Seeing Sound: How Dolby, RNIB and a Visually-Impaired Composer Turned Paintings Into Music

For centuries, we’ve looked at art to feel something: awe, tranquillity, anxiety, even joy. But what if you couldn’t see it clearly – or at all? That’s the reality for nearly 300 million people living globally with moderate to severe visual impairment. In response, Dolby and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) have launched a world-first initiative that transforms iconic paintings into rich, spatial audio experiences – bringing these masterpieces to life for both blind and sighted audiences through sound.

At the heart of the campaign is ‘Art of Atmos’, an ambitious project that reimagines visual art in audio form, powered by Dolby Atmos and guided by the expertise of blind and sighted composers alike. Leading the creative charge was Stuart Yeardsley, executive creative director at Zeno, who helped shape the vision into something “as universal as our love of nature.”

“After creating the world’s first album honouring endangered sounds from around the world, we wanted to find something just as emotional and global – something that gives people that same giddy joy as a truly immersive piece of entertainment,” says Stuart.

That ‘something’ became a question: If paintings need to be seen to be felt, how can blind and partially-sighted people experience them fully?
The brief was deceptively simple – ‘Translate some of the world’s most famous artworks, like ‘The Scream’ and ‘The Water-Lily Pond’, into immersive musical experiences.’ The execution, however, was anything but.

Stuart and his team turned to the New Radiophonic Workshop, a modern successor to the BBC’s pioneering sonic lab known for its iconic ‘Doctor Who’ theme. Collaborators included sound innovators like Max de Wardener, Matthew Herbert, and Ella Kay – each known for pushing the boundaries of electronic music and immersive sound.
But the emotional heart of the project was Bobby, a visually-impaired composer introduced to the team through RNIB. Diagnosed at age 10 with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy, Bobby lost his central vision over time but developed an extraordinary ear for music – relying entirely on listening and memory to compose.

“Everything Bobby does is by ear,” says Stuart. “He brought a totally different dimension to the project – not just in terms of authenticity, but in how he interpreted these paintings emotionally.”

Each piece on the album begins with Bobby’s piano interpretations – simplified, soulful sketches that capture the essence of the artwork. These were then built upon by the Radiophonic composers using layers of sound design, harmony, and movement to create cinematic, three-dimensional soundscapes.

For the reinterpretation of Monet’s ‘The Water-Lily Pond’, the team used Debussy-style impressionism layered with pitched water droplet sounds to mimic the shimmer of sunlight on rippling water. The result is a dreamlike audio environment that reflects the painting’s quiet grace.

By contrast, Munch’s ‘The Scream’ evoked a different sensation entirely – tapping into feelings of tension. Heavy, anguished piano chords inspired by European romantic composers like Mahler and Scriabin set the tone, while distorted natural sounds crescendo into an overwhelming sonic release – mirroring the famous figure’s psychological unraveling.

“We weren’t just representing the artworks literally,” Stuart says. “We were trying to offer a different emotional perspective – maybe even get closer to what the artist was feeling when they painted it.”

Dolby Atmos technology was crucial in elevating the experience from engaging to extraordinary. It allowed the team to position sounds in a 3D environment that submerged the listener with subtle details and expansive landscapes, as suggested within the paintings.

“When you put sounds into the Atmos space, it’s like they open up behind you,” he adds. “It creates a sense of depth and presence that you just can’t achieve in stereo.”
This made the project as rewarding for fully-sighted listeners as for those with limited vision. In fact, many on the team found themselves noticing new emotional textures and hidden narratives in paintings they thought they knew well.

For Stuart and his team, the project was never just about accessibility. It was about expanding how people engage with art, regardless of whether they can see or not.

“I’m fully-sighted, but hearing these tracks made me understand and feel these paintings in a whole new way,” says Stuart. “You might know what ‘The Scream’ looks like, but when you hear it... you actually feel it.”

The hope is that ‘Art of Atmos’ becomes more than just a beautiful experiment. It could inspire museums, galleries, and streaming platforms to rethink how they present visual culture – and who gets to fully experience it.

“This project asks us to rethink the relationship between what we see and what we hear,” concludes Stuart. “If we can use sound to bring more people into that emotional space, to create deeper connections – well, that’s an incredibly valuable thing.”