The Photography Exhibition You Don’t Need to See: Canon Launches World Unseen at Somerset House, 4-7 April 2024

Season 2, Episode 408,   Mar 18, 09:00 AM

Canon Europe, in partnership with the RNIB, has created a truly accessible photography exhibition designed for all with ‘World Unseen’, inviting visitors, blind, partially sighted and sighted to experience photography at Somerset House, Strand, London from 4 - 7 April 2024.

Canon believes images have the power to change the world - There are at least 2.2 billion people globally who have some form of visual impairment, for whom photography remains largely out of reach. Designed with the experience of blind and partially sighted people in mind, the exhibition will feature a series of photographs taken by world-renowned photographers. These are accompanied by elevated prints, audio descriptions, soundscapes and braille for a tactile experience that helps visitors connect with these powerful images and the stories they tell.

Sighted people will gain a better appreciation of the partially sighted experience. Each image will be obscured in different ways to convey different types of visual impairment, from glaucoma to diabetic retinopathy. While this raises awareness of accessibility in arts and cultural spaces, it also draws attention to how inclusive design heightens the experiences for everyone. 

The exhibition will feature works from world-renowned photographers and Canon ambassadors from around the globe, including multi-award-winning South African photojournalist Brent Stirton, renowned Brazilian Photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, Nigerian photojournalist Yagazie Emezi, sports photographer Samo Vidic, fashion photographer Heidi Rondak and Pulitzer winning photojournalist Muhammed Muheisen.  

An accompanying video series will feature partially sighted individuals, including British disability activist, Lucy Edwards, and Menna Fitzpatrick MBE, Britain’s most decorated Winter Paralympian, who have collaborated with Canon to tell their stories and show their reaction to experiencing this photography for the first time. 

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey caught up with Alex Thurgood, Canon EMEA Digital Operations Director and Dave Williams, Inclusive Design Ambassador here at the RNIB to find out more about ‘World Unseen’ and the partnership between Canon and the RNIB.

Tickets for free admission to ‘World Unseen’ are now available by visiting - https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/canon-world-unseen 

If you are unable to make it to London the ‘World Unseen’ photographs along with the immersive descriptive audio and more can be found by visiting the Cannon VIEW website - https://www.canon.co.uk/view/


Image shows: An image from the exhibition of a Rhinoceros standing in the centre  guarded by three men with rifles. There are black shapes around the periphery and much of the centre of the image and written in the centre is the text 'The photography exhibition you don't need to see', with the and the RNIB, Canon and Somerset House logos to the left