Fragile with Attitude Exhibition of Work by Disabled Artists at Westonbirt Arboretum

Westonbirt the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire Managed by the Forestry Commission has certainly been planting access at the heart of everything they do, not only with their Sensing Nature guided tours  lead by blind and partially sighted guides but Westonbirt is hosting a two-day conference titled 'Restoring Landscapes for Social Inclusion' looking at access to landscapes and the natural environment for disabled and visually impaired people. As part of the conference attendees will get the first view of the exhibition 'Fragile with Attitude' which features work by six disabled artists and has been curated by visually impaired artist Zoe Partington who will also be speaking at the conference too.

RNIB Connect Radio's Toby Davey caught up with Zoe to find out a bit more about both the conference 'Restoring Landscapes for Social Inclusion' and the exhibition 'Fragile with Attitude' which is on at Westonbirt from 21 - 25 April 2022.

Zoe began by giving Toby a bit of background to her work as an Artist, the type of work that she produces and what Zoe is portraying through her work. 

Zoe also told Toby a bit more about her involvement in the conference 'Restoring Landscapes for Social Inclusion' what the conference is all about and how the conference may help to provide greater access to other similar venues and sites such as Westonbirt Arboretum. Zoe also talked about the background to the exhibition 'Fragile with Attitude', where the idea came from, how the work by the six disabled Artists featured in the exhibition was inspired by visits to Westonbirt and nature walks around the site by the knowledgeable Westonbirt Guides. 

More about the exhibition 'Fragile with Attitude' along with background about the six exhibiting artists can be found on the following website page - https://www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/fragile-attitude-exhibition

If you would like  to find out more about access at Westonbirt Arboretum and their Sensing Nature tours do visit their website -

https://www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt-the-national-arboretum

(Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written in black capital letters over a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath)