Musician partners with photographers for unique Carrollwood concert

CARROLLWOOD — In school, musician Daniel Kelly chased his passion for composing and playing music. Today, he tours around the world, evoking a range of emotions with his concerts.

Kelly will be performing at the Carrollwood Cultural Center on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. in collaboration with the Seeing with Photography Collective as part of the center’s events for Blind Awareness Month. The partnership with this unique set of photographers has led to the Blind Visionaries project, where Kelly was inspired by the art of the photographers and crafted a concert to go along with it.

“In 2005, I met these truly incredible photographers making this work that I had never seen anything like it,” Kelly said. “When I discovered they were visually impaired and blind, I was so intrigued I had to meet them.”

The Seeing with Photography Collective is a group of sighted and visually impaired artists. Artists who have once seen and can use their imagination to create. A sighted person will describe the photo to the artist once it’s made, so they can envision their creation.

Kelly was introduced to the Seeing with Photography Collective’s work during a time he was playing at a club in Manhattan. One of the people who worked with the photographers showed Kelly the artists’ photographs, and Kelly said he was so absorbed by the pieces that he lost track of time.

“I felt like I was transported to another world, because the photos were so interesting,” Kelly said.