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Beyond the Event Horizon: A Non-Visual Arts Exploration

Even light couldn’t escape from within beyond the event horizon, that’s where the sight fails.
And it’s here where we come in.
Through the creative expressions of non-visual senses such as hearing, touch, smell, and taste, children with visual impairments and us together explored and extended arts making beyond its visual boundary. Voices of different selves were articulated and listened to, artful explorations and understandings of the outside world were communicated. These experiences gained could help learners build their sense of accomplishment and eventually develop self-concept.
The project Beyond the Event Horizon: A Non-Visual Arts Exploration were carried out in 2 phases as follows:
Phase I – See Beyond Limits: Becoming Sighted Helpers
1. Be My Eyes: Pre-Journey Guidefor Sighted Helpers 2015.04.18 & 2015.05.25
2. Open Call for Sighted Volunteers
We set out in hope to raiseawareness concerning cultural equity and social inclusion for people with disabilities. Curricula were tailoredto prepare the program participants with etiquettes and basic skills of becoming empathetic sighted helpers, who would play important roles in the workshop and summer camp during Phase II of the project. Exploring through the creative ways of non-visual arts, participant could try to put oneself in the shoes of people with disabilities and experience the world in their stance. At the same time, they had also the opportunityturning inwardlyto contemplate, express, and liberate feelings and stress, and therefore the chance of self-transformation.
Phase II — Beyond Sight: Non-Visual Arts Making Experience
1. Non-Visual Arts Making Workshop every Sunday from 2015.06.15-2015.07.13
2. Non-Visual Arts Making Summer Camp 2015.07.15-2015.07.19
During Phase II, we had invited children with visual impairments in the community to join us, participating in the workshop or summer camp devised. Engaging in creative expressions through non-visual senses, children created artworks and spoke of their feelingsand perceptions, building communication and relationship with one another. Constructive learning experiences formed through thesecreative non-visual arts practices had provided the learners an alternative approach to interact with the world they live in, as well as informed the educational practice with the means of art therapy.
Date:2014.06.01-2014.09.01