The winners will be announced at the Jodi Awards event on 2 December 2009 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (6.00-8.30 pm). The awards will be presented by Martha Lane Fox, the UK government’s Digital Inclusion Champion.

Update: the winner in this category was artist Sally Booth. Congratulations from the Dummy Jim team.

Martha Lane Fox

Named in memory of Jodi Mattes (1973-2001), who worked at the British Museum and RNIB, a tireless champion of equal access to culture for disabled people, the awards were first given in 2003 to museums, libraries and archives.

‘The Jodi Awards celebrate practice that inspires locally, nationally or internationally,’ said Matthew Cock, Chair of the Jodi Mattes Trust and Head of Web at the British Museum.

‘We welcome nominations from all kinds of projects, small and big, low-tech and hi-tech and for small and large audiences. What counts is the value of your project and the quality of its engagement with disabled people. In an age when digital technology is at the forefront of society, it is vital that accessibility is central to our work in the cultural and creative sectors.’

The award in

The £1500 main prize went to Rich Curtis, from Alabama, USA, who is from the same Shoals area where Dr Helen Keller was born.

Sight Unseen

His work titled Sight Unseen comprises 20 textured paintings on paper.

Dummy Jim received a Highly Commended Award – £200 plus the ‘E.D.G.D. Fairfull-Smith’ Award & keepsake.

‘It has been a great honour to have the Dummy Jim website included in such a prestigious show as the Helen Keller International Award’ said Matt Hulse, director of the Dummy Jim project.

‘James Duthie, on whose story Dummy Jim is based, shared with Helen a genuinely optimistic, determined spirit & a firm faith in the power of knowledge & education to transform lives. Like her, James was also a great communicator & lover of the natural world.’

‘Sadly James was killed in a road accident back in 1965, but I have no doubt at all that he would have been intrigued by & proud of his connection to this show.’

‘On a personal level, I vividly remember reading about Helen Keller during my childhood. Recently I rediscovered her book ‘The Story of My Life’ & was struck by how deep an impression it must have made upon me back then & how she continues to influence my work to this day.’

Helen Keller

Sense Scotland became trustees of this fund in 1989, transforming it from an annual essay competition, into the Helen Keller International Award, a multi-media art competition open to professional and non-professional artists.

Now coordinated biannually, the Award attracts an ever-increasing number of entries from artists across the world.

The Dummy Jim website has been shortlisted for the prestigious award. The winner and runners-up will be announced at an event at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 18th April at 2pm.

The 8th Helen Keller International Award Exhibition is at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. It opens on Saturday 4th April at 2pm and runs until 4th May 2009.