Volunteer Blog: From the Design Suite to Dear Earth
Hi, I’m Wade (pronouns she/her/hers), the new volunteer at the Design Suite. The first-ever volunteer for the space! I do sessions with Kate on Tuesdays from 1-3:30 pm.
I am female, 25 years old, and I’m proudly from Linktown, Kirkcaldy. I am currently wearing my favourite Power Rangers Hoodie, Green Mighty Morphin.’
I am in a wheelchair (as you can see from the photo) due to a condition called Cerebral Palsy. I’m also visually impaired because of my condition.
I don’t let this stop me; I have always been interested in the creative industries. I started acting classes at a young age and even studied it at college for 2 years.
After being a victim of ableism, I changed my focus and studied filmmaking for 3 years. I have an HND in film and TV production from Fife College. I want to be a director, a passion I’ve had for most of my life.
Today, as part of my volunteering, I went along to the Dear Earth exhibition at Kirkcaldy Galleries, across the road. An exhibition by Fife Contemporary. When I’m not volunteering, I love going to the library. I’m a library girlie.
With my disability, I am visually impaired as a direct consequence of my physical disability from birth. Despite enjoying the exhibition, I struggled to see and if it wasn’t for my support worker reading the plaques, I wouldn’t have known what was going on. Information cards are hugely important for me to enjoy an exhibition.
Honestly, without context, it just looks like a bunch of things on a wall. When my support worker did offer context, I was drawn to the stress pieces. I have struggled with my mental health for so long, and the whimsical interpretations of stress release was quite serendipitous.
I love this painting, but I think it’s because I see Mickey Mouse ears, and it made me happy.
I enjoyed this body of work because of the colours, and I could see and enjoy the atmosphere better than some of the others in black and white. I need the vibrancy of colour.
The interactive part of the exhibition caught my eye, where they asked you to make your own mossling; it was practical and accessible. I enjoy art that is interactive; touch is important to me. When I was in school, we had a project with clay, and I enjoyed being able to physically feel and respond to the material. Offering this for others is a great addition to any exhibition.
I thought it was a very good exhibition, and I could feel the fragility of the earth, especially in the part of the exhibition where they were talking about the resilience of plants. It embodied the exhibition’s theme well.
The volunteers were also great at making me feel welcome. I would recommend catching this exhibition, especially anyone who is interested in climate change.
The exhibition runs until the 13th of September at Kirkcaldy Galleries then moves to St Andrews on the 30th of September.