The Art of Albinism

The Art of Albinism

.The

Braille Monitor

March,

2004

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The Art of Albinism

by

Brooke Fox

From the Editor: The

following article is reprinted from the Winter 2003 issue of NOAH News,

the leading publication for the albinism community. Several years ago Brooke

Fox won an NFB of California scholarship, and she performed at the affiliate

convention last fall. She reports that she has become increasingly involved

in the legally blind community, and she has expressed interest in joining the

NFB of New York, where she is now living. Her story should encourage all those

interested in careers in the arts. This is what she says:

Brooke

Fox

As a singer/songwriter

I have always felt the need to make a connection with others through my life

and the lives around me. My experiences with legal blindness and albinism have

undoubtedly shaped the way I make music, and in turn making music has shaped

the way I live with albinism. I wanted to share some of my life in this article

and open the door to more artists of all kinds from the blind community to come

forward and tell their own story as a creative being when one's disability and

art collide. Here's my take.

I

love my paleness! It's decidedly different. It turns heads. As an up‑and‑coming

singer/songwriter currently living in New York City, I need to be noticed.

Music

became a life support for me early on. I started performing young (age five)

around my Northern California hometown with the help of my grandmother, a professional

musician and songwriter. I won a few talent show trophies and gained confidence

in singing as something I could do well. As a child with albinism, I found that

music helped to keep me going when the kids at school got me down.

In

the student band I played clarinet through middle school and somehow learned

to memorize my sheet music. It was easier than squinting at the notes. I'd just

listen to the people next to me and copy them. My teacher at the time copied

the music and enlarged it for me, but I think the difficulty with reading actually

helped develop my musical ear.

Somewhere

around age ten I began to work out my own songs on the piano. Songwriting gave

me a way to further develop my own voice and deal with life through journaling.

My earliest songs were fictional tales about animals, people, and eventually

love. However, one of those first songs, called "Hold Your Head High,"

became a favorite among those who heard it for its positive lyrics. My theory

now is that it was my attempt at giving back the encouraging words people had

given to me:

Your

life can be decided by only you

Listen

close here's what you must do

Hold

your head high

Reach

for the sky.

After

high school I went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Berklee is the only place to get an actual degree in the craft of songwriting.

I thrived there, sharpening my vocal and acoustic guitar skills, finding my

own sound, and strengthening my lyric writing. I graduated with honors and was

awarded a songwriting achievement award.

Upon

graduation I relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, to be a part of the songwriting

movement there. Arriving in Nashville, where they drive to pick up the mail,

was the first real test of my resolve. I walked everywhere. A stranger at the

grocery store once stopped and proclaimed, "I know you! You're that girl

that walks everywhere!" When I tried to hail a cab downtown, the driver

picked me up and snickered, "Where are you from? New York? No one hails

a cab in Nashville."

Meanwhile

my music career began to take shape. I recorded my first CD, got a band together,

had some solid mentions in the press, and played lots of shows. I worked as

an assistant in a recording studio for a year, where I met all kinds of great

people. I was making strides professionally, but I was struggling to get around

in Nashville. Once I had to catch a ride home from one of my shows with a complete

stranger when my ride fell through. I had a meltdown one morning when the cab

that usually took me to the studio was a no-show. It felt as if life was out

of my control, and I was having trouble staying up about it. I asked myself,

"Why Nashville?"

Then

a friend called. He had a room for rent in his Brooklyn apartment. I was determined

not to make a life decision based on my albinism, but it came down to my pride

versus my quality of life. So I made the move to New York. It was nothing but

freedom for me. Finally I could get myself to shows and meetings without hassle.

Now,

after a few years here, I am enjoying some professional success. I tour regionally

with my band, I've secured a booking agent, and I am currently working on my

second record, which will include "Change Me," a song inspired by

the life of Christina Olsen (subject of painter Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's

World"). She lived an amazing life as a disabled woman in Maine around

the turn of the century. Through her I was finally able to communicate my feelings

about albinism in song:

Hey,

if you want to hold my hand,

You've

got to take me as I am

Because

you can't change me.

Albinism

continues to shape my world and surprise me every day. When I get stopped on

the street these days, my years as an entertainer kick in and help make it possible

for me to be a positive force for albinism. I love dissolving the albinism myth

for people out there on the street or on stage, one person at a time.

To learn more about Brooke

and to hear samples of her music, please visit <www.BrookeFox.com>.

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