Each week we are going to be saying “Hello” to another organisation in the VI world to learn more about who they are and what they do.
This week, we are chatting to David Beal (Trusts and Foundations Manager) of Living Paintings.
So, Hi David, please can you tell us about Living Paintings:
Living Paintings was founded in 1989 by a former art history lecturer. We are a national charity that is funded entirely by donations. Our aim is to provide blind and partially sighted children, young people and adults with equal access to the visual world of pictures, books and learning.
To achieve this we design, create and publish multi-media ‘Touch to See’ books for all ages. These include tactile images and audio descriptions so people can see through touch and hearing. Over the years, many well known names have lent their voices to the audio descriptions including Joanna Lumley, Martin Clunes, David Walliams and Tanni Grey-Thompson.
We have a free postal library, across the UK, of thousands of books. These help at all stages of life but especially for blind children who are learning to read, consequently inspiring lifelong learning and promoting social interaction and positive well-being.
And what is the Doctor Who project all about?
We were recently contacted by Louis Moorhouse who is a Doctor Who fanatic. He is blind and has been accessing Living Paintings since he was 5 years old.
As Doctor Who is an immensely visual extravaganza, he asked if we could help bring all the weird and wonderful characters, aliens, monsters and devices from the show to life.
We have been given permission by the BBC, and Louis has raised an incredible £15,000 via a Crowdfunding campaign, so we are now going to produce 3 ‘Touch to See’ books all about the Doctors, Daleks and the Tardis. Once finished, they will be available for any members to borrow.
How can we find out more information?
You can phone us on 01635 299771 or email us.
You can also visit our website and follow us on social media:
