Visually impaired students get unique art experience at Pearl Art Museum

Recently a group of visually impaired students were invited to the exhibition "Return to Nature" at the Pearl Art Museum to appreciate the charisma of art.

Organized by Art Access and Orbis, a leading international public welfare organization for the prevention of blindness through eye health, the students enjoyed a unique approach to art, via the one-on-one assistance of volunteers from the Shanghai American School.

Besides learning about artwork through guided tours, the students also experienced hands-on art creation through the use of clay.

"We hope that such visits might inspire visually impaired students to appreciate or pursue art, feeling the infinite possibilities of creativity. Art has no boundaries. It's a medium for self-expression for anyone," said Li Dandan, director of the museum.

Since its opening in 2017, the Pearl Art Museum has conducted various explorations and experiments into the themes of aesthetic education and "art healing," regularly providing artistic experiences for different special groups, including autistic children and their parents, breast cancer patients and health-care workers.

Aimed at building an "art museum without walls," the Pearl Art Museum not only carries out a series of public welfare and aesthetic education activities, but also launches projects based on the promotion of art history and book-reading.

It's the first museum in Shanghai to launch barrier-free access guides to visitors.

"Our museum and the bookstore are like a bonfire, where everyone can gain intellectual and aesthetic inspiration, seek equality, respect and friendship among people, and find the warmth and solace of the soul."