'Blind artists can see around corners': announcing 2025's Adam Reynolds Awardee

Jeff Rowlings, Head of Programme, Shape Arts, said: “We are delighted to make David Johnson this year’s Adam Reynolds Award recipient, and to support a fantastic exhibition opportunity for David as well as the development of his practice, something we had the pleasure of doing through our involvement in the Layers of Vision exhibition at Kings College London in 2022.
 
A strong advocate of improving the experience of blind and partially sighted people in the cultural sphere, in particular galleries and museums, David is developing a practice where the notion of the ‘visual arts’ is confounded and challenged by deep questioning of the primacy of the visual in artistic as well as everyday experience. Through manoeuvring concrete and subtle physical forms into new harmonies, enhanced rather than embellished by audio and haptic explorations, David is building exciting new work defined by his relentless curiosity and bold, open approach to collaboration and innovation.”
 
In making this award to David, we gratefully acknowledge the input of the lead investigators of Beyond The Visual, Professor Ken Wilder and Dr Aaron McPeake (Aaron being a previous Adam Reynolds awardee), who have selected David to exhibit at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, this year, as part of the BTV programme.” 

David Johnson, Adam Reynolds Award winner 2025, said: “It has been said that artists can see around corners. It is my contention that blind people and blind artists can likewise see around corners. This is because they are often unaware of the presence of an obscuring corner in the first place. 

The experience of blindness and disability has unexplored positives that can enable all of us. Disability offers altered perspectives and radical ways of understanding the world we all inhabit. Art made by blind people can powerfully demonstrate these exciting possibilities.  At last, through art, disabled people can lead the way and open doors for themselves and others rather than always be led and have to wait for the doors to be opened for them.

I am thrilled and honoured to be this year's Adam Reynolds Awardee and to be given the opportunity to further develop these important ideas through my art endeavours. The cultural sector is at an important turning point and it is vital that disability arts is a prominent part of this process. This award will go a long way to ensuring that disability and blind arts remains a growing irritant in the visually biased cultural mainstream.”