Introduction to the Sainsbury Wing
About
Following more than two years of closure for building works, paintings from the Medieval and Renaissance periods have returned to our newly re-opened Sainsbury Wing.
Highlights include an introductory room containing works from the 14th to the 16th centuries, including The Wilton Diptych and Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, which together ask visitors to consider the full spectrum of what painting can do.
The galleries in the Sainsbury Wing were designed to evoke a Renaissance Basilica and its architectural features make it possible to display paintings in a similar way to how they would have originally been encountered.
Join Deaf lecturer John Wilson for an introductory tour in British Sign Language (BSL) of these newly displayed galleries.
This session will be led by a Deaf lecturer in British Sign Language with interpretation in spoken English.
Your guide
John Wilson was born deaf. He is a freelance consultant working in the field of Deaf Arts and British Sign Language, with a wide range of experience as a deaf arts practitioner, a theatre and television actor, a creative signer, and a director of numerous productions. His work as a sign poet and performer has been well received, and John has been part of several projects both in the UK and internationally to promote creative sign through the medium of BSL.
John works with a long list of major museums and galleries across the UK, including the Tate Galleries, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, National Maritime Museum, and the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle and Holyrood Palace. He leads BSL tours at London Zoo, Stonehenge, Tower Bridge and is an accredited BSL guide at Hampton Court Palace. From 2017 to 2020 he was curator of a programme of BSL tours at the Royal Academy of Arts – the first profoundly deaf person to hold such a role. Likewise in 2020 he was the first profoundly deaf person appointed as External Examiner by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He has also worked on several training programmes to prepare the next generation of Deaf BSL-guides, most recently with Artes Mundi in Cardiff. John has also previously been a Trustee of the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust which makes films and TV for the Deaf community in BSL.
He has recently contributed to a film ‘My National Gallery’ made by the National Gallery to celebrate its 200th anniversary.
British Sign Language Tour
Introduction to the Sainsbury Wing
Free, drop-in session
Places are available on a first come, first served basis with priority given to British Sign Language users. The room may need to close if the event reaches capacity.
Assistance dogs are welcome.
Please arrive in good time to access the building and find Room 51
Please view our Access page for more information.