“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Everybody can do it, if they set their mind to it.” Delores Thompson

This week on Outlook we feature the first part of a two-part special episode we’ve been working on for a while. We’ share about a project in British Columbia called “Your Eyes, My Vision” where blind artists were paired up with sighted facilitators to learn from each other and show the world and the artists themselves that art is for everyone and should be accessible to everyone too. “Your Eyes, My Vision” was introduced through the Victoria Society for Blind Arts and Culture in the spring of 2022 with funding from Disability Alliance B.C.

We start by discussing the importance of this program as “visual art” isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when people consider those who are blind or low vision. We each share our own experiences with art growing up as Kerry used to have more vision and enjoyed drawing while Brian was more into tactile options like Play Doh. Similar to physical education, visual art was a subject that didn’t remain as accessible for us in the later elementary grades and into high school which is why this topic needs to be talked about more.

Our own experiences with art are followed by discussions with 3 people who took part in the project. Amy Amantea shares about creating her art through the medium of glassblowing along with a poem she wrote as a companion piece. Vincent Atkins and Delores Thompson are featured next as a pair who took part in the project, Delores as the blind artist and Vincent the sighted facilitator. Delores talks about the paintings she created and Vince shares some of the insight he gained from his experience working with her. In many cases, the process itself is focused on more than the final results. It’s all about providing blind people with opportunities they might not normally have.

So check out this discussion on creating “visual” art as people who are blind and stay tuned for part 2 where we feature 3 others who were involved with “Your Eyes, My Vision”.

Thanks again to Amy Amantea, Vincent Atkins, and Delores Thompson for their contributions to this episode.

Find the VocalEye event from earlier in 2023 where some of the artists involved in the project were featured here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CymeLjq60KM

The original event from 2022 when “Your Eyes, My Vision” was pitched to the community:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHqaFM-YWQU

Check out the podcast Amy Amantea hosts “Accessing Art With Amy”:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/accessing-art-with-amy/id1535042180

Find Vincent’s music/art on his Bandcamp page:

https://vincentatkins.bandcamp.com