Visionary Photos Are Meaningful at Circle of Light Exhibit

The photos are stunning, no doubt about it. But the annual Circle of Light photo project and exhibit surpasses artistic achievement and becomes extraordinary when you learn about the photographers. Each and every one was blind and now able to see as the result of a cornea transplant. For the fifth year, Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank asked cornea recipients to simply photograph something they were grateful to now see. The result is a collection of photos that covers subjects such as landscapes, animals and activities with a fresh, new viewpoint.

Photographer-exhibitor Ray Catalano

On Friday, March 10, around 250 guests gathered at Artwork Network in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe, and enjoyed music by DJ Philip G, delicious passed hors d’oeuvres by Footers Catering & Events, and a variety of craft beers as they strolled through the gallery. Event organizers drove home the need for tissue donors with a hands-on experience that demonstrated how the simplest tasks become monumental for those with corneal blindness.The festive reception atmosphere became especially poignant at times when guests had the chance to meet donor family members who attended. The exhibit is open to the public until March 15.

Participating at the hands-on corneal-blindness experience

As the nonprofit organization responsible for the recovery and transplantation of donated eye tissues in Colorado (all 64 counties) for the past 33 years, Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank is the nonprofit organization that carries out the promise of eye donors in Colorado and Wyoming to help others overcome blindness. The eye bank has carried out this wish for more than 41,000 eye donors in Colorado and Wyoming by facilitating more than 40,000 sight-restorative transplants locally, domestically and throughout the world. RMLEB never turns away anyone needing a transplant, and either discounts or waives its reimbursement fee 60 percent of the time.

RMLEB is very proud to also increase eye, organ and tissue-donor awareness, engage in advocacy, and secure and provide resources for anyone to “Share the Circle of Light” through eye donation. For more information, please visit: www.corneas.org.