Art Exhibit Breaks Down Barriers For Blind Patrons

"It means so much to me to be able to show people a new world, my world of blindness, and have them eagerly see what we have to offer." - Artist Adelyn Granger.

American Printing House (APH) believes that artists who are blind should have a place to showcase their work. InSights Art is an annual juried competition for artists of all ages who are blind or visually impaired. Held in Louisville each year, APH has received artwork from all 50 states and many countries across the globe. This year will be the 27th year for the contest.

This year a group of 17 high school students at the Texas School for the Blind took home first place in their category for a stop motion film they created named Purr-Fect Dream. Their piece will be on display from on October 4-6 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Adelyn Granger is one of those artists. "This contest means we get to showcase that people who are visually impaired, like myself, can enjoy and create art as well as any other human, even if it's in a different form," said Granger. She says the project pushed her outside of her comfort zone and allowed all of her classmates to share their creativity.

"Young artists come into the exhibit space and search the whole gallery for their artwork, and then start jumping up and down when they find it. They are so excited to experience their artwork, on display in a public exhibit," explained Robert Guillen, Special Programs Coordinator at APH. The competition gives people who are blind an opportunity to not only have their artwork seen by a public audience, but also to have it critiqued by a panel of artists.

"The strong affirmation this contest provides feeds the creative life of each artist, which is especially important for artists who are blind or visually impaired. So often they have been told that they cannot do something, and that includes art," said Guillen.

The 17 students who worked on the video are: Adelyn Granger, Maycie Gonzales, Jordan Price, Hector Lara, Ash Edmondson, Bethany Thedford, Sha'Mya Gipson, Haydar Ghafori, Dimitri Deese, Devin Gutierrez, Terynay Long, Zack Croteau, Damonte Fitzgerald, Ethan Walton, Jordan Lackey, Jordan Lister, and Olivia Hernandez.