An Exhibition Worth Experiencing
"Art Meets Inclusion" ran at the Winterthur City Library until 2 November 2025, giving visitors an extended window in which to experience the exhibition and reflect on its central message. Over the course of its run, the show invited each visitor to consider art and inclusion from a fresh perspective — not as separate concepts, but as deeply intertwined ideas, each enriching the other.
For those who visited, the exhibition offered more than an afternoon of aesthetic appreciation. It offered a genuine opportunity for reflection: on the boundaries we sometimes unconsciously place around what art can be and who can create it, and on how readily those boundaries dissolve in the face of genuine talent, determination, and creative vision.
A Story Worth Continuing
As "Living Library" drew to its close, it left behind a powerful reminder of why exhibitions like this one matter so deeply. In transforming a public library into a temporary gallery, in giving an artist the platform to share her personal journey, and in reaching new audiences through regional media, the exhibition achieved something significant: it brought the extraordinary artistry of the mouth and foot painting community into the everyday lives of the people of Winterthur.
It is precisely this kind of visibility and connection — art meeting its audience in unexpected places, and inclusion becoming not just a theme but a lived experience — that continues to define the mission of the mouth and foot painting artists around the world. "Living Library" was, in the truest sense, a story worth telling — and one that will conti30 October 2025
Libraries have always been spaces of discovery — places where stories are told, ideas are shared, and perspectives are broadened. In October 2025, the Winterthur City Library became the setting for a different kind of story, one told not in words but in colour and brushstroke, as it hosted a special exhibition under the evocative motto "Living Library."
Organised by Kunstverlag Au, the exhibition presented 25 works by mouth and foot painters, transforming the library's halls into a vibrant gallery space and offering visitors an entirely different reason to walk through its doors. At its core, the exhibition carried a powerful message: that people with physical disabilities express their creativity in remarkable, often extraordinary ways — and that these expressions deserve to be seen, celebrated, and understood.
A "Living Library" of Art and Experience
The choice of theme — "Living Library" — proved a particularly fitting frame for this exhibition. Just as a library holds countless stories waiting to be discovered, each painting on display told its own story: of the artist behind it, of the technique required to bring it into being, and of the determination that carried the work from first idea to finished canvas. Visitors moving through the library encountered not simply a collection of paintings, but a living, breathing testament to the resilience and creativity of the mouth and foot painting artists' community.
By situating the exhibition within a public library — rather than a traditional gallery space — the organisers ensured that the artwork reached an unusually broad and diverse audience. Regular library visitors, students, families, and passers-by all found themselves, perhaps unexpectedly, in the presence of remarkable art created under remarkable circumstances. This accessibility, both literal and symbolic, echoed the very theme the exhibition sought to convey: that inclusion means bringing art into the spaces where people already are, rather than asking them to seek it out.
A Voice From the Heart of the Community
The exhibition's vernissage, held on 22 October, offered visitors something rarer still: the chance to hear directly from one of the artists whose work filled the walls around them. Mouth painter Bracha Fischel took the opportunity to speak about her experiences and her personal journey in art, offering the audience an intimate and moving window into what it means to build a life and a career as an artist who paints with the mouth.
Her words added an irreplaceable human dimension to the evening. Where the paintings themselves spoke through colour, form, and composition, Bracha Fischel's testimony spoke directly to the emotional and personal reality behind the brush — the challenges overcome, the skills painstakingly developed, and the deep sense of purpose and identity that painting has given her. For many in attendance, hearing her story transformed the way they viewed not only her own paintings, but the entire exhibition around them, deepening their appreciation for the dedication embodied in every single piece on display.
Reaching a Wider Audience
The significance of the evening did not go unnoticed beyond the walls of the library. Regional television station TELETOP covered the event, bringing the exhibition — and its message of art and inclusion — to a considerably wider audience across the region. This media coverage extended the reach of "Living Library" far beyond those who were able to attend in person, allowing the stories and artwork of the participating mouth and foot painters to resonate with viewers who might never otherwise have encountered their work.
In an age where visibility so often shapes public understanding, this kind of regional media attention plays an invaluable role in advancing the broader mission of the mouth and foot painting artists community: to change perceptions, challenge assumptions about disability and creativity, and ensure that the artistic achievements of these remarkable painters receive the recognition they deserve.
Due to resonate long after its final day.
Source: VDMFK News