FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD)- An organization in Fort Worth has dedicated a mural designed to be enjoyed by people who cannot see. "Lighthouse for the Blind" unveiled the mural on a wall outside its building Wednesday.
The mural is broken into five sections about the organization's history and current services.
"We've been here a long time," says Lighthouse for the Blind Communications and Content Creator Curtis Rhodes. "We thought it was important to honor that history and also let people get an idea of what we do."
The mural includes the phrase, "Where independence begins." Each section includes braille and audio messages explaining what is included.
"We had a focus group with visually impaired employees, and they taught me so much that day," says Kristen Soble, an artist who lives in Fort Worth and designed the mural. "I asked them what they wanted me to say to our community. They told me resoundingly they are all unique, strong and capable of anything."
Soble says she designed the mural to be enjoyed by people regardless of whether they can see. Along each section is a braille description of what is included. People can also hear an audio description.
"We started with a vision of incorporating those key elements," she says. "Once we found out it was tactile, I knew I needed to grab those items and design around them."
Section one is described as "The mural begins with a large tactile display of the Braille alphabet in a purple graph.
"Next to that is a giant hand containing a braille message that says, 'This mural was made for you.' The index finger of the hand has a blue fingernail and is positioned over an oversized Braille word 'Independence' that flows through a bright yellow beam of light."
Another scene shows someone wearing a shirt with the words, "visually impaired," covered by the word, "capable."
"I really wanted to listen to how they felt, things that may be overlooked and things that maybe bother them," Soble says. "The community might label them as 'visually impaired, and we're scratching out that label, saying, 'No, we are capable. We are strong.'"
At the end is a three-dimensional relief of the entire mural.
A complete list of scenes is available HERE.
Tuesday, people started listening to the descriptions and reading the braille.
"It was such a reward for me to see their faces light up, to see them read these positive affirmations that are throughout on the braille railings," Rhodes says.
The mural is part of a partnership among Lighthouse for the Blind, other neighborhood groups and Near Southside Inc. The Near Southside was named a cultural district by the Texas Commission on the Arts in 2020.
"This institution represents some of the rich histories of our neighborhood," says Near Southside Inc.'s Megan Henderson.
Henderson says Lighthouse for the Blind has been an employer since its launch in 1935, and the organization has supported private sector growth along with advancing a cause.
"Cause-oriented organizations are critical to the Near Southside's culture of giving, kindness and partnerships with the neighborhood," she says.
The mural is visible on South Adams Street north of Broadway.
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