Five years ago, Maria O’Shodi established Extant, described as the first British arts production company for the blind, managed by visually impaired people. Although the disability arts sector continues to grow, according to O’Shodi support and recognition for visually impaired artists is at the bottom of the pecking order.
But O’Shodi hopes, through her pioneering efforts, this will soon change. This weekend, as part of ‘Xposure’, the Disability Arts Festival running throughout November, a seminar organised by Extant will address issues surrounding ‘Access for the Performing Arts for Visually Impaired Artists and Audiences’ at Sadler’s Wells theatre in London. The event coincides with the first major project by Extant, who collaborated with Turtle Key Arts to bring a 50-year old Croatian company of blind actors, the New Life Theatre Company, to Britain for a national tour.
