AXSChat Podcast with Furrah Syed, Artist and Educator, advocate for making art accessible to all

Furrah Syed, FRSA is an Artist and Educator based in London. A strong advocate for making art accessible to all, Furrah’s abstracts are focused on texture, movement and colour energy which can not only be seen but can also be experienced using the sense of touch. Her inclusive approach to sharing art led her to design and develop her Art Appreciation Workshop for the Blind and Partially Sighted in 2009 which she has delivered to organisations in Hong Kong,

Malaysia, Singapore UK, USA, India and Australia. Furrah has also delivered adapted versions ofher workshop at schools for children with additional needs as well as mainstream schools.

 The way Furrah’s art is experienced is also unusual: the paintings can be viewed in any orientation, they change with the light, and they are all intentionally untitled to avoid influencing the viewer’s perspective. This is a liberating experience as viewers are free to interpret what they see or feel knowing that there is no right or wrong response. This approach values the viewers interpretation and encourages a dialogue, which are key tenets of Furrah’s ethos for making art accessible to all.

 Furrah continues to explore the use of tactile engagement in areas outside of her art,empowering people by showing them the technique of distinguishing colour energy without the need for sight. Furrah’s workshops, available to sighted participants as well as those who are blind or visually impaired, provide a space for dialogue regarding accessibility and improvement of existing products and services to benefit those with additional needs.

 Furrah also actively promotes the technique of using art to practice mindfulness which increases a sense of well-being both emotionally and physically and assists those who are dealing with mental health issues.

At every event that Furrah hosts her aim is to create an inclusive environment for all to feel empowered and valued. She feels that “We all have different and unique perspectives and can learn a great deal from each other.”

Transcript

0:00

This is a draft transcript produced live at the event and corrected for spelling and basic errors. It is not a commercial transcript. AXSCHAT Furrah Syed

NEIL: 0:05

Hello and welcome to Axschat. I'm delighted that we are joined today by Furrah Syed who has done some amazing work on making art accessible. I first met Furrah in July when we were running a workshop around art appreciation for blind and digitally impaired people and it was a great experience for me, one of the most fun I have had for a long time at work. So, Furrah, yeah, come on, getting messy and playing around with paint and what could be better than doing that. But in all seriousness, I think it was a really interesting day, taught me a lot about live audio description and so, thank you for agreeing to come on and talk to us about the work that you are doing to bring art appreciation to people with disabilities and particularly around visual impairment and tactile arts. So, can you tell us a little bit about how you came into be working in this field because it's quite an interesting and pretty niche area which we find fascinating.

FURRAH: 1:13

Thank you, very much. Firstly, thank you for the invitation to your wonderful Axschat, it's a real, it's wonderful to see people appreciate you know, when sharing something we are all passionate about which is accessibility. So, how it all started was, right from the beginning when I was creating abstracts, they were always very heavily textured. And I use a lot of paint and I make indentations and markings with pallet knives so it's very textured materials on the canvas and right from the beginning I used to enjoy feeling the surfaces of the canvas because it was very sensory in a different way, just by using sight. So, in my exhibitions, early on, I used to invite the people to feel the surfaces using their sense of touch and they'd be like, oh, I can touch the painting. It would be an interesting response because it's unusual for an artist to welcome anybody to touch the work which I totally appreciate why but I was using hardy materials, you couldn't hurt the paintings and it was fine. So, that is what led me to wonder what it would be like if somebody was only experiencing the art using their sense of touch. Somebody who was blind or partially sighted and this all happened when I lived in India, in Bangalore for a few years through my husband's work. So, we were there and distant relative on my husband's side knew somebody who was blind, and they arranged a meeting. So, that person came over to our home and I just sat with them, and he was experiencing various paintings using the sense of touch. But what was astounding to me was his response. He had so many wonderful reactions, which were actually quite poetic, the way that he voiced them to me, and all of my work is untitled, whether you're looking at it or feeling it. So, it's the interpretation by the viewer or the person experiencing it with no limits and that's what I love sharing with people and it works really, really well, especially if you're only feeling the surfaces because the imagination is just wonderful it really is. So, with no limits. So, that is what started it off. It's been an incredible journey since 2006. But yeah, I'll go into further details later. But that's how it started.

DEBRA: 3:34

Wow.

NEIL: 3:35

Thank you. And I can definitely relate to what you said about the poetry of the descriptions as part of the workshop because describing what happened at the workshop, you had primarily vision impaired participants and then facilitators. So, I was acting as a facilitator for someone with pretty much no vision and so, you were giving out various different tactile artwork for people to explore and to describe and then I was writing their stuff down and it was really interesting to hear just sort of the depth of the descriptions and the sort of metaphors that were coming up and the, where the process of thinking about what this meant to them and to the person I was facilitating, was then taking them on a journey and a thought process and for me that was really interesting. I think it was interesting to also observe people going through the thought process because it was a thought process that they probably hadn't expected. So, I think that was really interesting and also what was interesting was the intensity with which people experienced this to the point where it almost became overwhelming after a while because several of the participants said, my fingers are now tired.

FURRAH: 5:27

Absolutely Neil and in each workshop, I'm astounded by people's reactions and it's a level from somebody being quite intense, quite descriptive and then somebody who isn't as comfortable to share from the start of the workshop but as the workshop goes on, they become more and more comfortable, and their responses are more in depth. So, that's really interesting to observe as well, but Andy Shipley, who you were assisting was very, very interesting with his responses and I was looking through the worksheets before and I just looked through them today as well and that is the thing that piqued my interest right from the start is that this is something that I would like to share on a much wider level. So, a few other things were happening at the same time, where I then realised, I need to put together a structured workshop and I want to share this to as many organisations to people individually as possible. So, it was just wonderful to be able to see it through, all from curiosity and a passion to make art accessible to all. So, you know, touch wood, it's all worked out very, very well so far and it's continuing to do so.

DEBRA: 6:40

I have a question, comment. I know that my partner, Richard Straus is a former Disney imaginer and we talked it a bunch and he has talked about how, when they were planning the magical experience of Disney, they really considered all of the senses. Things that I don't think about, you know I don't even know that I'm maybe experiencing it when I'm there, you know, what is the air, is there a touch of water in the air, you know, what do you feel. I mean just, I'm not even going to do this well, but so there are so many senses that we use, and we use them in different ways. And so, one thing I love about you're doing is that you are very focused on the senses, right? So, it's like just because I'm blind doesn't mean that I can't appreciate music or art or anything else in the word. And so, it seems to me that what you are sort of validating is how important it is for us to care about all of our senses and to remember even if you don't have one of your sense or partially don't have it you still can experience so much beauty and it just seems to me that that is part of what you're doing, but I wasn't in the workshop but I want to be in the workshop. But I mean, am I going in the right direction?

FURRAH: 8:07

You absolutely are Debra, for sure because every workshop that I did, that I conducted, empowered me even more to continue because I would have responses to people, this happened a lot in the Far East because I have delivered workshops in Malasia, Singapore and Hong Kong and I got responses which were along the lines, nobody have ever asked us about art, let alone touch it, let alone wanting to know what we felt about it. So that sense of empowerment that I saw, right from the beginning of my journey with this, was just wonderful and sad as well because you know these are people who hadn't experienced these things before and I am hoping that they did after but 4that is what drove me to continue and it was interesting that when I was delivering workshops in countries such as Australia and UK and the States, there were a lot more facilities for people who were blind or partially sighted in comparison to various other countries where I have delivered. So, that keeps me going to want to continue to do this. Yes, it's definitely important to be able to have art accessible to all in various situations, whether it's museums or galleries or you know different workshops that are available.

DEBRA: 9:29

Why? I know I'm being...

FURRAH: 9:32

No, I like it.

DEBRA: 9:34

Yeah, and I want to say Richard is my business partner, not my partner, he actually has another partner, so, sorry. Neil was harassing me in the background saying you said partner. I meant my business partner. Sorry.

FURRAH: 9:48

Okay. All right. That is fine. Whatever it is but it's fine. Thank you, Debra. So, your question shall I answer it?

DEBRA: 9:56

Yes.

NEIL: 9:57

Please.

FURRAH: 9:58

So, the question is why? My answer is because art enriches us on so many levels. It's beneficial for us to improve our mental health and our physical health. It gives us an escape from day-to-day life. It alleviates stress very quickly if you're immersed in art. Creating art is wonderful, it's very therapeutic and it's also empowering especially for children as well and for everybody but that's why it is important for it to be accessible for all and yeh, that is what my passion is.

DEBRA: 10:39

Good job.

FURRAH: 10:41

Good thank you. Yeah. So, I could continue talking but if you have a question?

ANTONIO: 10:49

Okay. So, based in your experience and the way you were engaging with people who are in your workshops, how do you see this method being embedded on education in order to, you know, in order to empower and to somehow provide opportunities for people with disabilities to become artists? How do you see that and how can that unfold opportunities for people to be able to express themselves as artists?

FURRAH: 11:24

Yeah, it's a wonderful question, Antonio and I have worked with many specialist schools with children and teenagers where they were creating art because my workshop is in three sections. So, once they've experienced the joys of different textures and then the colour recognition aspect which we'll talk about soon. When they're creating art after having done those two sections they feel empowered and they feel it's a lot more limitless to create something that they're then going to be able to share with their family and friends and I have had experiences where after workshops people have to said to me, look, I really want to explore this further and I even had one person, various people, but particularly what I always remember is, I had a participant in Sidney for Vision Australia who because she could recognise colour energies so perfectly and accurately. She actually went on to become a colour therapist. So, many examples are there, thank you, yeah and I deliver workshops at mainstream schools as well and it's wonderful to empower children, some with additional needs, some with not, to be enthusiastic about the creative industry because in the UK, for instance, there have been so many cuts in the curriculum and the arts, it's sad, so sad and you know, the creative subjects are just like siphoned off and it seems they don't have the access to the arts anymore. So, if I can do a few workshops or a project it with the school then the enthusiasm is just wonderful it really is. So, I'm continuing to do those projects as well. But that for me would be the answer to your question Antonio, it's about the empowerment and the access to having arts and getting that creativity ignited.

ANTONIO: 13:20

There is an element that I would like, I'm curious about is about the cost. When you are doing these types of activities, are we talking materials that are cost a lot of money? Are you able to improvise because I think that that is another element of access for the ability that make this spread and make it to be more used by more people as well.

FURRAH: 13:43

Yes, of course and when I did my workshops and when I did a tour of Australia and the Far East, second time round and the first time around, I mostly funded it myself because I had solo shows in various cities because I was going to be in a city anyway, I was able to say look, I can come and do it. And then normally the organisation would just provide the materials and that was for the charities I'm working with. But then when I'm working with corporations or some schools or some different organisations, they are able to provide materials and there is not that much of a cost. I mean, I try to keep it to a minimum wherever possible looking at the organisation I'm working with and so far, I'm grateful that I have been able to deliver the workshops in many institutions where they have not been able to afford it, but I was able to assist in those cases. But it's a range. It's a range. But it's not extortionate at all. It really isn't.

DEBRA: 14:38

No, but at the same time you deserve to get paid for your time and your effort. We have talked about people don't want to pay for social good and social impact. So, I just want to say brands, corporate brands should be paying you to do this as well as you know the supplies but, you know that is something that is important to all of us as well. So, and it seems like there is a real opportunity for, I consider ATOS sort of a progressive brand only because of Neil and Antonio. I don't know ATOS. I just know your team and I'm so impressed, I just don't know others. But it seems very progressive to me and I am just wondering, how do we get and maybe this is a question partially to Neil but how do we get more brands to understand the value of this work because I think if we are coming in, you know people want to understand just using the States for example, the National Disability Employment Awareness month. Right? So, we're always trying to do clever things, but having her coming in and doing these workshops, to just talk about how we experience art, and it just seems so powerful. But I was just curious Neil, from your perspective, as somebody that's supporting a brand, you know, do you agree that there is value for brands in doing this?

NEIL: 16:02

Okay. So, if I can maybe start and give a bit more context as well because the workshop that Furrah led was the culmination of a bigger piece of stuff that ATOS was doing around what we called our Art of Manufacturing exhibition. So we had, and it was touring, so, it had been in Germany before and it came to London and so we had various different artworks on display and we turned a part of our offices into an art gallery and we invited people in to understand and appreciate art, but also technology and how art was representing technology and how art and creativity played into how we conceptualise technology and everything else. So, I think that it was useful for us as a brand to shift people's perspectives right and then the workshop at the end is another shift again, in terms of actually what you can do and what people's perspectives are, not just literal perspectives as in sighted but in your mental perception and stuff and I think even though I worked in the field for 20 plus years, I learned something new during that workshop, for me, I think what was interesting to watch was a lot of people that were participating had had sight at some point because not that many people are born with no sight. So, what the experiences were triggering first off were memories and imagination. And so, they were going back into themselves and bringing some of that out. So, it was taking them to different places, and we haven't really talked about the colour and perception piece yet, or the creation piece, but the creation piece was really super interesting, because then what they were doing was flipping that and having to create their own art. So, we didn't just appreciate art, the participants were, with the support of the facilitators creating the art as well. And so, for me that taught me a few things, that taught me, you know, the detailing which I needed to describe stuff. Right? I am aware of audio descriptions, I have been working in accessibility but doing it on the fly and also, that fine line between facilitation and doing it for someone. I think was really interesting and I was really, really conscious about trying not to turn it into my artwork because it wasn't my artwork.

DEBRA: 19:04

Yeah.

NEIL: 19:05

And so, it's not about my taste, it's about what do you want and how can I describe the hue and the tone of the colours and the positioning on the canvas and all of this kind of stuff. So, I thought it was a really interesting exercise for both parties.

FURRAH: 19:25

Yes, no, absolutely Neil and it was wonderful hearing the participants reactions from the worksheets and in the day when we were all sharing insights but also from the volunteers’ reactions. Because some people find it quite humbling to watch somebody utilising the senses, other than the sense of sight because when you have suddenly I mean, when you are utilising all other senses, it actually is a lot more enhanced than people realise because you're thinking more about the tactile-ness and the grooves and the sense of smell to a certain extent as well but in the colour recognition we'll talk about that soon but you are really focusing a lot more about what's going on and that sometimes can be more intense whether, more intense in comparison to whether you're using the senses that you maybe sometimes take for granted. So, one of the participants that we had a workshop was a sighted person but he did the workshop with the blindfold on and he was astounded by his experiences when he didn't have the, he couldn't use the sense of sight but everything else and he was really surprised as to how intense it all was and how much he learned from the sensory aspect of what he was doing and how much he learned from the fact that he can do certain things without needing to rely on only one sense. I mean, you know doors are opening for different parts of your imagination to be ignited when you shut down one of your senses and we can all experience this and I mean working with ATOS was a joy, Tim Dugger was amazing and ATOS was very supportive in on all fronts, which I really appreciate. And yeah, absolutely Debra you're right because from what I share with the workshop and when you experience things from different perspectives it just enables everybody to have a more of an in depth approach to accessibility, whether it's in design or services or whatever it is because if you can witness how people experience certain things you have then the empowerment to think, oh yeah actually didn't think about it from that perspective, let's try this. But it's just investing in better ways of making things accessible to all. And I'm happy to work with corporations and organisations and you know to share insights because every workshop, I learn something from people as well. I love learning from people I'm a very curious soul and at the end of the day it's a blessing to be able to learn from each other but yeah, it's been a joy working within organisations so far.

DEBRA: 22:02

And I would think that you need to get in front of the designers, so the designers need to do this, and they need to do it over and over again. They need to do in with they're in college they need to, well, they do because understand that it's powerful to us, as a society for you to consider all. I mean I wasn't thinking about how humid, I mean once again Richard has got me thinking differently and how human is an art exhibit and I mean my son is artist and I remember he did an installation, anyway, that still confuses me, but trying to pull in the different senses it was fascinating to me but I don't think we do that deliberately enough. I would like to see it be more deliberate.

FURRAH: 22:49

I totally agree with you Debra, I mean I've been to many installations or exhibitions where they focus on utilising specific senses without using any of the others that you normally use and it opens up doors, it really does and then are quite amazed at how you can be reacting to certain things when you only utilise one specific sense. We are amazing as humans, and we don't fully utilise everything.

DEBRA: 23:16

And so, are we being lazy to only use our eyesight for everything?

FURRAH: 23:21

I don't want to use the L word.

DEBRA: 23:24

Yeah, the lazy word. Are we not being creative enough, I'm going to say this, I'm not going to make you say it, but I wonder am I not being as creative as I could be because some people rely on one sense more than others.

FURRAH: 23:40

What it is Debra, we are all so busy, we are just like running around, living such a busy life, we don't know how amazing our bodies are and what we can do with our bodies and our minds, we just don't know, because we're so busy rushing this and rushing that, time is so scarce and it's a precious commodity and that is the reason why we do things that are instantly accessible. Do that, do that, do that, you don't think, actually if I stopped and smelt the roses, I don't want to sound cheesy, but you do have a much more intense experience because you connect in different ways. You know you are stopping being in the moment and because we don't really do much of that we lose out on opportunities where we can really be immersed in many experiences and have so many other benefits mentally and physically because hormones are released. If we immerse ourselves into experiencing something, say for instance art, we have many hormones that are released because of the sense of touch and because of the instant connection that makes you feel happy that makes you feel relaxed, lowers cortisol levels etc; the list is endless. I'm not going to go into the specific details but there is a huge list of benefits. If we stop and do things in a different way and fully utilise what our human body can do.

DEBRA: 25:08

That is so powerful, and I definitely want to talk to you about doing it for Billion Strong because this, I agree, I'm glad that Neil experienced this and then saw how valuable it was because I think this is definitely a game changer I really do. It seems easy but I think this is a game changer.

NEIL: 25:27

One thing from me, Furrah was talking about the sighted chap that was participating and it was fun for me because he was sat to my right, and I was facilitating his friend to my left and he was really going for it. So, the messiest bit of the room was where he had been throwing paint on the canvas, he got it all over his trousers and was having to sort of leap out of the way because of the drops of paint going everywhere. So, he was really, really fully immersed in the moment and the experience. So, I thought that that was great. The other thing you did and you were talking about feeling colour and the vibrations of colour which various people felt to differing extents in terms of being able to sense the difference in heat and dark and tone and stuff like that, which I think was really interesting and I think everybody starts off pretty sceptical and the room at the end of it was a lot less sceptical about it because a lot of people had sensed some kind of difference. Some more than others, I have to say, I wasn't one that had the biggest sensations there but, clearly other people did. And I think that was interesting because again we are using different senses and we are using different parts of our brain triggering synapses a different way and then, if I can just comment on the thing you said about smelling the roses. I mean, I take pictures of flowers and roses and stuff like that, so, but one of the joys of joys of doing that is not the end result actually, it's the process of observation and the framing because you do, instead of just looking at it and passing by, you are up close, you are observing it, you are sort of going in depth and you are actually seeing the beauty of nature in the worm of the form the petals and everything else. So, I think that what you know being blessed with having a camera in your pocket because everybody has good a phone with a great digital camera these days, if you use it right, it is immersing you in the experience. So, Antonio put in the chat, it's real emotion not the Metaverse. So, I think that it's really appreciation of art helps you pull back from our day day-to-day lives which is really, really important. So, could you tell our audience how they can reach you and get in touch with you, if they would like you to run a workshop for them.

FURRAH: 28:20

Absolutely so my website, I'm sure you'll share my website, do you want me to say the website?

NEIL: 28:27

Yes, please.

FURRAH: 28:29

Www.furrahsyedart.com and I'm on all social media. My name is spelt in a different way, so you'll find me very easily. My email on a website as well. Feel free to get in touch and we can have a lot of chat. But there is of different things to explore and it's just really nice to be able to share these insights with people and open their minds up to a different way and a different approach for accessibility and enhancing it in many ways that are limitless. They really are and when you see the positive impacts on people when they experience workshops in all the different facets, it's just heart-warming. And after every workshop, I feel so rich. I feel full of wealth from these experiences and the positive energy that comes, and I get thank you emails after as well, you know from people just sharing their responses and how they really felt so happy to be included and listened to which is empowering for all of us. We all want to be listened to don't we. One of the special things mentioned Neil, about the colour recognition being able to show people and this goes back to what we mentioned Debra before was that because we are not really focusing on what our bodies can do or our minds can do, sharing the fact that we can actually all physically feel colour is a wonderful skill to share, but people don't realise we can do it because as I said we are living a very busy life style but colour is vibrational energy which we can feel and it's wonderful to share that with people.

DEBRA: 30:08

I love that, and I agree with you, but I have never heard anyone say it, but I thought that was true but cool. Yeah.

NEIL: 30:18

So, one last thing before we go and I need to thank My Clear Text, it's really important we stay accessible. We had and some added experiences during our workshop because I don't know what it is with me and my luck at an event but whenever we invite a bunch of people for an accessible event, we have a fire alarm. And so, we also learned how to safely evacuate a roomful of blind and visually impaired people from a large corporate building. So we've done it.

DEBRA: 30:56

Yeah, it was nice of them to arrange that fire drill right when...

NEIL: 31:00

But what was gratified was that the guy I was facilitating specialises in personalised evacuation plans so, before we started the workshop, we had just been round and done the peeps as they are called, right? Not thinking we'd ever have to put it into use and then about 40 minutes later the fire alarm went off. So, I think that again people didn't just get to see the art workshop the got to see a whole other side of accessibility.

FURRAH: 31:36

Adventure.

ANTONIO: 31:37

And I don't think that was the first time.

NEIL: 31:40

No, we ran an event for Global Accessibility Awareness Day and there was a fire in the basement.

FURRAH: 31:49

It sounds, too much of a coincidence I am wondering if they're testing out their procedures.

ANTONIO: 31:58

The bright side is you end up with networking with strangers while you go along to the events.

FURRAH: 32:04

Yeah, luckily it wasn't raining, so that was fine.

NEIL: 32:08

Yeah, no, honestly it was a really good event and it's been a great chat. So, thank you very much Furrah, it's been a real pleasure.

FURRAH: 32:15

My pleasure. Thank you for the invite and it's been a pleasure from my side too. Thank you. Bye.