story by ELIZABETH BRIGNAC
Artist and public speaker D.J. Svoboda has used his autism and a rich imagination to build a unique fictional world called Imagiville. Since childhood, Svoboda has nurtured and displayed an artistic ability that he has shared with others, especially children. His mission: to help people of all types, abilities and ways of understanding the world to be accepted and celebrated for who they are.
Svoboda’s art centers on the Imagifriends, the brightly colored residents of Imagiville. “They are actually inspired by the different challenges that I faced growing up with autism, because during those times, there were times I was bullied and made fun of,” he explains. “Some good friends of mine who also had autism went through the exact same thing … And I thought, ‘Something has got to be done, because this isn’t right.’”
Eventually, he made life better for himself and his friends with his artistic gifts. “Before high school started, I thought, ‘That’s it! I can be an artist and help make this world into a better place for people with autism of all ages,’” he says.
To date, Svoboda has created over 3,000 different Imagifriends. Each character is designed to celebrate a unique personality trait.
Imagiville image courtesy of D.J. Svoboda.
VALUING INDIVIDUALITY
The mayor of Imagiville is the kind Mupperezmo, whose design—with his head upside-down—shows the unique viewpoint that people with autism experience. Lucia the Flying Cow glides through the skies at night, reminding the residents of Imagiville to find value in being relaxed and carefree. Campfire Freddy is a vibrant personality who brings people together and makes them feel safe. Shy Guy wears a green and blue lampshade over his head and checks on his friends, but he often keeps to himself and shows people
that it’s OK to be shy.
This year, Svoboda published his fourth book, “Starfish’s Day at the Beach,” a picture book in which the Imagifriends were illustrated and conceptualized by Svoboda, and the story was written by his friend, Robert Royster. In this book, Starfish hesitates to play with the others in Imagiville because he thinks his five arms make him too different to join them. Mupperezmo encourages Starfish to bring his unique gifts to the mix, and Starfish soon discovers that five arms give him special advantages when they play. “This book teaches that being different is what makes everybody very amazing and very awesome,” Svoboda says.
ADVOCATING NEAR AND FAR
Svoboda uses his artwork as a vehicle to spread his message about understanding and accepting autism. For years, he teamed up with his late mother, Cindi Svoboda, to speak publicly on autism awareness using the Imagifriends to help convey his approach. “My late mother, Miss Cindi, and I established the Imagifriends mission on July 16, 2011. That’s when we started going to conferences. Our very first conference was with my good friend, Tony Attwood,” he says. Tony Attwood, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology, author and internationally recognized speaker from Brisbane, Australia, who specializes in autism.
Together, Cindi and D.J. began presenting at conferences both in the U.S. and internationally.
He has been a keynote speaker at autism events across the region, and speaks at schools, churches, conferences and festivals. Cindi died of brain cancer in 2023, and today, Svoboda continues the Imagifriends mission partly in her memory, with help from a community of supporters. “I’ve got lots of incredible members of the team [who] have been so dedicated to helping me keep the mission going in my mom Cindi’s honor. She inspired a lot of autism teachers and autism parents and autism families at pretty
much every conference we’ve gone to,” he says.
Svoboda’s artwork has appeared in magazines across the world. Originally, he created the Imagifriends with pencil, ink pens and Crayola markers. Today, he produces them with size 10 and 12 Micron pens and uses Crayola Super Tips markers. Each Imagifriend is “all done by hand and created by hand, guaranteed,” he says. “Our first items were the very first Imagifriends story book, just a couple of prints and the first-ever Imagifriends coloring book.”
The Imagifriends have since appeared in magazines like Autism Spectrum, Autism Digest, Autism Perspective and Australian Parent’s Child.
Svoboda’s work has appeared in museums and been commissioned for private homes and businesses as well, including the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development in Durham. He has been the featured artist at different programs and foundations across the country. Svoboda attributes his success in part to his supporters. “We help the world to understand that autism is to be known and to be understood and never, ever to be judged or to be criticized.”
Svoboda is always interested in opportunities to create art and spread the word about autism acceptance. If you’d like to commission Svoboda to create custom artwork or speak at an event, visit theimagifriendsanddj.com.