Fermanagh Trust to host 'My Journey, My Voice' exhibition

The Fermanagh Trust will be hosting `My Journey, My Voice’ a portraits and stories exhibition, at Fermanagh House later this month.  The multi-media exhibition, which features portraits by Belfast photographer Laurence Gibson, is a collaborative project which aims to increase awareness about the range and impact of communication difficulties.

It has been commissioned by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists as part of their Giving Voice campaign and is supported by Disability Action and the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Board.

Having debuted at Stormont last November, Fermanagh will be the first stop as it begins it’s tour of Northern Ireland. The launch event will be at Fermanagh House, 14th January 7pm and the exhibition will be on display until 28th January.

The exhibition will display nine professional portraits of individuals who have a communication disability and will provide an opportunity for visitors to hear them speak in their own voice, to tell listeners about a memorable journey that they have taken. All of the individuals will have their voices recorded and the voices will reflect some of the many varied types of communication difficulty. This may include those who have to use an electronic voice device to communicate, stroke survivors, people who stammer and children who can speak but may have difficulty being understood by others due to speech language and communication difficulties.

Lauri McCusker, Director of the Fermanagh Trust said “My Journey, My Voice is a very clever way of increasing the understanding and awareness of the needs of persons with a disability which is why we are delighted to offer to host the exhibition. It’s terrific Fermanagh will be the first as it starts it’s tour around the country, especially as one of the participants Christine Birney is from Fermanagh.  We would encourage people to come along to our launch event on 14th January to support this excellent exhibition.”