The recent flourishing of social enterprises to support and integrate the visually impaired community is a heartening sign of Singapore society progressively becoming more inclusive.

These social enterprises range from traditional outfits employing the visually impaired people in consumer services, such as the Society for the Physically Disabled’s (SPD) mobile massage and car-washing services, to more unconventional social initiatives that cater to the aesthetic needs and creative potential of the visually-impaired. The latter group of social initiatives or rather, innovations, not only enables the visually impaired to develop artistic skills and self-confidence for employment but also actively creates opportunities for them to showcase their talents.

In part one of our series in highlighting such social initiatives and innovations for the visually impaired, we present Clay IN-SIGHT, an art-therapy course that provides the visually-impaired with the opportunities to craft, exhibit and market their own pottery art.

Creating beauty from scratch

Another inspiring programme providing creative opportunities for the visually-impaired in Singapore is Clay IN-SIGHT.

Elaine Wong, a clay artist in her earlier years, longed to return to the art despite her inability to see. “Being a part of a pottery workshop has really given me a real sense of achievement,” said Elaine. “The activity itself is an enjoyable hobby and here we have the chance to interact with sighted volunteers, establish rapport with others and also develop marketable skills.”

More importantly, Elaine believes that Clay IN-SIGHT creates a real opportunity for integration, as artworks are a common medium that both sighted and non-sighted people can communicate through.

One of these venues was the recently concluded Clay IN-SIGHT Exhibition, hosted at PaTH Market at Vivocity in December last year. The exhibition showcased the works of fourteen Clay IN-SIGHT participants.

One of exhibitors, Ben Wong, created a pair of footprints. To him, his artwork symbolizes the importance of taking the first step in every endeavor–a fitting symbol for a programme with a far-reaching impact.

“The exhibition was a great success,” quipped Ben, “It really showed the public’s willingness to purchase our art and to support us. Many remarked that the pieces

were sincere and expressive, and we had the opportunity to explain our inspiration to them too.”

Launched in April last year, Clay IN-SIGHT is a unique pottery programme designed specially to help visually-impaired participants interested in art and craft to manifest their inner visions into physical reality through the use of the clay.

Jointly organised by pottery workshop Clay-Street and the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped (SAVH), Clay IN-SIGHT has reached out to about fifteen SAVH members to date, who attend fortnightly classes facilitated by a team of twenty volunteers that assist the visually-impaired participants on a one-to-one basis.

Programme coordinator T. C. Kok shared that there are plans for the images of these artworks, which range from cups and bowls to personalized pieces such as nameplates and footprints, to be placed online. Members of the public and corporate representatives can then place orders for these pieces to serve as gifts or ornaments.

Beyond creating a space for the visually impaired to express themselves, Clay IN-SIGHT also help members of the public to understand and interact with the visually-impaired. Volunteers, too, have found their experience with Clay IN-SIGHT very meaningful.

“This is really another perspective on volunteering–where our role is essentially as facilitators to help the visually impaired make their visions into reality,” explained volunteer and clay artist Theingi Wint Wint Soe.

“We use highly visual language to enable them to know precisely what to do, which is a new form of communication for me. It is truly amazing what they can imagine, and their sense of touch is very strong so I don’t find it difficult to work them at all!”

Madhuri Wagle added: “The main challenge we face is in figuring out what it is that the artist wants to create and to help them get there. But things don’t have to perfect–in fact it is the imperfections that make these pieces so unique!”

Beyond the exhibition, Clay IN-SIGHT aspires to contribute to the green movement in 2010 through Drink towards a Greener Earth, a social initiative to promote wider usage of re-washable ceramic mugs in organizations and at work in place of disposable plastic or foam cups.

Through creating spaces for participants to learn personal grooming skills and to market their artistic talents with the support of friends and expert guidance, Clay IN-SIGHT fill a unique niche in the social enterprise landscape–enabling the visually-impaired to develop more self-confidence through practicing their art.

You can support Clay IN-SIGHT by stepping forward to volunteer their services as a workshop facilitator, or donate directly to Clay IN-SIGHT. For more information on how you can support this project, please contact Mr. Alvin Yong at alvin@clay-street.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 11:32 pm and is filed under Feature Articles, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.