Open Life for visually challenged

The day you come to an ancient temple of art and find yourself captured by its wonderful music, you understand that wonders happen to ones who are in pleasurable anticipation of it. Creative project “OpenLife” became a sheer miracle for “special” characters of our story. It is a joint project that involves collaboration of the orchestra of M. Zankovetska Ukrainian Drama Theatre and talented blind artists from all over Ukraine. And now we can provide assistance for this creative project in concerts organization.

The unusual concert program “OpenLife” was started by Oksana Potymko, blind Lvivan, and Bohdan Mochurad, honoured artist of Ukraine. This project is unparalleled in the whole world; its uniqueness lies in simultaneous participation of almost twenty blind singers, as well as in complexity of the performance of blind soloists, being accompanied by the orchestra, who are not able to see the conductor’s baton. Almost all soloists, suffering from vision defects, do not have music education; they sing with all their heart and soul.

This project owes its success to self-denying participation of variety and symphony orchestra of M. Zankovetska Ukrainian Drama Theatre, being the only professional crew that collaborates with blind soloists. This kind of collaboration is not easy for its participants, because the rehearsal period is limited to the afternoon of the day of performance, due to the fact that most of project participants reside in different corners of Ukraine, and even abroad, but the orchestra is situated in Lviv. Like the most of non-profit artistic projects, “OpenLife” does not receive any financial support from the government. Today the concert program badly needs financial support for organization and conduction of concerts in Chernivtsi and Kolomyia this autumn, namely: transportation of blind participants to the tour destinations and back home, their accommodation in the hotel or dormitory, including meals, production of posters and prospects, rent of concert premises.

By virtue of this project, new horizons and the brightest colours of life can be opened for people suffering from vision defects; they are granted a unique possibility to unlock their creative potential going on tour with the orchestra all over Ukraine and abroad, as well as participating in television shows. Public, in its turn, will enjoy wonderful music and singing, and become captured by breath-taking emotions and unforgettable experience!