Beijing exhibit showcases artworks of special needs children

Brimming with bright colors, imagination, and great love for sports, an ongoing exhibition at the X Museum in Beijing shines a spotlight on the artistic talent of children with intellectual disabilities.

Titled Children's Sports, Paint the Beauty, the charity exhibit, running until Aug 15, is co-organized by the museum, NBA Cares, and Special Olympics East Asia.

On show are 60 sports-themed paintings, including sketches, watercolors, and collage, which were selected from over 300 entries submitted by children, aged between four and 16, from the country's 40 Special Olympics Unified Schools.

Through showcasing the artistic talents of special needs children and their great love for sports and life, the event is aimed at increasing public awareness of this disadvantaged group and calling for more social support for them, according to the organizers.

NBA Cares is the league's global community outreach initiative that tackles important social issues such as education, youth and family development, and health and wellness.

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants from around the world.

Launched in 2008 in North America, Special Olympics Unified Schools is a program that promotes social inclusion by bringing together students with and without intellectual disabilities through sports and other activities.

Introduced to China in 2014, the program has so far attracted nearly 300 schools from both regular and special education systems, spanning kindergartens to primary schools, to universities.