Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth, located in Fort Worth’s Near Southside neighborhood, dedicated a new mural on Wednesday.
Artist Kristen Soble created the new mural with the goal of helping those who are visually impaired to experience art from a different perspective.
“It’s a message to our community that art is for everyone and that together we can create new ways to include and celebrate those around us,” Soble said. “They are all unique, strong, and capable of anything.”
The 2,000-square-foot mural, titled “Where Independence Begins,” was painted at a warehouse located at 912 W. Broadway Ave., and includes tactile elements such as Braille descriptions, Braille rails, and six audio components that explain the mural. Even the artist’s signature is raised rather than flat so that it can be felt.
It sports the motto: “Where Independence Begins.”
“It’s a beacon that calls out to those that pass by with its bold, contrasting colors and audience devices to come and experience and interact,” Soble said. “It is meant to be a message to the visually impaired, an affirmation of strength and support.”
The mural was funded and came to fruition after years of planning through help from donors and organizations like Near Southside Inc.
“I am not visually impaired,” Soble told NBC DFW. “I think because of that, I felt a huge responsibility to understand as best as I could what they go through.”
There is a raised, miniature version of the mural at a corner.
“And in it, you can feel your way and touch the whole mural at once,” Sobel said.
The nonprofit, founded in 1935, focuses its services on empowering and helping local citizens who are blind or who have low vision.
They provide services such as training, meaningful employment, and one-on-one client services to those living with vision impairment to help them remain self-sufficient and independent.
They have three programs, Industrial Operations and Sales, Client Services, and Community Outreach.
“We want to empower individuals who are blind or visually impaired to live their highest level of independence,” Curtis Rhodes of Lighthouse for the Blind Fort Worth said.
