.00

Transportation – £12,000.00

Constructing – £19,000.00

Containers refurbishment – £60,000.00

Solar Panels – £20,000.00

Water system – £20,000.00

Dry closet – £1,000.00

LED screen – £10,000.00

Salary for 5 month starting period – £12,750.00

Speakers for 5 month starting period – £4,000.00

Architecture and engineering services – £7,000.00

Equipment – £50,000.00

Playground – £30,000.00

Parking – £10,000.00

Promotion for 5 month starting period – £5,000.00

Сonsumables for 5 month starting period – £3,850.00

Reserved – £25,000.00

_____________

TOTAL – £300,000.00

& What You Get

Our donors will have something special. We will name the museum halls after donors supported us with £50,000! We will launch memorial plaques and provide lifetime membership in ECG, present signed original artworks and signed hardcopies, organise lunch with author and many other things to thank you! Read more in the perks description.

Other Ways You Can Help

You always can contribute with sharing the information about the campaign in person or in social media. If you want to support us in other way, please feel free to email us at guild@ocamagazine.com

If you can’t contribute via Indiegogo for some reason, please visit the website of the project or email us at guild@ocamagazine.com