Free to View Portrait Exhibition at RNIB

Acclaimed photojournalist and portrait photographer Joshua Bratt is to unveil a powerful new exhibition at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

Spotlighting the strength, individuality and lived experiences of blind and partially sighted people across the UK, including many recognisable faces, the exhibition will run from September 12-14.

Featuring 22 intimate photographic portraits that share interesting stories of people who navigate the world with sight loss ‘Seen’ invites audiences to see the person beyond the sight loss, placing their achievements, passions and inner worlds front and centre.

Hosted at RNIB’s Grimaldi Building in London, the free-to-view exhibition has been curated with accessibility at its core. Each portrait will be accompanied by rich audio descriptions while a tactile brochure will be available so people can experience the images through their sense of touch. 

Joshua found inspiration for the exhibition when he noticed a cane user during his regular commute to Central London.

“Ignorantly, I would just see him as a blind person rather than a man going to work with a job and a story, and I realised that if I was subconsciously labelling somebody, and just seeing the disability rather than who they were as a person, then other people were likely doing that too,” said Joshua.

“I came up with the idea of going around the country and finding blind or partially sighted people with interesting backgrounds and stories and taking their picture to help change the perceptions that many people may have about sight loss. 

Joshua connected with RNIB to support him in sourcing subjects for his shoots. Following a call out on its social media channels, Louise Simpson (pictured above), the first blind person to reach the 100 Club of Marathons, became the first ‘sitter’ in this project.

Momentum built quickly after this, and soon many famous faces joined the body of work, including politician and former Home Secretary, Lord Blunkett, British Archery Champion, Clive Jones, Astronomer, Dr Nicolas Bonne, gamer Ben Breen, barrister Jessikah Inaba and model Nan M.  

Timed viewing slots can be booked for free at Evenbrite.co.uk