Last week, French street artist THE BLIND visited the CIMH. Together with students from the Schloss-Schule Ilvesheim and Johannes-Keppler-Schule schools and patients from the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, he created Germany's first inclusive mural featuring Braille on the façade of the laboratory building in J 5.
The mural is titled “En faire voir de toutes les couleurs” – a French idiom that literally means “to show all colors” and figuratively means “to turn the world upside down.” Using plaster, Braille stencils, and spray paint, THE BLIND created a work of art that can also be experienced by visually impaired and blind people. Various German idioms related to colors and vision can be read in Braille, such as “Rot sehen” (to see red) or “Tomaten auf den Augen haben” (to have tomatoes on your eyes).
THE BLIND comes from Nantes and his urban art always deals with people and positions on the margins of society. In doing so, he subtly plays with different levels of vision, writing, and language.
The artwork in Mannheim is the result of a collaboration between the Institut Français Mannheim, the Open Urban Art Museum Stadt.Wand.Kunst, and the CIMH. It was funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport. The artwork was created to mark the 10th anniversary of the Institut Français Mannheim, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the CIMH.
The inclusive mural was officially unveiled during a ceremony. Speakers at the event included CIMH Chairman Prof. Dr. Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Honorary Consul Folker R. Zöller, and Prof. Dr. Alfried Wieczorek, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institut Français.
We would like to thank the artist THE BLIND, the project partners Institut Français Mannheim and Stadt.Wand. Kunst, all supporters, the students and patients, and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports, which funded the project.
Discover the mural in our picture gallery or stop by the Mannheim Quadrate, J 5, on the north side of the laboratory building opposite the Johannes Keppler School to see and touch the mural.