[Nfb-krafters-korner] blind artists

[Becky Frankeberger]

Blind Vision 


Association for blind artists launches in Memphis.


by Bianca Phillips
<http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/ArticleArchives?author=1104377>  


 


Michael Williams, who suffers from a sight-impairment known as Stargardt
disease, may not have the best vision. But most would agree that he's a
visionary. 

In June, the award-winning artist launched the International Association for
Sight-Impaired Artists-Global, a nonprofit aimed at empowering blind artists
from all over the world. 

The group will serve as an umbrella organization for chapters across the
country, but so far, it only boasts a local chapter, the Memphis Association
for Sight-Impaired Artists, which is headquartered out of the Memphis Center
for Independent Living on Madison. 

"There are blind artists all over the country, but before this, there was no
centralized organization to pool everyone together to show off their work,"
Williams said. "It's a one-stop shop for artists to get their art and their
foot into the door. We can help with getting work on the market and putting
on art shows, auctions, festivals, and competitions." 

The first such event will be an art show of regional work by sight-impaired
artists at the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
throughout the month of December. The Memphis Association for Sight-Impaired
Artists is accepting submissions through November 15th. Williams is hoping
to receive work from 20 artists, but he currently only has commitments from
four artists, including himself. 

"There are about 80,000 sight-impaired people in the Mid-South, and you
would think there are a lot of people out there who could benefit from being
involved in this show," Williams said. "There's an untapped resource for
talent, and we want to find them." 

Christina Clift, one of the organization's board members, has a theory on
why they're having a difficult time locating blind artists. 

"I think one of the reasons we haven't had as many artists come to the
forefront is because when you're a child with any kind of disability,
especially a visual disability, teachers are not trained on how to work with
that child and get them involved in art," Clift said. 

At age 10, Williams learned to paint from his mother, who painted landscapes
as a hobby. Although his sight-impairment, a form of juvenile macular
degeneration, only worsened as he aged, Williams simply adjusted the way he
painted. His peripheral vision is okay, but he cannot see using the central
part of his eyes. 

In 2009, Williams entered his work into the American Printing House for the
Blind's art contest. He won third place out of 400 entries. In the years
that followed, Williams took home a second place and most recently, a
first-place award in the competition. 

"After I won first place, I decided that it was time for others to know
about the opportunities out there for sight-impaired artists and go full
steam ahead with this program," Williams said. 

Williams would eventually like to open an art gallery in Memphis of work by
blind artists, and the organization has plans for expanding their chapters
city by city each year. Since the headquarters is in Memphis, Williams hopes
to host an international competition for blind artists here next fall. 

Visually impaired artists who would like to submit work for the first local
art show in December should visit iasia-global.org
<http://iasia-global.org/>  for details.