VICTA is delighted to announce the appointment of two new Patrons, Clarke Reynolds and Abbie Robinson. Exceptionally talented in their respective fields, and with lived experiences of sight loss, they bring with them a passion to inspire the young people and families we support. 

Abbie Robinson

Abbie is a competitive climber from the North East. Having grown up an active, adventurous person, Abbie started indoor climbing when she was 13 at her local climbing wall in Sunderland. At 17, she was diagnosed with Stargardt Macular Dystrophy and registered legally blind. It was then that she was introduced to the world of paraclimbing and quickly went on to join the GB Paraclimbing Team, so far securing 7 international gold medals, including 3 consecutive world championship titles.

Having initially struggled to come to terms with the label of being ‘disabled’, Abbie is passionate about showing the world that disability does not have to be a barrier to success, independence or adventure. She is keen to make sport accessible for all in the hope that other people with disabilities can find the same freedom, confidence and strength through sport that she did.

Follow Abbie’s climbing career on Instagram at: @abbie.paraclimbing

The three images show Abbie at our 2023 Spring Family Weekend. Abbie delivered a talk to parents during our workshops and then visited the children’s groups a they took on activities. This of course included the climbing wall which she had a go at herself!

We chatted to Abbie about becoming a VICTA Patron and her journey into paraclimbing at our 2023 Spring Family Weekend

Clarke Reynolds

Clarke Reynolds is registered severely sight impaired and is a successful visual artist. His artistic language is Braille, the tactile coding system which is made up of a six-dot cell and allows people of low vision to read. As a Braille typographer and artist, Clarke takes the tactile braille experience and gives it a visual language. His aim is to bring Braille into the 21st century through workshops, exhibitions and public art. He is passionate about being a role model for people of all ages with a vision impairment.

As words are important to a vision impaired person, Clarke’s art explores the power of the English language and uses the Braille dot as a vessel to hold that word through the shape, colour and size of the dot. Over the past two years Clarke has held multiple exhibitions including his first solo show in London at the Quantus gallery.

Find out more about Clarke’s art at seeingwithoutseeing.com
Follow Clarke on Instagram at @blind.braille.artist

The three images show Clarke smiling to the camera in his studio and Clarke judging VICTA’s Braille Art Competition.

We chatted to Clarke about becoming a VICTA Patron and his passion for all things creative and inclusive