Art makes me feel seen

Fitz: How did you feel to gaze upon your work up on that big building, and have everybody admire it? And did some of them say things to you?

BK: It felt really good. I was really happy because I love it so much and I got to show my art to lots of people! Lots of people have told me that my artwork makes them happy and that it makes them smile. And my friends and family are proud of me because they know I love being an artist. Being in Vivid has been really exciting and I am so happy it happened.

Fitz: Where can we buy your work?

BK: People can buy my art at bridgetkellyart.com and on Instagram @ItsBridgetKelly.

Fitz: You say on your Instagram that you have “an extra chromosome for emergencies”. Life must be pretty good right now, with no emergencies, we hope?

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BK: My life is very good right now! I get to do my art every day and people like what I make. I am so happy I am an artist.

Fitz: You have had your work displayed at Vivid. Where else would you like to be hung?

BK: I have lots of big ideas for what to do next! Maybe the Sydney Opera House or on a Gorman raincoat. I love wearing them.

Fitz: Bridget, I put out a post on X with this photo of you standing in front your art. I was stunned at the response. Many people asked me to tell you how much they love your art. We all do. Warmest congratulations to you.

BK: Thank you for sharing my art. Art makes me feel seen. People know me as an artist and I love it. I feel so happy that I can show people how I see the world.

Fitz: One man replying to my post said he has a two-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, and your story has inspired him and gives him hope. Do you want me to tell her something back?

BK: Can you please tell him to follow his daughter’s interests? That’s what Mum and Dad did for me. Who knows where it might lead!

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Fitz: Matthew and Kate, congrats on the wonderful success of Bridget. To say the obvious, you must be very proud.

Matthew: Indeed. Our fondest dream was that people would see in her art what we saw, and to have her art so respected has been simply wonderful.

Fitz: Members of the Academy, Bridget specifically cites you two as helping her to realise her artistic potential. What approach did you take to raising her? You clearly have done something very, very right, to have such an accomplished, and happy daughter.

Kate: Thank you. I suppose from the very start, our star was: is she doing everything she’s capable of? We wanted her to reach her potential, just the same as we would for her two sisters. The other thing was to enable her to follow her interests, and the major one was her art. So in doing that, we tried to set her art up to succeed. We had a plan, we had an art tutor and we gave her all the support we could to make sure that it was successful. She has had tough times in her life, as have we, but as far as the art goes, there’s really been no hard times at all. It’s just all been so incredibly positive, and so rewarding for her.

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Matthew: Anything to do with her art, she just glows with happiness. What was really great was when we took her to some of the art fairs they have in Sydney and Melbourne. We set up a stall for her, and over the four days thousands of people would walk past her displays, stop, look at it, and smile. And Bridget would beam back. She loves people loving her work because she wants to make everyone happy, like her – and that comes through in her art.

Fitz: How did her display in Vivid come about?

Matthew: Someone contacted us because they saw that Vivid had put out a call to submit designs for that clock tower. Bridget submitted two, and they picked one, which is amazing.

Fitz: Did they want art from people with disabilities, or they just wanted art?

Kate: They just wanted art. But the response has been so wonderful because it raises awareness of what someone with a disability can achieve in this day and age.

Matthew: She is not very verbal, but a few years ago a woman asked her much the same question, “Bridget, what are you going to do?” And I can still see Bridget now. She just looked at this woman, smiled, and said, “I am an artist.”

Fitz: She is that. Bravissima, Bridget. Bravo, the lot of you.

Peter FitzSimons is a journalist and columnist. Connect via X.