Visionaries

Design summary

Portraits of historical people, past and present, who had vision impairment or sight loss – some famously, others less so. The painterly background loosely references Monet’s waterlilies.

Sensory items

We asked our artists to come up with a scent and a touch item that relates to their design to give a multi-sensory perspective to their concept. Some of these items will be incorporated into our sighted guide and sensory tours. Lois's sensory items are:

• Touch item: A sheet of braille, relating to Louis Braille who is featured in the sculpture.
• Scent item: Oil paints.

Portraits included in the sculpture:

• Judith E. Heumann: American disability rights activist – the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement”. 
• Dr Abraham Nemeth: American mathematician who developed the Nemeth Braille system for reading and writing mathematics.  
• Wilma Pearl Mankiller: Indigenous American (Cherokee Nation) activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
• Claude Monet: French painter and founder of the Impressionist movement. 
• Stevie Wonder: American singer-songwriter and musician.
• Alec Templeton: Welsh composer, pianist and satirist.
• Ronnie Lee Milsap: American country music singer and pianist.
• Susan Townsend: English writer and humorist.
• Joseph Pulitzer: Hungarian American politician (Democrat) and newspaper publisher. Namesake and beneficiary for the Pulitzers Prize.
• Leonhard Euler: Swiss mathematician and physicist.
• William Samuel McTell: American Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.
• Helen Keller: American author, disability rights advocate and political activist.
• Ray Charles American singer-songwriter and pianist.
• Jorge Luis Borges: Argentine short story writer and essayist.
• Harriet Tubman: American abolitionist and social activist. Synonymous with the Underground Railroad.
• Andrea Bocelli: Italian tenor.
• Marla Runyan: American track and field athlete, Olympian and Paralympian.
• Louis Braille: French educator and inventor of the Braille reading and writing system.
• Rahsan Roland Kirk: American multi-instrumentalist.
• Matilda Ann Aston: Australian writer and teacher.
• James Thurber: American writer, humourist and cartoonist.
• Frederick Delius: English composer.
• Homer: Ancient Greek poet. The Iliad and the Odyssey.
• Al Hibbler: American baritone and vocalist.
• John Milton: English poet and intellectual.
• Clarence Carter: American singer-songwriter and musician.
• José Montserrate Feliciano García: Puerto Rican musician and singer.
• Doc Watson: American guitarist and songwriter.
• Dr Jacob Bolotin: American doctor and the world’s first totally blind physician.
• Horatio Nelson: British flag officer in the Royal Navy.
• Erik Weihenmayer: American athlete and adventurer.
• Galileo Galilei: Italian astronomer and physicist.
• Dame Judi Dench: British actor