A new exhibition is shedding light on the mental health support needed for individuals who are blind or partially sighted.
The Eight Voices in Darkness exhibition - by Cardiff University, Wales Council of the Blind, Sight Life, and Anglia Ruskin University - shares lived experiences to improve support for individuals with sight loss and depression or anxiety across health and social care.
Dr Claire Nollett, Research Fellow and Academic Lead for Public Involvement and Engagement in Cardiff University's School of Medicine, said: "By 2030, 2.7 million UK individuals will have untreatable vision impairment leading to significant disability.
"In 2011, the prevalence of depression in people with visual impairment was the highest for any patient group at 43%, and of those, 75% were not in receipt of any treatment.
"Building on previous projects that we have run, we aim to raise awareness of the impact of vision impairment on mental health, and knowledge of how to address it, with professionals, including ophthalmologists, nurses, eye clinic liaison officers, rehabilitation workers, charity staff – as well as the public."
Our exhibition will include an art installation incorporating lived experience stories and portraits taken by Sight Life's photography club. It will be followed up with an audio-based film for widespread dissemination.
Open to the public at the Chapter Art Centre Cardiff, between November 6 – 8 2025 from 10am to 9pm, the art installation will share the personal stories of people with lived experience of visual impairment and depression through photography and sound. It is free to attend and no booking is required.
The event is free to attend, and we encourage people to come along and experience the lived stories in our exhibition.
The exhibition is designed by local artist Richard Bowers and run in collaboration with the Wales Council of the Blind charity and the Sight Life charity.
