BSL Tour of The Picture Library

06:30pm - 07:30pm, Thu 16 Sep 2021

 
 
A gallery room with rows of black and white photographs and yellow walls.

BSL Tour of The Picture Library

6:30pm, Thu 16 Sep 2021

 
 

This event is part of our Past Programme

Booking from noon on Thursday 2 September

Join John Wilson for an in-person British Sign Language (BSL) tour of The Picture Library exhibition.

Featuring over 200 images, The Picture Library delves into the legendary Guardian picture library, to explore photojournalism across the 20th Century and the various ways in which a liberal press employs images to elaborate themes such as feminism, nationalism, post-colonialism, racism, industrial relations, immigration, class and the climate crisis.

The exhibition mirrors the non-hierarchical nature of the library itself. Images are filed according to ‘subject’ and ‘personality’; individual photographers are accorded no particular status and images once deemed significant or newsworthy are filed alongside the obscure and forgotten. It also offers unique insights into the daily workings of a traditional picture editor,  and features rarely seen working press prints, contact sheets, editing notes and other newspaper ephemera.

 

Please note: This event is for BSL users and their companions only. Places are made available, first and foremost, for those who are Deaf and their companions. If you are a researcher or BSL learner, please email Janice McLaren in advance.

Free, booking essential

John Wilson is a freelance historian. He currently works as a BSL lecturer and guide for a number of high profile institutions including the National Gallery, Historic Royal Palaces, Royal Academy and Science Museum, London.