Claire Cummings – Creative Director
I LOVE BSL! Embracing this beautiful language has liberated my deaf face and hands and enabled me to express myself much more fluently, naturally and with more emotion than I could by speaking and lip-reading.
When the profile of BSL raised through Rose Ayling-Ellis winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, and the BSL Act 2022 was passed, I was inspired to do something to keep, and build on, this new growing public acceptance of BSL. And so BSL Celebration was born – it is my dream that everyone in the UK knows what BSL (and ISL) are, knows at least a few signs and is comfortable to approach and communicate with deaf signers.
Hiking and sailing keep me grounded – I love how keeping a yacht on course in fair winds or standing atop a hill with views are both humbling and exhilarating. Colours and patterns are my music and I enjoy looking at and creating Art. After all that excitement, the odd day finds me under the duvet or on the sofa.