An arts project, called Beyond Sight, is currently taking place at Spero, the training and activity centre for the visually impaired in Qormi.

The project is made up of a series of workshops, where the participating artists seek to uncover a means that allows for communication to happen.

As Pamela Baldacchino, the artist who is coordinating the project at Spero, says: “Going beyond the initial impact of sightlessness, the artist seeks to uncover a means, any means, that allows for this communication to happen. As the process of dialogue unfolds, one realises that art becomes simply an excuse to mediate a relation where a flow of thoughts, emotions, sensations and experience becomes the primary focus of such interactions.”

Past workshops focused on personal storytelling using different types of stimuli such as tactile sensations triggered by different materials and objects as well as poetry, music, movement and dance. There were music workshops and sensory art-based workshops.

Other sessions made the artworks tactile and so in a way “visible” to blind participants. Using twine, cotton wool and wire the participants were helped by the support workers to stick on the best suited material for their work.

Following workshops were dedicated to creating a template from thick cardboard. The participants worked on creating a composition and did a printing experiment using ink, brushes, rollers and papers. Twenty prints were created, 10 of which were tactile and inkless (no colour) and another 10 were printed using ink.

One of the most important aspects of these workshops is that they give the participant “independence and some time where they do not feel blind”, remarks Baldacchino.

She quotes one of the project participants: “I find myself calmer than before. I calm down my worries. It’s as if I’m living a dream. It’s a way of venting out my emotions and they come out in a positive manner. I felt I was wandering, almost feeling lost but not frustrated with what I was doing. I feel capable… I don’t need others to hold my hand. I’m very happy with what I managed to create.”

The Beyond Sight project is funded by Il-Premju tal-President, through Arts Council Malta. For more information about the project, visit the Spero Facebook page or call 2144 1604.

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