The Lighthouse for the Blind in Fort Worth's Near Southside neighborhood dedicated a colorful new mural on Wednesday, with the goal of helping others see from a different perspective.
The 2,000-square-foot mural is titled 'Where Independence Begins.'
"We want to empower individuals who are blind or visually impaired to live their highest level of independence," Curtis Rhodes of Lighthouse for the Blind Fort Worth said.
The mural includes tactile elements, like Braille descriptions and audio crosswalk machines that explain the mural. Even the signature of the artist Kim Soble is raised, rather than flat.
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"I am not visually impaired," Soble said. "I think because of that, I felt a huge responsibility to understand as best as I could what they go through."
There's a raised miniature version at a corner of the mural.
"And in it, you can feel your way and touch the whole mural at once," Sobel said.
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"I hope that people seeing this mural get the understanding that just because someone is blind or visually impaired, that doesn't mean that they're less than or unable to do things that those of us who are able to see can accomplish," Rhodes said.
The mural includes a companion website.
Soble and Lighthouse for the Blind are planning another larger mural on one of the nonprofit's other walls. They are hoping North Texas Giving Day will help provide funds to get started.
