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"Yes, Please Touch the Art": VIA Hosts 'The Color of Blind' to Celebrate ADA Anniversary
BY SHAWNA C. RUSSELL, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff, VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio
Art creates a shared bond in communities. It brightens faces, lifts spirits and provides therapeutic value. Imagine, if you will, a beautiful piece of artwork without actually seeing it, but instead using your remaining four senses to grasp the artist’s expression and “see” and understand his or her vision.
Debuting in 2013, “The Color of Blind” was a dream many years in the making—and now VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio is helping promote a more inclusive arts community for a more diverse audience, hosting “The Color of Blind” through Aug. 21 at its corporate headquarters, The Grand at VIA Villa.
“Innovative efforts such as The Color of Blind allow our community to be more inclusive,” said VIA President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Arndt. “VIA is proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act by hosting this special exhibit and partnering with the arts community in a non-traditional way to call attention to the importance of inclusiveness in San Antonio and beyond.”
Show founders set out to create an interactive, multi-sensory art show to result in fuller sensory experiences. The Color of Blind allows visually impaired individuals, along with others with special sensory needs or challenges, to better connect with art through a show specifically dedicated to redefining participants’ “vision” of art.
Through this show, local visual artists are challenged to think beyond merely what the eye can see. Exhibited works entice smell, touch and taste for a sensory perception unlike any other art show.
Trina Bacon, the show’s curator, is a local art teacher, ceramicist, tactile and 3-D artist. Her approach to art represents a significant departure from the traditional museum experience. “Everyone should be able to fully experience art,” Bacon noted. “Through our transformative efforts, we strive to say, ‘Yes’—please touch the art!”
VIA plays a major role in providing connections to the community it serves, including passengers with disabilities. In 2014, VIA provided 44.4 passenger trips throughout its 13-city service area and more than one million rides on VIAtrans, its paratransit service. VIA’s mission is to enhance the community’s quality of life by providing regional, customer-oriented public transportation that is dependable, cost-effective and enticing to riders.
Krystel Puente of The Color of Blind contributed to this story.
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Weston Wright enjoys a mermaid sculpture created by Charles Ingram, part of "The Color of Blind" exhibit.
Photo by J. Michael Short |
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