SHINING A LIGHT ON LOW VISION
by Denis Langlois
Usually , a visit to an art gallery is all about the visuals – the painted landscapes of Group of Seven artists , the abstract works of Jackson Pollock or the moody portraits by Rembrandt .
So it was definitely out of the ordinary when , on a Saturday earlier this year , visitors to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound arrived to find the lights dimmed down considerably .
But there was a reason for the unexpected sight . The gallery was taking part in a “ Lower Your Lights ” awareness event ; the brainchild of visual artist and TOM employee Trevor Pfeffer , who has retinitis pigmentosa .
“ Awareness encourages education and developing understanding . And when we understand what we ' re dealing with ; when like-minds take up that discussion , we can find ways to adapt and create positive change . But it has to start somewhere , and the arts are a traditional voice for encouraging social awareness / justice ,” he says .
After receiving the blessing of TOM director and chief curator Virginia Eichhorn , Pfeffer organized the event with the support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness .
16 Optical Prism | July 2016
He also issued a challenge , via a video he posted to Facebook and YouTube , for other Canadian art galleries to hold their own “ Lower Your Lights ” event .
The Owen Sound gallery chose a day in February – to coincide with Low Vision Awareness Month – to hold their event . The lights at the gallery were dimmed to 25 per cent of their usual brightness .
There was also information on low vision available for people to pick up from both the Foundation Fighting Blindness and Canadian National Institute for the Blind .
Raising awareness about low vision , Pfeffer says , helps to send a message to people living with a visual impair- ment that they ' re not alone and that there are resources and supports available .
It also assists organizations like the Foundation Fighting Blindness to meet their mandates , which include raising money for research into why vision loss occurs , how it can be slowed or stopped and how sight can be restored .
More than one million Canadians are currently living with blinding retinal eye diseases , the foundation says . And those numbers are expected to rise as baby boomers get older .
Pfeffer says he hopes more art galleries will take up the challenge to lower their lights in February 2017 .