Aidan Barry

Aidan Barry was born on 18 June 1997 with phocomelia major and complex congenital cardiac insufficiency. Aiden took a brush in his mouth for the first time when he was three years old and undergoing open-heart surgery in Melbourne.
He is studying teaching in secondary education at the University of Adelaide. During his school days, he was not able to take Art as a subject as the teachers were not flexible enough to allow him to work with his feet or his mouth. It was not until he was an adult that his grandmother brought him into contact with his artistic abilities again. Since 2018, he has been a pupil at The Changing Canvas in Glenelg, where he has honed his skills in acrylic painting. As art is of great importance in his family, his mother (Bernadette Maureen BARRY, VDMFK Scholarship Holder) was able to set up an art room. This provided Aidan with a greater opportunity to practise and refine his artistic style. Away from the canvas, Aidan is interested in sport, music and writing. He played a key role in founding an inclusive cricket league in South Australia. Art enables Aidan to express his creativity.