There are also guide dogs in the audience, a street corner guitar concert, and books | cultural and creative | guitar at the entrance of the smallest Xinhua Bookstore in Shanghai
There is a "big eye" on Nanchang Road, through the huge circular window on the outer wall, you can see the books and cultural and creative works displayed inside. This is the first disabled friendly bookstore in Shanghai - Xinhua Bookstore · Backlight 226 Non Visual Culture Bookstore.
On the evening of August 13th, the door of the Backlight Bookstore was open, and classical guitar player Su Meng sat at the door. The beautiful sound of the guitar drifted from her fingers towards the road, gathering neighbors and passersby. An An, the guide dog, lay under the seat along the street, while its owner, Han Ying, the honorary store manager of the Backlight Bookstore, sat quietly. "After losing his sight, he felt the beauty of music even more.".
This charity music salon called "Encounter Music Light at the Corner" starts with sharing and exploring music. Zhou Zhongwei, a member of the Literary Committee of the China Blind Association, sang his favorite song "Love between Two Places". He said that he loved everything from pop music to symphony, from popular songs to art songs, because music is a way to bring joy to both body and mind.
"This year is my 30th year playing guitar. At first, I wanted to compete and pursue playing well, but now I believe that the energy that music brings to people is the most important." Su Meng, a classical guitar player and guitar professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in the United States, became the first Chinese person to win the "Grand Slam" of top guitar competitions in Europe, Asia, and the United States at the age of 18. She mentioned the description by Wagnerill in his book "The Famous Singer" - "the red tone at the party," "the blue cornflower like tone," and "the black amber tone." "Music is a color that can be heard. Let the audience open their inner world through music, feel the emotions conveyed by the performer, and imagine the images conveyed by the notes. This is the essence of auditory art, and it is also what I want to convey through music."
"When I sing 'Give Me a Kiss' with my companions, it's like seeing a patch of gold sprinkled on the earth," said Xiao Zhang, who plays the bass in the Akabella band. He collaborated with his companion Xiao Huang and performed a song called "Give Me a Kiss" on site. "I heard pink," Su Meng smiled.
Everyone present received an eye mask, and then a clip from the movie "The Blind Pianist" was played in the bookstore, which is an accessible version with voice explanations. Wearing an eye mask allows healthy people to experience the feeling of "listening to the movie". In 2016, Han Ying founded the public welfare organization "Shanghai Light and Shadow Voice Barrier Free Film and Television Cultural Development Center". With the guidance and support of the Municipal Disabled Persons' Federation, she produced over 300 barrier free films and created nearly 5 million words of commentary. "The 2-minute movie clip that everyone heard may take 30 minutes for volunteers to create commentary, followed by dubbing and suppressing in the recording studio, inviting visually impaired individuals to serve as reviewers. Accessible movies are like this, filled with love and beauty."
At the event, the "Su Meng X Backlight" co branded doll "Mengmeng Rabbit" was also released. The producers of "Cute Rabbit" come from Shanghai Chongming Cotton Blossom Handicraft Society, a private non enterprise specializing in the protection, inheritance, innovation, and development of Chongming earth cloth intangible cultural heritage projects, and promoting the production of Chongming earth cloth handicrafts for people with disabilities and disadvantaged women. In addition to ordinary books, the Backlight Bookstore also introduces Braille books, olfactory books, three-dimensional books, and audiobooks. The cultural and creative products in the bookstore are also made by people with disabilities, including traditional Chinese painting, aromatherapy, bamboo carving, grass weaving, purple clay and other handicrafts.
At the end of the event, Su Meng picked up her most familiar classical guitar and played two classic guitar pieces "Romance of Love" and "Memories of the Alhambra Palace" on the roadside. "Visually impaired people cannot see the world and hope that music can become a light in their lives, 'illuminating' their path forward," she said.
