October 20, 2025

Art Group for those with visual impairments

Access to social, leisure and health & wellbeing activities can be challenging for our Visually Impaired (VI) clients, as many mainstream activities are inaccessible due to access and communication barriers and lack of awareness around sensory impairments.

At Leeds Sensory Services, we aim to tackle this by offering a range of services which focus on promoting the health and wellbeing of those with visual impairments to promote access to social opportunities, information and activities.

For those with a sight impairment, there is an increased risk of experiencing anxiety, low self-esteem and poor mental health. People can also experience social isolation and reduced independence. These issues can be caused by challenges of daily life, lack of awareness and understanding around sight loss in society leading to barriers to accessing services and information and as a result of the sight loss itself.

About the group

Leeds Sensory Services have set up a VI Art Group for people living in and around Leeds. This is run by two volunteers, each of which has a visual impairment themselves. The sessions run every week at Gallery House where our services in Leeds are based.

We have around 15 members who come along to take part in different art activities and enjoy socialising. The sessions have created a valuable opportunity for members to come together with others with the similar experiences to their own, offering peer support and friendship. Our volunteers are fantastic and support members who may be struggling, whether this is related to their visual impairment or another matter. The group will also sometimes go out for lunch after the art session or will have lunch at Gallery House.

We have benefitted from some grants in the past to support the art group. However, going forwards we will need to cover all costs associated with running the sessions from the cost of the room, art materials and refreshments to volunteer expenses.

Our clients requested a group like this, so we worked with our community to make it happen and we are committed to ensuring this group can continue.

Who Would Benefit and Why?

By supporting our VI Art Group, you would help enable the group to continue!

This benefits adults with a visual impairment who attend our art group and the volunteers who run the group. They would benefit from the opportunity the art group gives them to get together weekly to take part in a creative activity and learn new skills, boosting their confidence and wellbeing. They will also benefit from the opportunity to get together with others, breaking down isolation and creating opportunities for friendships and connections to be developed, in turn improving their emotional wellbeing.

They will also benefit from peer support and the chance to talk to others who have similar experiences, whether this is related to living with a visual impairment, dealing with the emotional impact of sight loss, sharing tips and techniques to support them in their day to day lives, sharing news and information or simply having someone else to talk to.

How you can support the group

We have set up an Amazon Wishlist containing some of the items our group would love to use in their sessions! When you purchase a product, it will be sent directly to our offices in Leeds at Gallery House for the group to enjoy. Please share this link with friends, family or anyone who would like to support us. Thank you!