Change Makers

Using art as a creative vehicle, three artists living with a visual impairment have come together as part of the Change Makers campaign to create a visual and audible artwork to shine a light on the challenges faced by people living with vision loss.

A staggering 2.2 billion people live with vision impairment worldwide.1 Retinal conditions are now affecting more of us than ever before.2,3

Vision loss can have a devastating impact on people’s lives, making even the simplest tasks seemingly difficult – walking, driving, eating; visual impairment also affects wellbeing, social inclusion and quality of life.4 But in the face of this adversity, there are many stories of hope and courage, of bravery and triumph. So, what is it really like to live with low vision, how does it feel, what are the shared experiences faced?

Our Change Makers campaign aims to raise awareness of the impact of vision loss on daily life. Using art as a creative vehicle, three talented artists living with visual impairment – Dave Steele, Rachel Gadsden and Baluji Shrivastav, OBE – have come together to create an audio-visual performance including poetry, painting and music. The music was composed, performed, and directed by Baluji Shrivastav, OBE, with the Inner Vision Orchestra. The performance expresses the impact of vision loss on people’s lives – the common experiences, the emotions felt and the courageous, persistent human response to overcoming the challenges faced.

With Change Makers, our goal is to bring the communities, the experiences, and the challenges experienced by people living with vision loss to the forefront. Ultimately the campaign will recognise individuals who have contributed to the community and we hope that through this activity we will create a platform for solidarity, experience sharing and discussion on eye health.

Join us on our journey as we celebrate Change Makers and drive awareness of the need to do more for people living with vision loss through a series of videos; check out our YouTube channel for audio described options, to ensure community inclusivity.

Learn about the Change Makers campaign, Rachel, Dave and Baluji’s experiences and the inspiration behind their performance.

Dave, Rachel and Baluji’s work is inspired by the experiences of Lucero from Mexico who lives withand Thanakorn from Thailand, who lives with a form ofThe artists also met with Dr. Nancy M. Holekamp, Director of Retina Services at the Pepose Vision Institute in St. Louis, who shared the science behind retinal conditions, as well as her insights from treating people with visual impairment.

At Roche, we are committed to tackling the global challenges associated with vision loss alongside the ophthalmology community. Great advances have been made within the last decade in ophthalmology, but more needs to be done to promote the importance of good eye health, disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation for people with vision loss.

Change Makers is about showcasing the impact visual impairment has on people’s lives. Subsequently, we will be focusing on individuals who are driving ground-breaking progress in the field, working hard to make positive change. These are the people living with retinal conditions and their loved ones, scientists, ophthalmologists, patient advocacy leaders, regulators, and anyone else who is impacted by, or working to make positive change to the lives of people living with visual impairment. Join us as we celebrate the Change Makers and drive awareness for the need to do more in this area.

References

1. The World Health Organization, Blindness and vision impairment, Factsheet, February 2021:(last accessed 26 August 2021)

2. Cheloni R, Gandolfi SA, Signorelli C, et al. Global prevalence of diabetic retinopathy: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2019; 9:e022188. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022188.

3. Wong WL, Su X, Li X et al. Global prevalence of age-related macular degeneration and disease burden projection for 2020 and 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Global Health. 2014; 2(2): e106-e116.

4. The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: vision beyond 2020. Published online February 16, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30488-5(last accessed 26 August 2021)