Braille Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to positively transform the lives of those with vision loss. We offer a broad range of free programs, classes and services serving thousands of students of all ages helping to demonstrate that vision rehabilitation is a beginning, not an end.

We serve the community from seven centers, and hundreds of community outreach locations throughout Southern California, and lead popular national programs like Braille Challenge and Cane Quest. Our staff and volunteers understand losing your vision can be scary, but we believe it is not the end of independence, but a new way of living.

A variety of free classes, workshops and support groups are available to help you or a loved one stay active, remain independent and enjoy connections with others.

Sign up for individual events, workshops and seminars – free and open to everyone. Register online or call our Educational Programs Manager, Tracy Alfino, at (805) 898-8312 Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm.

Welcome to Pulse Art Club where tunes and visual Artists meet up to show audience members their works and how music moves the artist through their medium.

Welcome to Pulse Art Club where tunes and visual Artists meet up to show audience members their works and how music moves the artist through their medium.

Opera Santa Barbara will highlight its 20|21 Season Chrisman Studio Artists with a Spring Showcase with two performances Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6 at 2:30PM at Center Stage Theater. 

Undergraduate vocalist Soohyun Ryu (soprano) will present a junior Bachelor of Music recital with pianist Pinshu Yu on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at 4 pm PDT as a YouTube Premiere via the Department of Music's YouTube channel. The program will include Il pleure dans mon coeur and C'est l'extase from Claude Debussy's Ariettes Oubliées; "Du Gai Soleil" from Jules Massenet's Werther; Schwanenlied, Warum sind denn die Rosen so blass, and Gondellied from Fanny Mendelssohn's Sechs Lieder, Op. 1; “S’altro che lacrime” from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito; Lullaby (Spi Ditya Mayo), Op. 16, No. 1 from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Six Romances; as well as The Year's at the Spring, Ah Love, But a Day, and I Send My Heart Up to Thee from Amy Beach's Three Browning Songs, Op. 44. Ryu is a student of UC Santa Barbara Associate Professor Dr. Isabel Bayrakdarian.

For more information visit https://music.ucsb.edu/news/event/2226

Directed by Victor Bell, the UCSB Gospel Choir will present a concert titled "Where Are They Now?" on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at 6 pm PDT as a YouTube Premiere via the Department of Music's YouTube channel. Alumni and present members will speak on where they are now and the impact Gospel Choir has had on their lives infused with gospel music.

For more information visit https://music.ucsb.edu/news/event/2228

On June 5th at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom, the Santa Barbara Fiber Arts Guild welcomes guest presenter, Lesley Roberts. Lesley will be talking about her art practice and the way she sees her work transforming the community in which she lives. Register at https://www.sbfiberarts.org/