The American Way… words

Exhibition Report: The American Way… words

Clarke Reynolds’ First International Solo Exhibition

Venue: Envision Arts Gallery, Wichita, Kansas, USA

Duration: 3 months

Presented by: Envision – a U.S. leader in supporting people with sight loss

Media Coverage: NBC affiliate (KNS News), local press and gallery network

Overview:

In early 2024, I achieved a major milestone in my artistic journey: my first international solo exhibition, held at Envision Arts Gallery in Wichita, Kansas — a trailblazing gallery within the USA dedicated to visually impaired art and artists.

Titled “The American Way…”, this exhibition explored the playful, poetic, and at times puzzling translation between British and American English, using colour-coded braille as a visual and tactile language that transcends sight.

At the heart of the exhibition was a powerful idea: that words create connection — and when expressed in braille, they become art in themselves.

Key Works:

52 Braille Panels: British vs. American Words

The gallery walls featured 52 bespoke panels, each representing a British word alongside its American counterpart — like football vs. soccer, lift vs. elevator, trainers vs. sneakers. Rendered in my colour-coded braille system, each pairing became a tactile puzzle and a celebration of language, identity, and inclusion.

Clarke’s Braille Scrabble (Main Installation)

The showstopper of the exhibition was a giant 3m x 3m floor-based Scrabble board with oversized tactile tiles.

Each letter tile was made using my braille colour code — transforming every round of gameplay into a collaborative artwork built through language. With each word played, the board shifted and grew — constantly evolving, never the same twice.

It was part sculpture, part installation, part game, and all-inclusive.

Residency & Community Engagement

I spent one month in Wichita as artist-in-residence, engaging with the local community through:

Tactile art workshops for all ages and abilities
Talks and school visits
Exploring Wichita’s accessibility spaces and inclusive institutions
Sharing my journey as a blind artist redefining what “visual” means

This wasn’t just an exhibition — it was an experience. A dialogue. A moment of connection.

Impact & Legacy:

Featured on NBC News (local affiliate KSN)
Reached new audiences across the USA
Created space for shared learning between blind and sighted communities
Reaffirmed the power of braille as a visual, cultural, and artistic language
Transformed a game into an evolving conversation about access, identity, and play

“The American Way… was the most powerful exhibition I’ve ever done. It proved my art can travel the world, break barriers, and bring people together through touch, colour, and language — one dot at a time.”

— Clarke Reynolds