Not many people know that blind people can create visual art, and that’s because not many people understand blindness. Blindness is an umbrella term that covers the spectrum of visual impairments, from mild vision loss to total blindness. 

 

There are two measurements of blindness: visual acuity and light perception. Every person experiences blindness differently. 

 

To be “legally blind” in the U.S. a person’s visual acuity must measure less than 20/200, which means that they see an item 20 feet away as if it were 200 feet away. Many people who are legally blind can function very well with the support of eyewear such as glasses or contact lenses. Others have varying levels of vision. 

 

This means that people with visual impairments can still make visual art. In fact, people with visual impairments usually see the world in an extremely unique way and have other heightened senses, which makes their visual art really interesting. 

 

Unfortunately, being under-represented and misunderstood in the industry leads many visually impaired visual artists to either never pick up the pen, or never pursue art professionally.