The Art of Blindness is a new mini series of the Shape Arts Podcast from blind artist and winner of our 2025 Adam Reynolds Award, David Johnson.
In this four part series, David invites us into the world of the lived experience of blindness and his art making practice. With the help of invited guests, he will be exploring the day-to-day experience of living as a blind person, and how this can give rise to the impulse to make art.
This podcast is based on the assertion that visual impairment gives people privileged access to an altered sensory framework, or aesthetic, that affords access to new worlds.
This series was produced and edited by Ian Rattray.
David Johnson is a blind artist who, through his creative practice, intends to challenge assumptions about blindness and disability, demonstrating the potential they have to contribute positively and creatively to our shared culture. David is currently exhibiting as part of Beyond the Visual at Henry Moore Institute, Leeds - on until 19 April 2026.
In episode one, The Lived Experience, we join David on a sonically textured walk around his hometown of Hitchin as he paints a picture of his everyday sensory encounters. Read more
Join David on a visit to Tate Britain, where he interviews creative practitioners Harry Baxter and Joseph Rizzo Naudi, finding out more about their approach to audio describing art. Read more
David sits down with Dr Kevin Hunt to discuss how the senses, memory, and imagination all connect to generate diverse opportunities for creativity. Read more
David concludes his podcast series with a reflection on his artwork and its influences and the importance of collaboration. Read more