Mural for the Blind brings unique art experience to everyone in North Texas

Independence includes many freedoms, including the enjoyment of beautiful art. Believing this to hold true for all, even those without sight, the Lighthouse For the Blind recently unveiled “Where Independence Begins,” a one-of-a-kind blind accessible, interactive mural.

The 2,000 square foot mural, painted by award-winning Fort Worth muralist Kristen Soble, is along the Adams Street Wall of the Lighthouse building. It was designed and executed specifically with individuals who are blind and visually impaired in mind and features high-contrast images and colors, multiple tactile elements, Braille messages, and audio devices.

A companion website accessible by a QR code provides visitors an even more in-depth experience while using a screen reader.

“While it certainly has beautified the neighborhood, one of the main purposes was to provide a piece of public art that would be accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired. The vast majority of public art is created without folks who are blind in mind,” said Curtis Rhodes, the Lighthouse communications and content coordinator. “Great pains were taken to ensure that elements could be enjoyed by both sighted and non-sighted people.

“The vast majority of us take our sight for granted when we see a colorful mural on a wall, or painted canvases or even sculpture in a museum. We are taught not to touch the art. But touch is often a way that someone who is blind is able to take in the artwork before them.”

Talking devices provide audio description, stainless-steel railings include Braille messages, high-contrast colors, a miniature 3-D relief of the entire mural to allow individuals to take in the whole wall at once, and a companion website accessible by QR code that provides a more in-depth description. Individuals are able to use the screen reader on their personal mobile devices to again provide audio description.

“The mural has already been used in our orientation and mobility training. O&M is training that helps people who are blind learn to navigate the world using a white cane or guide dog,” Rhodes said. “This training is a vital step in helping someone who is blind gain, or regain, their independence.”

The mission of Lighthouse for the Blind is to empower individuals who are blind and visually impaired to live their highest level of independence.

The mural has been used and experienced not only by Lighthouse clients/employees, but also by others in the broader community, Rhodes said.

“We have had a number of TVIs (Teachers of Visually Impaired) bring their students to experience the mural, something we highly encourage,” he said.

Inclusivity spreading to other art spaces

The design process was more involved than usual for Soble, and included a focus group and discussions with Lighthouse employees who are blind or visually impaired in order to gain valuable perspective that informed the eventual design.

“I felt a huge responsibility with this mural,” Soble said. “There was just this feeling that it had to be really great. My work is intended to spark creativity and joy, and so I wanted to carry that into this mural as well.”

Rhodes noted the idea of inclusivity is coming more into consciousness. In Fort Worth, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Sid Richardson Museum have all embarked on projects to make art more accessible to blind and visually impaired individuals. They have created replicas of some of the artworks that can be touched, whether that is a 3D sculpture, or an image on paper that has raised outlines and various tactile textures to indicate different colors.

“We recently worked with the Amon Carter on their efforts to include alt text (embedded text that describes digital images that appear online) on their website. Admirably, these organizations are taking serious steps to be inclusive,” he said.

Rhodes said the hope is projects such as these and the mural will help bring more unity between the sighted and the visually impaired.

“ ... Folks with vision have the chance to put themselves in a blind person’s shoes and imagine what it might be like for them,” he said. “It’s always good to be able to see things from another’s perspective that are different from one’s own.”

Rewarding experience for all

The mural took about 15 months to create. It was paid for through the generosity of donors, including a lead gift by philanthropist Roz Rosenthal, and gifts by Union Pacific Foundation and the Ann L. and Carol Green Rhodes Charitable Trust.

As it was going up, Rhodes said folks who live in the neighborhood would drive or walk by to see the progress, always with honks or words of encouragement and excitement.

“Honestly, before the installation of this mural, the wall was drab and ugly and incredibly uninspiring. Neighbors loved seeing the big change,” he said.

As project manager for the mural, Rhodes said one of the most personally rewarding moments was the day the Braille messages went on the railings.

“I was providing a tour to two young ladies who are blind, along with their mothers, and we went out to the mural. The girls were reading the messages (affirmations such as “You have more power than you think” and “The world is better with you in it”) with such ease, and they were so delighted by all of it,” he said.

“Seeing how happy they were at experiencing a piece of art that was created for them, watching them interact with the elements was like a big love-bomb going off inside of me. ‘That’s it!’ I thought. ‘That’s the whole point of this project!’ It was the best reward I could have hoped for.”