A message from a member of SVI – Karren Visser.
Lockdown has changed our lives and we have had to learn new ways of being in contact. Except it’s not the same as a chat over a cup of tea or a curry down the pub!
Many SVI members will have either met or spoken to Becky from Multistory and me, Karren, the photographer, who spoke at the SVI 2018 AGM. We had started to explore with a few of you what it is like to live with sight loss in Sandwell. Our collaboration included SVI members sharing a mutual interest in photography, and collecting personal experiences through interviews.
I have degenerative myopia plus glaucoma. As a member of SVI, I appreciate the contact during this time. Some of you may hear my Talking News pieces from Oxford. In the meantime, for our project exploring sight loss in Sandwell we need to find another approach to collaborate, as due to social distancing measures it may be a while before we can meet together in person again.
In participating, your story will be part of an exciting multi-sensory arts project that will be shared online and depending on the situation with coronavirus, a celebratory event and programme of events.
To get us started we have a suggestion:
Is there a story, recent or from the past, funny or sad, thought-provoking maybe that highlights your experience of living with visual impairment? This could illustrate, for example, your interests, an accomplishment you are proud of, a special occasion, a sighted person’s misunderstanding of how little you can or can’t see at all, and what it means for you to live in Sandwell. The stories collected will highlight that sight loss is a personal and individual experience.
Our hope is that our collective voice will show the incredible work that SVI do to support us. Also, we would like to add to the many rich and varied stories of the area that Multistory have collected over the years.
We could do this over the phone chatting one-to-one or via small zoom meetings.
Please contact Becky on 0783 4167 009. Or search for Karren Visser on Facebook and send me a message.
We will call you back.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Karren
Listen to an audio version of this message.
[able_player src=”https://sandwellvisuallyimpaired.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SVI-Multistory-Karren-collecting-stories_200615.mp3″]
