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ORLANDO, Fla. — When Kelly Joy Ladd looks around, she sees a planet full of energy and love — ideas she channels into her art. Now her artistic vision, on view at Orlando Museum of Art, will be even more accessible: The museum is partnering with a technology company that helps those like Ladd with visual impairments see the world more clearly.
Those with low vision, particularly people with central vision loss, will be able to try eSight Go glasses from Gentex Corporation for free at the museum’s next Access for All Days, July 17 and Aug. 21. The museum was inspired to team with Gentex by the artistic journey of Ladd, one of the 10 artists selected for the annual Florida Prize in Contemporary Art exhibition.
“As an artist, being unable to experience art due to my vision impairment was heartbreaking,” Ladd said. “Being a part of Florida Prize and this initiative that brings art to people in similar situations is a huge honor.”
Ladd’s vision impairment came about five years ago when she was struck in the head, causing a traumatic brain injury.
“My brain thinks my eyes are crossed,” she told the Sentinel, though the condition has been steadily improving. “I’m totally on the path of healing,” she said.
At first, though, her impaired focus and depth perception left her unable to truly see art; she recalls leaving a previous OMA Florida Prize exhibition in tears. More importantly, she had to change the way she made art, although that became a positive.
“I let myself take risks, I opened myself up,” said Ladd, who lives in the Casselberry-Winter Springs area with her husband and son. “I allowed myself to really push myself artistically.”
And pushing through her boundaries paid off with her selection for this year’s Florida Prize exhibition.
A new chapter
The vision change wasn’t the first time Ladd’s life had taken an unexpected turn.
A liberal-studies major at the University of Central Florida with a creative-writing minor, Ladd was working as a magazine editor more than a decade ago when her job was eliminated.
“It was the universe’s way of saying, ‘Start a new chapter,’” she told art lovers at a recent gallery talk. “And I’ve been in that chapter for 13 years.”
Her work is full of texture: Paper with crinkly burnt edges, sand and dirt collected from meaningful places in her life, cardstock that appears fluffy as a carpet. It’s also full of energy she harnesses by burning old journals and charging crystals during her creative process.
“Ladd uses energy as a medium, just like she uses paper or glue to create her pieces,” wrote museum curator Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon in describing the work. “At the heart of her process lies the belief that energy is not only present in all things, but that it can consciously be harnessed and embedded into art.”
One work incorporates water collected from Hurricanes Milton and Helene, paired with water from Wekiva Springs, the destructive and tranquil energies balancing each other.
“The feedback I’ve been getting is amazing, visitors have told me they’ve cried or used [the gallery] as a meditation space,” she said. “My art is going to take this direction even further.”
‘I See You’
In the center of Ladd’s Florida Prize gallery is “I See You,” a work that appears to be a collection of giant eyeballs. There are mirrors inside the orbs, so when visitors peer into them, they see themselves reflected.
“I wanted people to know they aren’t alone,” Ladd said. “I envision that everybody who looks in leaves a piece of themselves in there.”
Jeanette Von Dyck was happy to look in and see the work, in part because a rare cornea condition called Peters Anomaly has hindered her vision her whole life. The South Florida resident, who uses the eSight technology and coaches new users for the manufacturer, visited the museum in June for an Access for All Day.
“This has been a game changer,” Von Dyck said of the eSight technology, which was first made publicly available in 2013 and acquired by Gentex Corporation in 2023. “This has allowed me to see things I’ve never seen before.”
Those things include texture and depth, which helped her appreciate the art of Ladd and others in the Florida Prize exhibition. Colors too: She found Ladd’s greens and pinks “absolutely stunning.”
The eSight devices, which can assist with more than 20 different eye conditions, contain high-resolution cameras that record video images, enlarge them and project them onto screens in front of the wearer’s eyes, said Jamie Barendsen, eSight marketing manager.
“It’s tricking the brain into seeing what’s actually there beyond the blind spots,” she said. “It can be life-changing.”
Access for All
Von Dyck was one of a “couple dozen” visually impaired visitors to the museum for the June event. Experiencing the camaraderie was as rewarding as the art, she said.
“It’s a really neat experience,” she said. “It’s interesting to find the ways people are connected.”
Welcoming visitors who might generally not be able to experience art, because of the admission price or other reasons, is the point behind the Access for All program, which is funded at museums nationwide by Walmart heir Alice Walton’s Arkansas-based Art Bridges foundation. At the Orlando Museum of Art, the third Thursday of each month is an Access for All Day.
“Hearing Kelly Joy Ladd’s story, we saw a unique opportunity to make the Florida Prize experience more inclusive for visitors with vision impairments,” said Cathryn Mattson, CEO of the museum, in a statement. “Partnering with eSight brings our mission to life by ensuring that everyone, regardless of vision ability, can fully experience the stories and creativity showcased in this exhibition.”
That’s Ladd’s hope, too: That her work will forge a bond among anyone from any background or ability level who experiences it.
“For more than a decade, I have infused my work with love, joy, wonder, kindness, compassion, gratitude and peace,” she said. “Art is about energy… and connection.”
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Access for All Days
•What & When: Free admission to Orlando Museum of Art, with the ability to test Gentex’s eSight Go technology for those with low vision from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. July 17 and Aug. 21. On July 17, Kelly Joy Ladd and other artists featured in the Florida Prize exhibition will lead a panel discussion at noon. The museum will be open both days until 8 p.m.
•Where: Orlando Museum of Art, 2416 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando
•Info: omart.org
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