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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Ohio,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Here are two great reads.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Suzanne<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>///<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b><span style='font-size:20.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Aptos Display",sans-serif;color:#156082;mso-ligatures:none'>Blind, Deaf, and DeafBlind Accessibility Day<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>Columbus Zoo </b><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will offer this special day for guests to enjoy the Zoo in a more accessible environment for individuals who are Blind, Deaf and DeafBlind. Be sure to stop by the event information tent by the globe fountain just inside the entrance for information and wayfinding of the event.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Local community partners will be set up in Conservation Courtyard with hands-on activities and learning experiences and will be announced at a later date.<b> </b><o:p></o:p></p><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Some sounds and visuals are required for safety purposes and these will not be altered during Quiet Hours. <o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Sensory kits with noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, and fidget devices will be available at Guest Relations for a $10 refundable deposit.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Kindly note that the Zoo will be open to all guests, so there may be large crowds during this experience.<o:p></o:p></li></ul><p class=MsoNormal><b>This event is included with a general Day Pass purchase.</b><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Date: September 7, 2025. I have attached a link to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium website for additional information regarding the event and event hours. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://www.columbuszoo.org/events/blind-deaf-and-deafblind-accessibility-day">https://www.columbuszoo.org/events/blind-deaf-and-deafblind-accessibility-day</a><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>///<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b><span style='font-size:20.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Aptos Display",sans-serif;color:#156082;mso-ligatures:none'>'I want to be seen for my art, not my disability.'<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><b>News 5 Cleveland<br>August 25, 2025</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>CLEVELAND — The Kennedy Center recently brought an annual conference to Cleveland that focused on expanding inclusive arts experiences and environments.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>It is especially meaningful as the number of Ohioans with vision loss is increasing, according to Prevent Blindness Ohio.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Several Northeast Ohio artists were on display at the conference, including <a href="https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-owen-mccafferty">Owen McCafferty</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>McCafferty creates mostly in acrylic, oil pastel, and digital art, and like any artist, he has a signature style, “Bold you know, bold lines and colors, and I think that’s a way people could recognize, ‘That’s an Owen McCafferty artwork,’” said McCafferty.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Bold and bright images of sailboats, cityscapes, and birds, all a reflection of how McCafferty experiences and shares the world.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“It’s a way of expressing myself,” he said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>What makes his artwork even more remarkable is that McCafferty is legally blind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“I was born visually impaired and also slight cerebral palsy with my face,” said McCafferty.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>The 62-year-old has been creating since childhood.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“I’d get really close up to the chalkboard, put my face up to it, and draw,” he said. “That’s how they first knew I had some artistic talent.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Bold lines and bright colors are easier for McCafferty to see.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>He said it’s meaningful to have his artwork recognized and wants to be seen for his art, not his disability.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“I want to be an artist and express my artwork, get it out there, and disability should be just secondary,” he said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>McCafferty was among seven Northeast Ohio artists whose work was displayed during The Kennedy Center’s annual Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability conference<b> </b>in Cleveland,<b> </b>a global meet-up with a goal of designing more inclusive arts experiences and environments.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>An example of that is happening at <a href="https://futureinkgraphics.com/">Future Ink Graphics</a>, a screen printing and digital arts studio in Cleveland.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“It’s really about having these inclusive programs for artists with disabilities, and without disabilities all within the same space,” said Stephanie Kluk, owner and director of Future Ink Graphics.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>She said that it is important because she believes there are a lot of wonderful artists who are not getting the opportunity to create work.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>The artists who were on display, including McCafferty, are alumni of FIG’s creative residency. The <a href="https://www.cuyahogadd.org/">Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities</a> provides funding for the program.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“The artist can really get experience working in a studio space and as a professional artist,” said Kluk.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>To make the artist exhibit during the conference accessible, FIG partnered with Clovernook Center, one of the world’s largest producers of braille, based in Cincinnati, to create accessible signage that told each artist’s name and artwork in braille and had a tactile QR code with an audio description.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>There were also tactile graphics of the pieces and a braille booklet explaining the exhibit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Kluk said it’s all about making every voice heard in art.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“I think sometimes artists with disabilities may not be looked at as creating wonderful art and being professional artists,” said Kluk. “I love that this can showcase that that’s not true and that art is for everyone.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“I’ve heard people say that, like, you can’t get a job as an artist because you’re visually impaired, or it’s not realistic,” said McCafferty. “I’ve heard comments like that, but I’m just trying to prove them wrong.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>McCafferty recently started a new job in retail, joking that there is such a thing as a starving artist, and he needed to eat!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>He said he loves making art because it makes him happy, but that’s not the only reason.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“It makes people happy, not just me, and as long as they appreciate my art that’s all that matters,” he said. “I feel blessed.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>Creating and living, bold and bright.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>McCafferty said he hopes to show what’s possible.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'>“Just to encourage others to be creative even those who may be disabled,” he said.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>McCafferty wanted to give a shout-out to Regina E. Dorfmeyer, a visually-impaired Cleveland artist, and John Bramblitt of Texas, as his inspirations<span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> Suzanne M. Hartfield Turner</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Vice President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Ohio Legislative Director<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Cleveland Chapter, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:24.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity achieve the aspirations of all blind people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>P: (216) 990-6199<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>W: NFBOhio.ORG<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>