Ellen Renton - Seen Exhibition Audio Description
Aug 14, 11:05 AM
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About Ellen Renton:
Ellen Renton is a poet and theatre-maker with albinism from Edinburgh. Since performing her own work for the first time in 2015, she has read at venues including The Scottish Parliament, The Roundhouse, Leith Theatre, and at festivals such as Verve and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. While always keeping poetry at its core, her work is varied and has included theatre, journalism and multimedia collaborations.
Ellen’s reflections on Seen
“Edinburgh is where I grew up and where I live now. It’s a place full of stories and rich with language. It’s small for a capital city, but it feels like it holds multiple worlds. The particular location of this image is a very quiet, reflective space tucked off one of the busiest and most famous streets. I think that’s often what poetry does – stands at the side of something enormous and presents an alternative view, handing the world back to itself.
I hope that visitors learn more about sight loss – the breadth of conditions that sit under that umbrella term, and the diversity of this community. I hope people reflect on the assumptions they make about others and what is possible for them. Most importantly to me, in a time where such dangerous rhetoric around disabled people’s relationship to work is so prevalent, I want everyone to think about those who aren’t pictured, and how their lives and stories all hold worth.”
For more information about the exhibition and to view more portraits by Joshua Bratt please visit www.rnib.org.uk/seen
Image shows: A portrait of Ellen Renton by Joshua Bratt.
Ellen Renton is a poet and theatre-maker with albinism from Edinburgh. Since performing her own work for the first time in 2015, she has read at venues including The Scottish Parliament, The Roundhouse, Leith Theatre, and at festivals such as Verve and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. While always keeping poetry at its core, her work is varied and has included theatre, journalism and multimedia collaborations.
Ellen’s reflections on Seen
“Edinburgh is where I grew up and where I live now. It’s a place full of stories and rich with language. It’s small for a capital city, but it feels like it holds multiple worlds. The particular location of this image is a very quiet, reflective space tucked off one of the busiest and most famous streets. I think that’s often what poetry does – stands at the side of something enormous and presents an alternative view, handing the world back to itself.
I hope that visitors learn more about sight loss – the breadth of conditions that sit under that umbrella term, and the diversity of this community. I hope people reflect on the assumptions they make about others and what is possible for them. Most importantly to me, in a time where such dangerous rhetoric around disabled people’s relationship to work is so prevalent, I want everyone to think about those who aren’t pictured, and how their lives and stories all hold worth.”
For more information about the exhibition and to view more portraits by Joshua Bratt please visit www.rnib.org.uk/seen
Image shows: A portrait of Ellen Renton by Joshua Bratt.