SHAPE 2017 TateExchange Book FINAL Draft - Flipbook - Page 26
interpretation of the classic story “One Eyes, Two Eyes and Three Eyes”. Not
only did this present an opportunity to tell the story and encourage any
kind of creative response (visual or verbal), but it also encouraged the Hans
Frobisher group from Outside In 3 to think about any disability messages
within the exhibition. Some fantastic poetry and creative writing emerged.
Another memorable moment was working at The Towner Art Gallery in
Eastbourne with audio describer Lonny Evans, staff, and an inclusive group
of young people to develop audio descriptions for four pieces from their Eric
Ravillious collection. Two of the participants were visually impaired and staff
worked collaboratively with each young person to write descriptions that
included creative responses. It was important for me that visually impaired
young people took part. I knew the descriptive writing would be different
but just as engaging. I was not surprised that one visually impaired person
wanted sound to convey a moving train in the background and this led to
a discussion about where the train was going and who was on it. It was an
empowering experience for everyone involved.
One partially sighted participant said, “Taking part in the Towner’s audio
description project suddenly made the visual arts accessible to me in a way
that I never thought would be possible. It’s one thing to have someone you
trust patiently describe what they see to the best of their ability, and a much
better thing entirely to be able to sit down with an organised, comprehensive
description and listen to it as many times as you wish. The Towner audio
description project has done so much for my confidence! Talking about my
barriers to the visual arts and actively working to overcome them has made
me so much more comfortable in artistic environments now.”
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