Nature Unseen is a project that forms part of the upcoming Brighton Festival’s Festival of Ideas, aiming to explore inclusion in the heritage sector through the arts. At the heart of the event is a unique, immersive experience—participants are invited to explore a soundscape composition, engage with a tactile forest made from foraged natural materials, and connect directly with the creators through a Q&A session. This is not nature as it’s traditionally presented; this is nature reimagined through sound, touch, and shared stories.
Ahead of the event, we spoke to two of the artists and multidisciplinary researchers involved to learn more about their experiences and motivations.
Personal stories behind the project
Iris: designing through lived experience
Iris, Coordinator and Inclusion Consultant on the project, explained how her personal journey with sight loss led her to help shape Nature Unseen:
“I have lost most of my sight in my late 20s as a side effect of being diabetic in 1999. Even though it all occasionally gets to us, I try to make the most of what I have got left and have developed over many years different methods of using the little sight I have got left to my advantage. Having been involved in the sight loss sector for over a decade in different ways has brought me to being involved in this project.”
Maisie: inclusion through anthropology and accessibility
Maisie, a Research Assistant and Production Supporter of the project, brings her academic and lived experience with chronic health conditions into her work:
“I’m an anthropologist and media student at the University of Sussex with a chronic health condition. Whilst I am not sight-impaired, experiences with my health have led me to be passionately involved in Disability research and trying to create inclusive spaces. I have been working as a research assistant with the Nature Unseen event and the workshops leading up to it for over a year now.”
Rediscovering nature in everyday life
Their connection to the natural world—whether in city parks or remote landscapes—shapes their approach to the project and their vision of inclusive access. Both Iris and Maisie reflected on their evolving relationship with the natural world.
Iris described how sight loss altered her perception of her surroundings:
“Nature is around us day in day out, and often we do not even realise it is around us, we just take it for granted. Even though I never fully got to that point but since losing my sight, I needed to find a new way of being able to appreciate what is around me, including nature. As much as I like digging deep into the finest details, I had to learn to look at a wider picture at certain times.
“With this in mind, I learned to appreciate what I can see and go out about independently – if that’s just in a park within a big city or, if I’m still able to, I can get access to the countryside that is around me.”
Maisie shared her strong connection to nature growing up and how she continues to seek it in her city life:
“Growing up in Devon and having both Dartmoor and the beach on my doorstep meant that nature was a huge part of my childhood. Especially during my adolescent years, going into the forest or down to the creek was my way of escaping the stress of school life and being able to take a much-needed deep breath. Now, living in a city like Brighton, it has been important for me to access the ‘countryside’ when I can. Whilst I often visit my local parks and am very grateful for the nature access I have, the ability to access big green spaces like Wakehurst when you live in a city is really important.”
Nature Unseen: a project rooted in collaboration
The Nature Unseen project developed from a series of workshops exploring how the arts could enhance access to landscapes and heritage sites for sight-impaired visitors.
Maisie explained the early origins of the project:
“This project started as a series of workshops which explored the arts to improve access to, and enjoyment of, landscapes and heritage sites for sight-impaired visitors. In turn, inviting us all to think differently about how we understand and interact with landscapes and the heritage sector.”
Iris shared how her role grew from community participant to project coordinator:
“The project ran as a pilot in the summer of 2024, partnered with Wakehurst, Kew Gardens’ botanic garden in Sussex. This was supported by Blatchington Court Trust, East Sussex Vision Support, and Sight Support Worthing, who provided sighted guide training.
“I started out as chair of one of many of East Sussex Vision Supports social groups, being the link between the research project and the members of the social group who took part in the project. As the project itself interested me, I was not only the link but a participant as well. During this time, I was sharing all the knowledge gathered by being involved in the sight loss sector as well as being sight impaired myself, but this changed to a wider knowledge exchange and now the creation of a coordinator role for myself for the event.”
Maisie also reflected on her growing involvement:
“I have been working as a research assistant on this project since March 2024, an opportunity I received from my supervisor whilst studying my undergraduate degree in anthropology at the University of Sussex. I supported the initial workshops at Wakehurst, mainly through sighted guiding, field recordings, which I then transcribed, conducting interviews, and generating qualitative data. In time, this project has developed into the exciting Nature Unseen event, with which I am leading on evaluation.”
The driving force behind Nature Unseen
The project is led by Dr. Karis Jade Petty, an anthropologist and inclusive arts practitioner at the University of Sussex. Her work has long explored connections between nature and people with sight impairment.
Maisie elaborated: “The project is led by Dr Karis Jade Petty, an Anthropologist at the University of Sussex, Inclusive Arts Practitioner and Nature-Connectedness Facilitator. She has spent over a decade researching experiences of nature for sight-impaired folks. This new research project on the arts and heritage was developed from this, using a distinctively collaborative approach.”
Tackling inaccessibility in outdoor spaces
For many, including Iris and Maisie, heritage sites remain difficult to access due to transport limitations, cost, and physical demands.
Iris described the barriers she has faced: “After losing my sight, access to further afield nature places became extremely limited because public transport is extremely difficult. So it was nice to be able to go to one of those places, and due to the project having extra access to things, thanks a lot to everyone enabling all of us to be able to do that.”
Maisie echoed the challenges, particularly as a student: “Before this project, I did not access the heritage sector much at all. As a university student, it is an expensive day out and often a long bus ride away to visit places like Wakehurst. My own long-term condition also affects my ability to visit these places due to fatigue, and the distance of these places exacerbates that. This project has been a great opportunity to get out and about in these spaces and share that experience with other people who also have limited access for different reasons, and share ideas on how to improve this!”
The role of sighted guides and inclusive design
Sighted guiding emerged as a cornerstone of accessibility throughout the project. Iris emphasised how important support is when visiting heritage sites:
“For me, especially accessing many heritage sites is difficult, just by not easily able to get there as I’m on my own and need to rely on public transport. Being there often is difficult to navigate on one’s own, and no support is available. Outings to heritage sites at tiring for anyone, but for a sight-impaired person, next to the general physical strain, there is the navigation of unknown areas even when supported by someone sighted, which puts extra pressure on us and tires us mentally.”
Maisie added that inclusive guiding relationships are key to mutual learning:
“As Iris has also said, I think the big takeaway for me has been the lack of sighted guides offered at heritage sector sites. From the conversations I have had with participants, it was clear that the sighted guides on our project were so valuable to the inclusion of the event. The way sighted guiding is perceived by heritage sites is important, however, as it is not a hierarchical relationship in which the sighted guide is ‘helping’ a visually impaired person, but it is a mutually rich relationship in which you both learn from one another.
“Other key takeaways have been for the heritage sector to think more creatively about wayfinding at their sites – using tactile and sonic signposting systems could be an amazing way to boost the interactivity of these spaces for everyone. These would also allow fully sighted visitors to interact with heritage spaces in non-visual ways, enhancing multisensory experiences of the landscape.”
Looking ahead: a shared vision for inclusion
As Nature Unseen prepares for its festival debut, Iris and Maisie hope it will inspire both reflection and action. Iris encouraged others to embrace the opportunity:
“Having heard us talking about the enjoyment we had, I’m hoping that sight impaired will take the plunge and try it for themself as well as the support network around other sight impaired not to be scared of fulfilling their friend or family members wish to visit one of those sites.”
Maisie concluded with a message of optimism: “I hope that people feel the sheer joy that was being a part of this project. Making inclusive and accessible spaces is often framed as such a costly thing for organisations to undertake. However, this project shows that with the ability to offer a listening ear and an open mind, we can create a valuable community, and these spaces can easily become places where all are welcome.”
Learn more about the project by watching this short film, ‘Everybody’s Garden’
You can also listen to Nature Unseen soundscape on SoundCloud.
Nature Unseen will take place on Thursday 8th May 2025, from 5pm to 7pm at Fabrica, as part of the Brighton Festival’s Festival of Ideas. The event is free and suitable for ages 16 and over. Doors open at 4.30pm and booking is required via the Brighton Festival website. Venue and safety, as well as accessibility information, are available on the event page.