William Morris at the Old Nichol

Friends of the William Morris Gallery Talk

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Thursday 5 June 2025

In February 1885 William Morris wrote, “Like most of our East Enders, Frank Kitz is certainly somewhat tinged with anarchism… but I like him very much. I called on the poor chap at the place where he lived, and it fairly gave me the horrors.’ Morris was on friendly terms with Anarchists Frank Kitz and Charles Mowbray, who in 1885 were living in one of East London’s most deprived slum areas – the Old Nichol, on the Bethnal Green/Shoreditch border.

Join us for an evening with historian and author Sarah Wise, as she explores William Morris’s encounters with East London’s poorest districts in his passionate campaign for socialism.

  • Sarah Wise is the author of four books about British social history – the second, The Blackest Streets, is a portrait of the Old Nichol slum in East London. She teaches 19th-century social history and literature to undergraduates and adult learners and is visiting professor at the University of California’s London Study Center. Read more about Sarah.

Image: William Morris (1880), Photograph by Abel Lewis

Exterior of William Morris Gallery

Rethinking Cultural Spaces

What Institutions Can Learn from Collaborative Design

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Thursday 12 June 2025

A Beyond the Box event for the London Festival of Architecture 2025.

Together, we’ll explore how cultural institutions and organisations can embed co-design principles to create more inclusive, responsive, and engaging public spaces. Through live case studies and honest reflections, we’ll examine the opportunities, challenges, and real-world impact of working with young people to activate cultural spaces and shift power dynamics.

From bold design ideas to new ways of working, hear directly from cultural leaders and the young co-designers shaping our cities, museums, and civic environments.

Speakers & panelists:

  • Hadrian Garrard – Director, William Morris Gallery

  • Philippa Simpson – Director of Buildings and Renewal, Barbican Centre

  • Neil Onions – Director, Beyond the Box CIC

  • Jeevan Chahal – Level 7 Architecture Apprentice, Mentor & Educator

  • Carlton Fontaine-Nowell – Cultural Producer & Barbican Renewal Co-Designer

  • Ifsah Chowdhury – Community-Focused Designer, Mentor & Educator

  • Zhané Phillips – Architectural Student & People’s Pavilion 2023 Designer

  • Jennifer Ly – Barbican Renewal & People’s Pavilion 2025 Co-Designer

This event is the first in a 3-part series curated by Beyond the Box, celebrating co-design as a powerful tool for inclusion, imagination, and systemic transformation. Together, we’ll uncover how young people, when given the tools and trust, can reimagine the environments we all share.

Spanning architecture, culture, and public space, this series brings together an intergenerational mix of young voices, industry professionals, and thought leaders. Through panels, provocations, and lived experience, we’ll ask: what does it really mean to design with, not for—and how can co-design help us build a more equitable, inspiring future?

Flow State Sessions

Multiple dates

WELLBEING

Sunday 8 June 2025 - Wednesday 25 March 2026

Flow State Sessions aim to create a gentle space for creativity – where no experience in art is necessary. Flow is the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity rather than just the outcomes. Research has shown that engaging in Flow State can be a useful tool to manage stress, anxiety and negative feelings.

Run by art therapists, the aim is to create a calm, accessible and supportive space, where participants feel at ease to learn new skills to enter Flow State and inspired to nurture their creativity.

This year we’re running two types of sessions: an Art Therapist Directed session which will teach you various creative tools to help with your mental health and an Open Studio session which allows you to practice creative skills at your own pace using the Gallery’s studio space and your choice of materials. Once you’ve completed one of the Art Therapist Directed sessions, you will be able to take part in any of the Open Studio sessions.

Our programme has been designed specifically for those with low to moderate mental health needs such as mild anxiety or low mood. They are also suitable for those feeling isolated, stressed or overwhelmed due to having an ongoing health condition or being a carer, for example.

All sessions take place at William Morris Gallery.

Upcoming dates:

  • JUNE (Nature brushes):  Sunday 8 June directed session, Wednesday 25 June open studio
  • JULY (Nature journaling) – Sunday 13 July directed session, Wednesday 30 July open studio
  • SEPTEMBER (Slow stitching) – Sunday 14 September directed session, Wednesday 24 September open studio
  • OCTOBER (Felt applique) – Sunday 12 October directed session, Wednesday 22 October open studio
  • NOVEMBER (Mindful drawing) – Sunday 9 November directed session, Wednesday 26 November open studio
  • JANUARY (Weaving) – Sunday 11 January directed session, Wednesday 28 January open studio
  • FEBRUARY (Sculptural forms) – Sunday 8 February directed session, Wednesday 25 February open studio
  • MARCH (Printing) – Sunday 8 March directed session, Wednesday 25 March open studio

As we are an arts organisation rather than mental health providers, these workshops are not suitable for those with complex mental health needs or for those in crisis. If you are in need of support, please contact the Waltham Forest Single Point of Access.

If you have any questions, comments or additional access requirements, please do not hesitate to contact: Christine Lai, Public Programme Curator, christine.lai@walthamforest.gov.uk

Morris Mania: A talk

For London Textile Month

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Saturday 13 September 2025

Join artists and makers at the Gallery on Saturday 13 September, for an evening exploring William Morris’s ideas around manufacturing, design and where his legacy sits in today’s world of mass consumerism. This event is part of the Morris Mania events and activities programme, which opens on 5 April, celebrating the Gallery’s 75th Anniversary year.

Details of speakers coming soon.

London Textile Month, organised by Selvedge, is a whole month of textile related events, coming to London during September 2025.

Read more about London Textile Month.

Made in Walthamstow

A film by Xaymaca Awoyungbo

FILM

Saturday 12 April 2025

This event is supported by William Morris Gallery as part of the Morris Mania programme of events.

Made in Walthamstow is Xaymaca’s love letter to his ends. Telling the story of Walthamstow FC’s unprecedented kit collaboration with the William Morris Gallery (the first between a museum and a football club), Awoyungbo’s film explores the history of football kits, the significance of William Morris and the importance of community.

We’re proud to be supporting the premiere of the film on 12 April. The screening is accompanied by a Q&A hosted by Hadrian Garrard, Director of William Morris Gallery. Although this is a private event, an additional screening event is planned for Monday 21 April at Orford House in Walthamstow.

Made in Walthamstow: Film Screening & Art Class

Join Xaymaca for a screening of the film plus a football kit customisation art class and photoshoot.

FREE event for all ages. 2 to 5pm.

Address: Orford House, 73 Orford Road, Walthamstow E17 9QR

Book using the button on this page.

An introduction to Morris Mania

With the curators of the exhibition

TOURS

Wednesday 17 September 2025

Learn more about the ideas behind the exhibition with this introduction to the show’s objects and themes.

Read more about the exhibition here.

An introduction to Morris Mania

With the curators of the exhibition

TOURS

Wednesday 20 August 2025

Learn more about the ideas behind the exhibition with this introduction to the show’s objects and themes.

Read more about the exhibition here.

An introduction to Morris Mania

With the curators of the exhibition

TOURS

Wednesday 16 July 2025

Learn more about the ideas behind the exhibition with this introduction to the show’s objects and themes.

Read more about the exhibition here.

An introduction to Morris Mania

With the curators of the exhibition

TOURS

Wednesday 18 June 2025

Learn more about the ideas behind the exhibition with this introduction to the show’s objects and themes.

Read more about the exhibition here.

An introduction to Morris Mania

With the curators of the exhibition

TOURS

Wednesday 14 May 2025

Learn more about the ideas behind the exhibition with this introduction to the show’s objects and themes.

Read more about the exhibition here.

An introduction to Morris Mania

With the curators of the exhibition

TOURS

Wednesday 16 April 2025

Learn more about the ideas behind the exhibition with this introduction to the show’s objects and themes.

Read more about the exhibition here.

People taking part in craft workshop

London Craft Week: Stitch and Sip

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 15 May 2025

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT

Stitch and Sip with Mika Sembongi, hosted as part of London Craft Week 2025.

Bring your clothes in need of a little TLC, and let’s mend together. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting, this workshop is a welcoming space to share tools and knowledge. Discover the joy of giving your garments a second chance and leave not just with mended clothes but with new skills and connections. All alongside a gin and tonic or a non-alcoholic substitute.

As a special touch, we’ll have William Morris patterned mending patches available to help you transform your worn pieces into one-of-a-kind creations.

After the workshop, you’re welcome to explore the exhibition until the Gallery closes at 9pm.

NOTE: The mending technique for the William Morris fabric patches is most suited to medium weight woven fabric like jeans and jackets.

About Mika Sembongi

Born in Japan, Mika brings Manga influences to her hand printed designs and is highly skilled in the traditional mending technique, sashiko. Mika co-runs The Monday Mending Club, a monthly social sewing night at Big Penny Social, and holds monthly family sewing mornings at Leyton Green Studios, which aim to encourage families to enjoy mending clothing together as a weekend activity.

Supporters and partners

A Paradise Garden for our time

A garden design workshop

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 8 March 2025

This full-day interactive workshop will explore the rich traditions of Islamic Garden design through the lens of William Morris’s ideas on community, socialism, and craftsmanship. Participants will engage in discussions, presentations, and hands-on design activities to reimagine a “Paradise Garden” for contemporary urban spaces.

This workshop is open to all adults with an interest in garden design. No experience necessary. FREE event. Use the booking button to reserve your place.

Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events and activities programme.

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

Morning session (9.30am to 12.30pm):

  • Welcome, tea & coffee
  • Guided gallery walk and discussion on William Morris’s connection to Islamic gardens
  • Presentation on the principles and significance of Islamic Garden design
  • Design masterclass covering foundational principles and techniques
  • Introduction to the design brief

Lunch break (12.30pm to 1.30pm):

  • Lunch is not provided but you are welcome to bring a packed lunch
  • Deeney’s Cafe at the Gallery will be open

Afternoon session (1.30pm to 4pm):

  • Hands-on garden design workshop using various creative materials
  • Discussion on next steps and potential applications of the designs

An introduction to the workshop and opportunity to sign up to join will also be shared at the Leyton Boundary Garden spring opening on Saturday 1 March from 10am to 2pm: Leyton Boundary Garden, 6B Brewster Road, London E10 6RG.

About the designers:

Miria Harris is an RHS Chelsea Flower Show award-winning landscape designer. Her studio is based in east London where it undertakes a wide range of public and residential projects across the UK and internationally.

Ever conscious of making new things in a world where we produce and consume so much, the studio advocates for organic principles and looks to integrate and implement a circular ethos – often favouring moving and reusing materials and plants with integrity and character. Sensitive low environmental impact choices are always prioritised, ensuring that the hidden infrastructure is sufficiently robust to future-proof new designs.

Projects include contemporary reimagining of historical gardens for listed buildings, family and wildlife-friendly gardens in urban and rural settings and large-scale public planting schemes. Collaboration is at the heart of studio’s creative process. Working closely with architects, artisans, fabricators and suppliers, the ambition is always to seek out new and inventive ways to bring designs to life. Miria Harris’s studio has worked with a number of celebrated architects and interior designers including Ilse Crawford, Julian Harrap, Morrisstudio and Sergison Bates.

In 2024, Miria’s main avenue show garden in support of the Stroke Association was presented at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This garden was redesigned and installed the same year as a permanent garden for the Stroke Unit of Chapel Allerton Hospital. In addition to this her work has been shortlisted for a number of awards over the years including a prestigious Society of Garden Designers 2025 for sustainable design. The studio was also an integral part of the design team for Sergison Bates’ Lavender Hill Courtyard Housing project which in 2023 was awarded a RIBA London Award, National Award and was shortlisted for a Stirling Prize.

Humaira Ikram has been working as a professional Garden Designer at Studio Ikram for over 10 years and specialises in client focused landscapes, which are pollinator friendly and as sustainable as possible.

She runs the Garden Design Diploma at the KLC School of Design and has curated a course that values the importance of creativity, visual representation, technology and the environment as well as design and planting principles and horticultural. Over the last few years she has cultivated a special interest in collaborating on show gardens and other planting projects.

She is currently a regular contributor on BBC Gardeners Question Time on Radio 4, has been a Guest Judge on the Netflix Series The Big Flower Fight, is a Gardens Advisor to RHS Hyde Hall and is on various selection and advisory panels for the RHS.

In her previous life, she read Environmental Science at Kings College, London and worked for Reuters, before retraining as a Garden Designer.

Image: Apple wallpaper, William Morris, designed 1877

William Morris & Art from the Islamic World

LATE

LATE EVENT

Thursday 27 February 2025

Join us for a premiere screening of a short film trilogy by Shahed Saleem and James Wainman: Three Colours Green, a journey into the Muslim imagination of Waltham Forest. The film will be preceded by a conversation with the film makers.

Alongside the screening, the Gallery will come alive with creativity, with live music, art, hands-on arts and crafts workshops and conversations curated by our Young Creatives—a group of emerging artists and cultural producers who helped shape the exhibition. Together, we’ll reflect on the lasting influence of Islamic art and how it continues to inspire new ideas today.

Refreshments will be available and our shop will be staying open for the evening.

Musical performances from:

Ghuraba (الغرباء) are a globally inspired duo, blending a mix of cultural influences. Their music resonates with and brings together people of multiple backgrounds. Consisting of Mohammed Salih on Electric Guitar and Abdullah Mufa on the Daf, Ney, Ocean Drum. Ghuraba’s musical experience will transport you to places you didn’t know existed.

Ozan Baysal, a Turkish baglama player, performer and composer. Ozan specialising in selpe – an Anatolian baglama performance technique that uses fingerpicking instead of a plectrum. Having played the instrument from a very early age, much of his music is a synthesis of traditional baglama selpe performance practices along with harmonic practices in tonal and jazz music.

Shohret Nur is an outstanding young Uyghur musician, based in London. He specialises in playing the Uyghur stringed instruments dutar and rawap. Originally from Kasghar, Xinjiang, Shohret’s great grandfather and grandmother were both dutar players. Continuing this rich musical legacy, Shohret is helping to bring Uyghur music to wider attention around the world.

See art on display by:

Maryam Adam is an interdisciplinary artist, illustrator, and designer with a BA in Graphic Communication Design. Her work explores themes of heritage, introspection, and the connection between the conscious and unconscious. Community engagement is central to her practice, and she values the relationships formed with audiences through her concepts. Often incorporating surrealist imagery, her work addresses social politics, faith, and existence.

Plus henna art from:

Huq That is a South Asian, multifaith and multicultural artist collective devoted to elevating henna as an art form. Their carefully curated all-women team draws inspiration from traditional and modern art forms, with each team member offering their own unique twist on the work. Embracing community and inclusion, the collective is imagining a new world of henna that weaves together history, art and causes that are important to them.

Main image: Still from ‘Three Colours Green’ courtesy Shahed Saleem & James Wainman

Portrait of Sir Frank Brangwyn (1921)

William Morris Birthday Lecture: Wherefore art thou Brangwyn?

Friends of the William Morris Gallery Talk

OFF SITE

Monday 24 March 2025

DUE TO BUILDING WORKS AT THE GALLERY, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RELOCATED TO WALTHAMSTOW TOWN HALL, FOREST ROAD, E17 4JF

Brangwyn was of the first British artists to gain an International reputation, the first British artist to be given a retrospective at the Royal Academy during his lifetime, an artist whose murals can be seen in USA, Canada and the UK. In 1914 he was described as ‘the acknowledged master of modern decoration… both in his own country and abroad’ and is reputed to have produced over 12,000 works of art. But, apart from the huge murals, where can we see these works? Where are they? Are they all hidden away?

The lecture hopefully provides a world-wide whirlwind tour and explanation – not of course forgetting Walthamstow’s very own William Morris Gallery and Brangwyn Gift.

Entry via the main entrance of Walthamstow Town Hall. The event takes place in the main foyer.

Image: Portrait of Sir Frank Brangwyn (1921), Ernest Stephen Lumsden 

Intergenerational Storytelling: Heritage, Memory, and Design

Bridging Histories Workshop

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 8 February 2025

Join the Everyday Muslim Heritage and Archive Initiative for an engaging workshop at William Morris Gallery. Explore how heritage, memory, and design connect across generations. Uncover links to Islamic design, heritage, or craft through your stories or a personal object.

This hands-on session invites you to share narratives, reflect on the influence of William Morris, and design a pattern inspired by your stories or objects. Your creation will form part of an artistic map of Waltham Forest, showcasing Muslim and broader community arts while celebrating the borough’s diversity.

All materials provided— just bring your story or object!

The Bridging Histories Workshops are devised to bring people together to explore and celebrate the connections between William Morris’s designs, Islamic art, and the diverse cultural heritage of Waltham Forest. This is 1 of 3 workshops taking place on the 1st, 6th and 8th February. See the related events link below for more information.

Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events and activities programme.

Supporters and partners

Conversations Through Art

Bridging Histories Workshop

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 6 February 2025

Join Everyday Muslim at William Morris Gallery for an inspiring event celebrating the intersection of faith, art, and local culture in Walthamstow.

Engage in thought-provoking discussions with artists, scholars, and community members. Hear local Muslim artists and historians share their experiences of living and working in Walthamstow, the influence of William Morris, and how their faith shapes their art.

Take part in reflective conversations and a hands-on, creative activity. Design a pattern inspired by your personal stories or objects and contribute to a collaborative artistic map of Waltham Forest, blending Muslim and community art styles with Morris’s influence.

Celebrate Waltham Forest’s rich heritage through art, with all creations preserved in the Everyday Muslim Archive.

All materials provided—just bring your creativity and story! Don’t miss this unique chance to connect, reflect, and create something meaningful with your community.

The Bridging Histories Workshops are devised to bring people together to explore and celebrate the connections between William Morris’s designs, Islamic art, and the diverse cultural heritage of Waltham Forest. This is 1 of 3 workshops taking place on the 1st, 6th and 8th February. See the related events link below for more information.

Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events and activities programme.

Supporters and partners

Connecting Morris’s Art with Art from Our Homes

Bridging Histories Workshop

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 1 February 2025

This inspiring event invites you to bring personal items, photographs, or stories connected to your Islamic or local roots. Together, we’ll explore these connections alongside artefacts from the exhibition, create museum labels, and design patterns inspired by your objects. Your contributions will form part of a collaborative artistic map of Waltham Forest, reflecting the diverse styles of Muslim and broader community arts and the timeless influence of Morris’s designs.

Whether you’re an artist or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of storytelling through art, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to connect with others, explore heritage and faith, and contribute to a community art project that will be archived with the Everyday Muslim Archive.

All materials will be provided—bring your creativity and your story! Let’s celebrate the art found in our homes and create something extraordinary together.

The Bridging Histories Workshops are devised to bring people together to explore and celebrate the connections between William Morris’s designs, Islamic art, and the diverse cultural heritage of Waltham Forest. This is 1 of 3 workshops taking place on the 1st, 6th and 8th February. See the related events link below for more information.

Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events and activities programme.

Supporters and partners

The Thread of Connection

An Arts Canteen event in collaboration with the Mokhmāl Project

WORKSHOPS

Tuesday 28 January 2025

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT

Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events programme.

This hands-on workshop with Dana Khoury invites participants to explore the intricate relationship between textiles, patterns, and cultural heritage, drawing inspiration from the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World exhibition. Through the lens of William Morris’s work, known for its rich detail and connection to both Islamic art and design traditions, participants will delve into the beauty and craftsmanship of fabrics and patterns as key storytelling elements.

During the workshop, we will examine some of the materials on display, particularly the fabrics that influenced Morris’s designs, alongside similar textiles and prints from the Islamic world. Dana will share insights into the materials they use in their own practice.

Participants will then create their own mixed-material accessory or fabric collages, combining Morris-inspired patterns with elements of Islamic artistry and fabrics (for example velvet, damask etc..) coins, beads, and other elements, all of which help tell a story of cultural exchange, history, and identity. By blending these influences with collected materials, each participant will infuse their personal style into their creation.

Artist Biography

Dana Khoury, a Palestinian artist and fashion designer from Nazareth, draws inspiration from traditional folk and heritage of the Mediterranean basin. The concept of identity is central to her diverse body of work, particularly as a Palestinian. Her cultural production stems from research into the origins and histories of Arab peoples, as well as the region’s rich cultural and urban heritage.

Through her projects, Khoury highlights the role of fashion in influencing individuals and communities, particularly in challenging systems of societal norms, striving for cultural recovery, and fostering self-expression and collective identity. She is deeply interested in examining the impact of colonialism and globalization on the art forms of indigenous peoples in the Mediterranean region.

Dana is the founder of the Mokhmāl Project, was born and raised in Nazareth and graduated from the Academia Italiana in Florence. Her work celebrates fashion’s transformative power in shaping paths of resistance and challenging inherited concepts of identity. The Mokhmāl Project aims to highlight the original sources of the materials and items used in her designs, emphasizing their cultural significance and history. By incorporating vintage and antique materials she has meticulously collected, Khoury not only extends the lifespan of these pieces but also weaves sustainability and heritage into

Image: Arts Canteen

Supporters and partners

Flowerpot textile design

Miniature Painting Workshop

with Fatima Zahra Hassan

WORKSHOPS

Sunday 26 January 2025

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT.

Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events programme.

William Morris Gallery is delighted to announce a special one-day workshop with visual artist Fatima Zahra Hassan of FZH Atelier. Fatima specialises in Asian and Middle Eastern manuscript painting and will lead you in this taster session.

Participants will be given a tour of our latest exhibition, William Morris and Art from the Islamic World by curator Rowan Bain and then guided by Fatima to create their own miniature painting.

There will be a break for lunch. There is a café on site at William Morris Gallery, as well as a choice of local eateries within a short walk.

Suitable for age 16+

Read more about the School of Miniature Painting

Image: Flowerpot printed cotton, designed by William Morris 1883

William Morris & Art from the Islamic World at the V&A

75th Anniversary Talk

OFF SITE

Friday 7 February 2025

William Morris had a profound interest in Islamic art, collecting objects including carpets, textiles, metalwork and ceramics from regions like Iran, Syria and Turkey. He advised the V&A on acquiring Islamic art, including the Ardabil Carpet on display at the museum’s South Kensington site.

To mark the launch of the groundbreaking new exhibition, William Morris and Art from the Islamic World, Max Donnelly (Curator of Furniture, V&A) will chair a discussion with the show’s co-curators Rowan Bain (Principal Curator, William Morris Gallery) and Qaisra M. Khan (Curator of Islamic Art, The Khalili Collections). They will share fresh insights into Morris’s collection and its impact on his designs.

William Morris Gallery celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2025. This is the first in a series of anniversary talks being held at institutions across the UK during this landmark year.

Image: Nicola Tree © William Morris Gallery

 

William Morris & Art from the Islamic World at the V&A

75th Anniversary Talk (LIVESTREAM)

ONLINE

Friday 7 February 2025

William Morris had a profound interest in Islamic art, collecting objects including carpets, textiles, metalwork and ceramics from regions like Iran, Syria and Turkey. He advised the V&A on acquiring Islamic art, including the Ardabil Carpet on display at the museum’s South Kensington site.

To mark the launch of the groundbreaking new exhibition, William Morris and Art from the Islamic World, Max Donnelly (Curator of Furniture, V&A) will chair a discussion with the show’s co-curators Rowan Bain (Principal Curator, William Morris Gallery) and Qaisra M. Khan (Curator of Islamic Art, The Khalili Collections). They will share fresh insights into Morris’s collection and its impact on his designs.

William Morris Gallery celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2025. This is the first in a series of anniversary talks being held at institutions across the UK during this landmark year.

 

 

Uncovering Similarities

William Morris and Art from the Islamic World

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Friday 29 November 2024

NOW SOLD OUT!

Part of the William Morris & Art from the Islamic World events and activities programme.

Take a deep dive into the themes of the exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World  with three introductory talks about the links between William Morris’s designs and the Islamic art that inspired him.

With the exhibition’s co-curators Rowan Bain and Qaisra Khan, and Navid Akhtar, producer and journalist.

The talks are followed by a discussion, Q&A and special curator-led tours of the exhibition.

Timings

  • 6pm: Doors open
  • 6.30pm: Introductory tour (optional)
  • 7pm: Talk with Navid Akhtar
  • 7.20pm: Talk with Qaisra Khan
  • 7.40pm: Talk with Rowan Bain
  • 8pm: Discussion followed by audience Q&A

About the speakers

Rowan Bain is the Principal Curator of William Morris Gallery, where she oversees the collections, exhibitions and public programme. She is the co-curator for the exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World. Past exhibitions include Althea McNish: Colour is Mine (2022), Kehinde Wiley: The Yellow Wallpaper (2020) and May Morris: Art & Life (2017). She is the author of William Morris’s Flowers (2019), co-author of May Morris Arts & Crafts Designer (2017) and contributed to Women Pioneers of the Arts and Crafts Movement (2024).

Qaisra M. Khan has a degree in Law and an MPhil in Oriental studies both from the University of Cambridg, and an MA in Islamic Art and Architecture from SOAS, University of London. She worked for the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and co-curated the groundbreaking exhibition Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam at the British Museum in 2012. Qaisra has lectured and broadcast widely on Islamic art and since 2014 has been a curator at the Khalili Collection in London. She is co-curator of the exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World.

Navid Akhtar is an award winning Producer and Broadcast journalist, with over 25 years of experience in UK television and broadcasting for the BBC, Channel 4, BBC Radio 4 and the World Service. Navid was a Senior Producer on the 2013 Ramadan Season at Channel 4, producing a series of 30 Ramadan reflections and the first ever-Muslim ‘Hipster’ call to prayer, broadcast on UK television. In 2015 he founded Alchemiya.com, a streaming platform that showcases Muslim art, culture and history. In 2009 he developed and presented William Morris and the Muslims ‘on BBC Radio 4.

Free Community Tours: William Morris & Art from the Islamic World

TOURS

Saturday 9 November 2024 - Sunday 9 March 2025

THESE ARE NOW FULLY BOOKED UNTIL THE END OF THE EXHIBITION RUN. SEE THE WHAT’S ON FOR DATES AND TIMES OF FREE-DROP IN TOURS.

William Morris & Art from the Islamic World is the first exhibition to explore the influence of art from the Islamic world on William Morris, one of Britain’s most important nineteenth century designers and thinkers. Curated by Rowan Bain, Principal Curator, William Morris Gallery, and Qaisra M. Khan, Curator of Islamic Art. Read more about the exhibition.

We are welcoming local community groups, faith groups and charities for free tours of the exhibition.

  • Tours are available Monday to Friday
  • Exhibition opens 9 November 2024 and closes 9 March 2025
  • The Gallery is closed to the public on Mondays, should your group wish to visit at a quieter time
  • Group capacity: 15 people
  • Free of charge

NOTE: These tours are being organised specifically for existing groups and organisations within the community. If you are an individual or a group of friends wishing to attend a free tour, please check our What’s On for the next drop-in curator-led tour. These are also free of charge and do not require a booking.

Image: Exhibition photography by Nicola Tree for William Morris Gallery

Patterned cushion cover, Turkish, in red and gold

Special curator-led tour of William Morris & Art from the Islamic World

TOURS

Wednesday 5 March 2025

The first exhibition to explore the influence of art from the Islamic world on William Morris, one of Britain’s most important nineteenth century designers and thinkers. A principal founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris was responsible for producing hundreds of patterns for wallpapers, furnishing fabrics, carpets and embroideries, helping to introduce a new aesthetic into British interiors. While it has long been acknowledged that Morris was inspired by Islamic art, this is the first exhibition to examine this important aspect of his artistic journey in depth.

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Cushion cover (çatma), 17th century, Bursa, Turkey (Ottoman). © Birmingham Museums Trust

 

Special curator-led tour of William Morris & Art from the Islamic World

TOURS

Wednesday 12 February 2025

The first exhibition to explore the influence of art from the Islamic world on William Morris, one of Britain’s most important nineteenth century designers and thinkers. A principal founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris was responsible for producing hundreds of patterns for wallpapers, furnishing fabrics, carpets and embroideries, helping to introduce a new aesthetic into British interiors. While it has long been acknowledged that Morris was inspired by Islamic art, this will be the first exhibition to examine this important aspect of his artistic journey in depth.

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Plate, early 17th century, Iznik, Turkey (Ottoman), fritware, polychrome underglaze painted, glazed. © The Society of Antiquaries of London (Kelmscott Manor)

Special curator-led tour of William Morris & Art from the Islamic World

TOURS

Wednesday 22 January 2025

The first exhibition to explore the influence of art from the Islamic world on William Morris, one of Britain’s most important nineteenth century designers and thinkers. A principal founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris was responsible for producing hundreds of patterns for wallpapers, furnishing fabrics, carpets and embroideries, helping to introduce a new aesthetic into British interiors. While it has long been acknowledged that Morris was inspired by Islamic art, this will be the first exhibition to examine this important aspect of his artistic journey in depth.

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Casket, 19th century, Iran (Qajar), steel with gilt decoration. © The Society of Antiquaries of London (Kelmscott Manor)

Reclaiming Narratives Through Art: Black History Month

Waltham Forest Twinning Association

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 12 October 2024

This free art workshop celebrates this year’s Black History Month theme: Reclaiming Narratives

With artists Sharon Foster and Jacqueline McFarlane, explore different techniques like drawing, collage and printing, inspired by contemporary Black British artists, while interacting with a curated collection of historical and modern images that aim to challenge traditional representations.

All materials will be provided. Takes place in the Learning rooms on the top floor of William Morris Gallery. Ask at front desk on arrival.

The project is funded by the Fellowship Fund – London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Waltham Forest Twinning Association are part of the William Morris Community Residency programme.

Munstead: Iris and Lupin Boarder c.1911

Arts and Crafts and Gardens

Friends of the William Morris Gallery Talk

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Tuesday 12 November 2024

John Ruskin and William Morris spearheaded the movement that became known as Arts and Crafts, which embraced all aspects of art and life, including garden design. Richard Bisgrove will discuss the contributions of pioneering Arts and Crafts designers William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll, to the making of gardens, and to the improvement of human life, the central aim of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

By Richard Bisgrove: The Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll, (1992) and William Robinson: The Wild Gardener, (2008)

Image: Munstead: Iris and Lupin Border c.1911

A forest in autumn

Saving the People’s Forest

Friends of the William Morris Gallery Talk

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Thursday 17 October 2024

In July 1871 thousands of Londoners gathered on the southern edge of Epping Forest to take part in a protest demonstration. A campaign was beginning – one that the historian and ecologist Oliver Rackham saw as the origin of the modern British conservation movement.

The struggle to preserve Epping Forest and other commons from unchecked housing development across London had its watershed moment that day. The demonstration was the turning point for a popular struggle which was to contribute to a change in the law – the 1878 Epping Forest Act .
This story, set within the wider narrative of campaigns to preserve the London commons, is told in this talk by east London historian Mark Gorman. The focus here is not on the metropolitan upper middle-class campaigners, but instead on the grass roots movement whose popular protests helped steer the campaign towards its successful conclusion.

Together with other metropolitan contests, the struggle to save Epping Forest contributed significantly to what has become the ‘right to roam’.

Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

Mark Gorman: Saving the People’s Forest: Open spaces, enclosure and popular protest in mid-Victorian London is published by University of Hertfordshire Press.

Photography: Roger Huddle

Portrait of Sir Frank Brangwyn (1921)

Tulips & Peacocks. William Morris and Art from the Islamic World

Friends of the William Morris Gallery Talk

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Tuesday 10 December 2024

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT

In this talk, Rowan Bain, Principal Curator at the William Morris Gallery), will discuss her new book, published by Yale University Press to coincide with the Gallery’s exhibition William Morris and Art from the Islamic World. Rowan will provide insight into the book’s diverse perspectives on contextualising Morris’s role as a collector of Islamic art, and the enduring importance of recognising the contributions of various cultures to the evolution of his design and craftsmanship.

Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

Image: © The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

Educators’ Networking Evening

SPECIAL EVENTS

Tuesday 1 October 2024

We’d love to share our ideas for a brand new workshop which will be inspired by our new exhibition opening later this term William Morris & Art from the Islamic World.

The event will consist of a short outline of our current offering for schools and a preview of our next exhibition which opens in November 2024. Followed by a discussion and collaboration session with artist Sba Shaikh and learning officer Sarah Vallois, giving you the opportunity to have an input on the content of the new workshop.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Image: Dove and Rose, Woven Wool © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest

Sunday Mending Club

With Mika Sembongi

WORKSHOPS

Sunday 22 September 2024

Join the Monday Mending Club for a special weekend edition of their weekly mending social on the final day of Art Without Heroes: Mingei. The Walthamstow-based club aims to spread the joy of mending clothing and textiles. It is run by artist, designer, maker and mender Mika Sembongi.

Come along on Sunday 22 September and bring along any items in need of repair. The mending club will meet in the Acanthus Room on the second floor of the building. This is a FREE drop in event for adults.

Food and drink is available from Deeney’s Café and can be brought up to the Acanthus Room during the event.

Read more about the Monday Mending Club.

 

About William Morris Design Line

William Morris Gallery is excited to be part of this year’s William Morris Design Line, which shines a light on the richness of Waltham Forest’s past and present creative community and encourages visitors to discover, learn and interact with an incredible range of design, making and creative activity.

The William Morris Design Line was created by Wood Street Walls in 2020, as part of the Local Trust’s Creative Civic Change Programme in collaboration with William Morris Big Local. It helped establish a community-led design route through Walthamstow as part of London Design Festival.  The 2024 edition, programmed in partnership with Waltham Forest Council, will extend to Lea Bridge for the first time to showcase designers and makers across the Argall Industrial Area. It is a Design District for London Design Festival 2024.

Supporters and partners

Wood Engraving Inspired by Hokusai

With Waltham Forest Adult Learning Service

WORKSHOPS

Friday 2 August 2024

Join the Waltham Forest Adult Learning Service for an inspiring morning at William Morris Gallery, beginning with a short tour of the Art without Heroes: Mingei exhibition, showcasing exquisite Japanese art and crafts. Following the tour, immerse yourself in a hands-on wood engraving workshop inspired by the iconic works of artist Hokusai, (whose work is on display in the gallery) known for his famous print – The Great Wave.

What you will learn:

  • The history of wood engraving
  • The use and maintenance of essential tools
  • How to transfer a drawing to a block
  • Techniques for rolling ink and printing a proof from a block
  • Making marks with engraving tools
  • Choosing and preparing paper
  • Selecting a subject for inspiration

Please bring:

  • An apron or an old shirt to protect your clothing

Times:

  • 10.00am – Arrive
  • 10.15 – 10.45am – Tour by gallery staff
  • 10.45am – 1.15pm – Wood engraving workshop

This workshop is a collaborative partnership between the Waltham Forest Adult Learning Service and the William Morris Gallery. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to explore traditional Japanese art and learn the beautiful craft of wood engraving.

Image: Tago Beach, (near) Ejiri on the Tōkaidō Highway, Katsushika. Hokusai (1750-1849), coloured woodblock print, 1830-33

Mingei on the Move Late

Tours, live art performance & making demo

SPECIAL EVENTS

Thursday 29 August 2024

An evening exploring and expanding on the themes of Art Without Heroes: Mingei. 

6.30pm & 7.30pm – Exhibition tours: Korea and the Mingei Movement, by Dasom Sung

Join us for a special tour of the exhibition, examining Korea’s influence on the Mingei movement. Korea and its crafts played a crucial role in the early development of Mingei theory, as key figures in the movement sought an alternative aesthetic to counter the modernisation and Westernisation of Japanese crafts. This tour explores the activities of Mingei theorists and artists in collecting and researching Korean crafts and establishing the Korean Folk Arts Gallery in 1924 in Seoul. It takes visitors beyond the objects on display to understand the relationship between the Mingei movement and Korea within the historical context of Japan’s colonisation of Korea from 1910 to 1945.

This tour has been specially commissioned by the Gallery and written by Dasom Sung, Assistant Curator at the V&A and contributor to the book Mingei: Art Without Heroes that accompanies the exhibition.

7pm  – Live art performance with Moe Asari

Moe Asari’s Auto Exotic – Japanning explores the perception of Japanese identity in Britain and cultural hybridity through the craft of japanning, a British and European imitation of East Asian lacquerware. Reacting and engaging with Art Without Heroes: Mingei, Asari critically examines the principles of beauty in everyday things by Yanagi Sōetsu. The performance involves a video essay reflecting the process of interpretation of the artist’s version of japanning, alongside a demonstration of the action of japanning an object. 

8pm – Making demonstration with Kaori Hirano

A unique opportunity to witness Kaori Hirano demonstrate how to create traditional Japanese Tatsuke trousers. Hirano and her brand Itoshiro Yohin specialises in natural dyeing and pattern making passed down by the community of Itoshiro and is fascinated by the shape of Japanese textiles. For Hirano, the pattern and its shapes hold the historic wisdom of Japanese artisans. The demonstration will explain in detail how to pattern cut the Tatsuke trousers on display in the exhibition. In Japanese with in-person English translation.

6pm – 9pm Make Your Own Self-led Mingei CraftsCafé

Take part in some simple self-led Mingei crafting activities whilst you have a drink and relax in our Café:

Twine Woven Cups – Weaving with natural materials is one of the many crafts associated with the Mingei movement. Collect a paper cup and twine from one of our baskets and follow the instructions provided to weave your own cup.

Sashiko bookmark – Using a simple running and back stitch, embroider your own bookmark using traditional Japanese sashiko patterns. All materials provided, along with some instructions and patterns ideas to inspire you.

Doors open at 6pm and Deeney’s Café will be open for organic beers, wines, snacks and other refreshments.

This event forms part of the Mingei on the Move public programme, designed in response to the William Morris Gallery’s Art Without Heroes: Mingei exhibition. The programme spotlights the diasporic nature of Mingei and why artists from all cultures and backgrounds are continually inspired by the movement’s ethos. Through this, we hope to inspire our audiences to engage reflexively with Mingei and apply its ideas of harmonious balance between people, objects and their surroundings to their own daily lives. 

Artist biographies

Dasom Sung is Assistant Curator of Korean Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She was a lecturer at Seoul National University from 2020 to 2021 and is currently a doctoral candidate there, researching the design and material culture of factory-made porcelains in Korea. Her research interests lie in the history of materials, the government’s craft export policies of Korea and Japan, and East Asian modern design history. Sung’s recent publications include Chilbo: Korean Traditional Enamelling (Korea Craft & Design Foundation, 2022). 

Moe Asari is a visual artist with a research-based practice often using the process of making as a medium. Her work consists of site responsive, experiential installations and performances which explore the material quality of connection between place and multi-cultural identity alongside ideas of  belonging. Her background in product and spatial design with her positionality of being a second generation British Japanese person, is reflected in physical making, craft processes and domestic objects used as tools to research and investigate plural narratives alongside existing popularised narratives of identity and place.

Kaori Hirano is the founder of sustainable fashion brand Itoshiro Yohin. Her work is profiled by Yoshizawa Tomo in the exhibtion’s accompanying book Mingei: Art Without Heroes:

“Itoshiro village is a community of 220 people, high up in the mountains in Gifu prefecture. Over a decade ago, Hirano Kaori (b.1981) and her husband Akihide moved to Itoshiro and founded Itoshiro Yohin Ten, an indigo dye studio, workshop and gallery, with the aim of learning and preserving the region’s textile craft traditions.”

 

Brewery image - making beer

In Conversation with Pete Brown

With Hadrian Garrard

OFF SITE

Wednesday 18 September 2024

DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. MORE INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN A NEW DATE IS CONFIRMED.

Join Hadrian Garrard, Director of William Morris Gallery, for a special conversation with Pete Brown, award-winning food and drink writer and author of Craft: An Argument, winner of Best Beer Book at the North American Guild of Beer Writers Award.  

At this special event – taking place in a craft brewery just down the road from the childhood home of William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement – they will talk about what might make something ‘craft’ (or not). Also up for grabs are the changing nature of work, to what extent how a thing is made affects the thing itself, the advance of the robots and when is a nice drink just a nice drink.  

The event will take place in Exale Brewery and Taproom – an independent craft brewery in Walthamstow. 

Times:

6-7pm – doors open

7-8pm – talk

About Exale 

Exale is a beloved neighbourhood hub for good vibes. They cultivate a feeling of unity through music, dance and incredible craft beer brewed on-site.

Exale Brewery and Taproom, Unit 2C, Uplands Business Park, E17 5QL

About William Morris Design Line

William Morris Gallery is excited to be part of this year’s William Morris Design Line, which shines a light on the richness of Waltham Forest’s past and present creative community and encourages visitors to discover, learn and interact with an incredible range of design, making and creative activity.

The William Morris Design Line was created by Wood Street Walls in 2020, as part of the Local Trust’s Creative Civic Change Programme in collaboration with William Morris Big Local. It helped establish a community-led design route through Walthamstow as part of London Design Festival.  The 2024 edition, programmed in partnership with Waltham Forest Council, will extend to Lea Bridge for the first time to showcase designers and makers across the Argall Industrial Area. It is a Design District for London Design Festival 2024.

Supporters and partners

Ercol, Walthamstow and a family business

A talk with Henry Tadros

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Saturday 21 September 2024

We are delighted to welcome Henry Tadros, Chairman of Ercol and great grandson of its founder Lucian Ercolani. Henry will speak about the brand’s relationship to Walthamstow and how a furniture company has continued to thrive for over 100 years.

Ercolani’s family emigrated to Walthamstow in the 1890s and Lucian studied furniture making at the Shoreditch Technical Institute before founding Ercol. Henry is the fourth-generation Chairman of this family business. Tadros will speak about running Ercol, a company still based in the UK and committed to skilled craftsmanship and sustainability principles.

With furniture design and manufacturing having something of a renaissance in the local area, this talk will address the challenges and opportunities for the continued production of high-quality furniture in Britain, how this links to the principles of both William Morris and the Gallery’s current exhibition Art Without Heroes: Mingei, and the factors that have contributed to this iconic company’s enduring success.

Hosted by Hadrian Garrard, Director of William Morris Gallery. The talk will be followed by a Q&A and a chance to see Art Without Heroes: Mingei on its closing weekend.

  • 6.30pm: Doors open
  • 7pm – 8pm: Talk
  • 8pm – 9pm: Q&A, drinks & private view

About Henry Tadros

Henry joined Ercol in 2010 and, like his father before him, began on the factory floor working across all departments before working in the office and founding L.Ercolani, the refined modernist design brand from the Ercol family.

About William Morris Design Line

William Morris Gallery is excited to be part of this year’s William Morris Design Line, which shines a light on the richness of Waltham Forest’s past and present creative community and encourages visitors to discover, learn and interact with an incredible range of design, making and creative activity.

The William Morris Design Line was created by Wood Street Walls in 2020, as part of the Local Trust’s Creative Civic Change Programme in collaboration with William Morris Big Local. It helped establish a community-led design route through Walthamstow as part of London Design Festival.  The 2024 edition, programmed in partnership with Waltham Forest Council, will extend to Lea Bridge for the first time to showcase designers and makers across the Argall Industrial Area. It is a Design District for London Design Festival 2024.

Supporters and partners

Open Night: Pearl Home Records

Spoken Vinyl

SPECIAL EVENTS

Thursday 19 September 2024

Drop in to the Gallery for Spoken Vinyl, an Open Night with Pearl Home Records, the record label for DIY experimental music, sound art and spoken word.

Learn about record cutting with a vinyl lathe demo, take part in open mic, create record covers using photo collage, hear spoken word performances by Dominique & Nik, AKA SILKess Demon, Graham Clifford and Ruth Wiggins, and hear a special sound art playlist throughout the evening.

  • 6.45pm – 7.00pm – Vinyl lathe demo
  • 7.00pm – 8.00pm – Poetry open mic (approx. 10 slots – sign up at front door)
  • 8.15pm –8.30pm – Sound art/spoken word by Dom and Nik AKA SILKess Demon
  • 8.30pm – 9.00pm – Poetry sets by Graham Clifford & Ruth Wiggins
  • 6-00pm – 9.00pm –  Special sound art playlist and record cover collage making

Deeney’s Café will be open for organic beers, wines, snacks and other refreshments.

William Morris Gallery is excited to be part of this year’s William Morris Design Line, which shines a light on the richness of Waltham Forest’s past and present creative community and encourages visitors to discover, learn and interact with an incredible range of design, making and creative activity.

The William Morris Design Line was created by Wood Street Walls in 2020, as part of the Local Trust’s Creative Civic Change Programme in collaboration with William Morris Big Local. It helped establish a community-led design route through Walthamstow as part of London Design Festival.  The 2024 edition, programmed in partnership with Waltham Forest Council, will extend to Lea Bridge for the first time to showcase designers and makers across the Argall Industrial Area. It is a Design District for London Design Festival 2024.

Artist biographies

Dominique and Nik co-run Pearl Home Records (founded in 2018), which is a small record label producing vinyl records of spoken word combined with sound art and art house music by various artists. Nik has reconditioned a rare record lathe machine that is able to cut into vinyl and produce a mono quality sound. In addition to hand made vinyl Pearl Home Records broadcast radio shows on Repeater Radio and organise various artist showcase evenings. They also facilitate ‘The Booth of Truth’ which is a portable workshop installation in which participants can record straight to vinyl. Dominique’s visual art is incorporated into the Pearl Home Records aesthetic whilst Nik operates the lathe as well as producing and mastering artists’ works. They are also performers in their own right, currently exploring the intersection of sound art and spoken word. They have previously created folk art in Jesus Licks and country art pop in SILKess Demon. They have worked with The Tate, The Southbank Centre, Blackhorse Road Workshops and Artillery for the Walthamstow Garden Party.

Graham Clifford was born in Portsmouth and grew up in Wiltshire. He studied Fine Art at the Swindon College of Art and Design, then at Middlesex University. At the University of East Anglia, he was awarded a master’s in creative writing. His first, award winning pamphlet collection is Welcome Back to the Country, 2011, published by Seren. Followed by his full-length collection The Hitting Game, in 2014, again by Seren. In January 2017, the Black Light Engine Room published Computer Generated Crash Test Dummies. March 2019, Against the Grain published Well. In Charge of the Gun was the follow up and most recent collection by The Black Light Engine Room in 2021. Graham also produced a poetry single with Pearl Home Records in 2019, featuring selected poems from Well. He currently lives in East London with his partner and two daughters.

Ruth Wiggins is a British poet. She is based in East London but is happiest in the great outdoors, something which deeply informs her work. Her poetry and essays have been published internationally, and her debut collection, The Lost Book of Barkynge was published by Shearsman in 2023 – this lyric history of Barking Abbey is told through the eyes of the women that lived there and has been described as ‘doing for poetry what Wolf Hall did for fiction.’ Ruth also has three pamphlets: Myrtle (Emma Press, 2014); a handful of string (Paekakariki Press, 2020); and Menalhyl (a private letterpress edition of earlier poems, 2023). In 2023 she produced a double single with Pearl Home Records entitled Holy Loaf which included spoken word extracts from The Lost Book of Barkynge.

 

Supporters and partners

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 22 August 2024

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Bowl, Raku type earthenware with clear glaze over decoration painted in enamel colours, Japan, Tokyo, by Tomimoto Kenkichi, 1912. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Flow State Sessions

Creativity & Wellbeing

WELLBEING

Sunday 9 June - Sunday 22 September 2024

The William Morris Gallery is running monthly Flow State Sessions from June to September 2024 for those registered with the NHS Social Prescribing and Talking Therapies service, as well as those already accessing community mental health support groups.   

These sessions will run from 2pm to 4pm on Sundays on the following dates: 9 June, 30 June, 21 July, 11 August and 22 September at the Gallery.

Run by art therapist Shan Rixon who is experienced in using the arts for wellbeing, Shan’s aim is to create a calm, accessible and supportive space, where participants feel at ease to learn new skills and inspired to nurture their creativity.     

Each session will include a grounding or mindfulness exercise followed by a crafting activity chosen to activate characteristics of Flow – the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

Upcoming dates:

  • Sunday 21 July, 2 – 4pm: Stitching
  • Sunday 11 August, 2 – 4pm: Pottery
  • Sunday 22 September, 2-4pm: Weaving 

These workshops are designed to support those with low to moderate mental health needs such as mild anxiety or low mood. They are also suitable for those feeling isolated, stressed or overwhelmed due to having an ongoing health condition or being a carer, for example. As we are an arts organisation rather than mental health providers, these workshops are not suitable for those with complex mental health needs or for those in crisis. If you are in need of support, please contact the Waltham Forest Single Point of Access. 

If you have any questions, comments or additional access requirements, please do not hesitate to contact Christine Lai, Public Programme Curator: christine.lai@walthamforest.gov.uk 

These sessions are part of a new strand of programming at William Morris Gallery, focused on embedding health and wellbeing through creativity.

Artist biography

Shan is an art psychotherapist with a background in anthropology and documentary photography. Before training as a therapist, she worked in museums and galleries for many years delivering creative programmes for young people. She enjoys hands-on making such as collage, crochet and ceramics. 

Of mixed heritage, Shan is drawn to conversations around identity, community and social justice. Alongside working on community programmes, she manages a service in the NHS for adults with complex needs, using the arts to support wellbeing. 

With an understanding of the fear some have around using art materials, Shan’s aim is to create a calm, accessible and supportive space, where participants feel at ease to learn new skills and inspired to nurture their creativity.  

Crafting 'setta' - traditional Japanese sandals

Seppuku Pistols: Geta Workshop

Make your own!

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Sunday 4 August 2024

Seppuku Pistols are a band who play traditional Japanese instruments such as the taiko drums, the bell, the shamisen and the bamboo flute, with chaotic fervor. Seeing a performance from Seppuku Pistols, in their folk costume and ‘setta’ footwear, is like travelling back in time to the Edo era of 150 years ago. At their guerrilla live performances held throughout Japan, they call out to the public, “We are rebelling against the convenience of modern world and rally for a return to a more simple life.” 

Mr. Suzuki, a member of the Seppuku Pistols, is one of only three ‘setta’ and ‘geta’ footwear craftsmen in Japan today. Following the Seppuku Pistols performance at 12pm, he will host a talk and demonstration on the history of ‘geta’ and ‘setta’ (types of Japanese sandal) and then lead a making workshop.

All materials are provided at this workshop – you’ll learn how to make geta that fit you and keep your feet healthy! This workshop is for adults (age 18+).

About the artists

Seppuku Pistols was started by four ex-punks because of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear power plant explosion in 2011. Their very first performance was on the line of the no-entry-zone around the nuclear power plant. Since then, they have been “rebelling against the deceptive modernisation in the indigenous Edo style way” and have about 30 members all over Japan. 

Sepukku Pistols performance

Seppuku Pistols

Performance

Sunday 4 August 2024

Seppuku Pistols play traditional Japanese instruments such as the taiko drums, the bell, the shamisen and the bamboo flute, with chaotic fervor. Seeing a performance from Seppuku Pistols, in their folk costume and ‘setta’ footwear, is like travelling back in time to the Japanese Edo era of 150 years ago. At their guerrilla live performances held throughout Japan, they call out to the public, “We are rebelling against the convenience of modern world and rally for a return to a more simple life.” 

This performance starts at 12pm. We’d recommend arriving at least 10 minutes before the start time.

A ‘geta’ talk and making workshop (for adults) follows this performance at 2pm. Read more and book for this event HERE.

About the artists

Seppuku Pistols was started by four ex-punks because of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear power plant explosion in 2011. Their very first performance was on the line of the no-entry-zone around the nuclear power plant. Since then, they have been “rebelling against the deceptive modernisation in the indigenous Edo style way” and have about 30 members all over Japan. 

Photo of the Art Without Heroes exhibition.

Art Without Heroes: A Conversation on Mingei

At Japan House London

OFF SITE

Wednesday 17 July 2024

William Morris Gallery’s Róisín Inglesby will be joined in conversation by Sam Thorne, Director General & CEO of Japan House London, who has contributed to the major new publication ‘Mingei: Art without Heroes’ by Yale University Press accompanying the exhibition, to explore Mingei’s origins, interpretations and contemporary implications. The conversation will also touch upon the groundbreaking Mingei Film Archive project by filmmaker and producer Marty Gross, which restored and digitized archival film on Japanese craft. Footage from this project is part of the exhibition at William Morris Gallery, and a selection of the Archive’s short films will be shown at Japan House London in July.

After the event, guests are encouraged to visit the Design Discoveries exhibition in the Gallery at Japan House London, which will remain open until 8.30pm. Here, visitors can view Yanagi Sori’s Mingei cutlery on display alongside further contemporary design concepts.

Please note that filming and photography may take place at this event.

Family Day at William Morris Gallery

Volunteer Open Day

Join our volunteering team

SPECIAL EVENTS

Sunday 23 June 2024

Whether you want to learn a new skill, gain experience to add to your CV or take part in something valuable for the community in your spare time, volunteering could be for you. The Gallery’s volunteering programme caters for everyone from beginners to experts (aged 18 and over). You do not need to have any experience of museums and galleries to become part of the volunteer team

Come along on Sunday 23 June for the Gallery’s Volunteer Open Day. An opportunity to meet the William Morris Gallery team and find out more about the different volunteer opportunities available. There are currently roles within Learning, Marketing, Events and Front of House.   

Drop in from 10am to 1pm. No need to register or pre-book.

If you are interested in volunteering but are unable to attend the open day, please register your interest by emailing: sarah.vallois@walthamforest.gov.uk  

Read more about the Gallery’s volunteering programme.

Portrait of Olivia Laing

In Conversation

With Olivia Laing & Jeremy Deller

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Saturday 6 July 2024

“If Morris saw in the industrialised, stratified and exploitative world of the Victorians ‘sordid, aimless, ugly confusion . . . the dull squalor of civilisation’, imagine what he’d make of the present day. Ecological catastrophe, species collapse, and still the unstoppable obsession with growth, the blind faith in technology as a get-out card. The metaverse, colonies on Mars, microplastics, coups carried out on Twitter: how Morris would have raged and grieved.” Olivia Laing, The Garden Against Time, 2024

Both Olivia Laing and Jeremy Deller are deeply influenced by the utopian socialism of the artist, writer and activist William Morris. In 2015, Deller curated an exhibition about Morris’s work, Love is Enough which brought together his work alongside Andy Warhol’s. In her new book, The Garden Against Time, Laing explores the fertile vision of a common Eden propagated by Morris.

In this special talk at William Morris Gallery, Olivia Laing will be in conversation with Jeremy Deller to discuss Morris’s utopian vision and what it means in our own century of late capitalism and ecological catastrophe.

The event will be chaired by Hadrian Garrard, Director, William Morris Gallery.

  • 6.00pm: Doors open
  • 6.30pm – 7.30pm: Talk and Q&A
  • 7.30pm – 7.45pm: Book signing
  • 7.45pm – 9pm: Drinks and Private View

Olivia Laing is a widely acclaimed writer and critic. She’s the author of seven books, including To the River (2011), The Trip to Echo Spring (2013), The Lonely City (2016) and Everybody (2021). She’s a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2018 was awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty-one languages. Laing writes on art and culture for the Guardian, Financial Times and New York Times, among many other publications. She’s written catalogue essays on a variety of contemporary artists, including Andy Warhol, Agnes Martin, Derek Jarman, Wolfgang Tillmans and Chantal Joffe. Her collected essays on art, Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, were published in 2020.

Portrait: Sandra Mickiewicz

Jeremy Deller studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute and at Sussex University. He won the Turner Prize in 2004 for his work Memory Bucket and represented Britain in the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. His projects over the past two decades, such as Battle of Orgreave (2001),We’re Here Because We’re Here (2016) as well as the documentary Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984-1992( 2019) have influenced the conventional map of contemporary art. In 2015 he curated the exhibition Love is Enough: William Morris & Andy Warhol at Modern Art Oxford bringing together iconic and rarely seen works by two giants of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Portrait of Jeremy Deller

Portrait: David Clack

Digital Art by Compiler

What is the value of public digital art and digital making with local people?

E17 Art Trail

LATE EVENT

Thursday 6 June 2024

Together with invited artists and producers, this event explores how digital art and hands-on digital making can help us connect with local places and culture, and engage with each other in meaningful ways. Discussion will delve into how artist-led digital activities can be uniquely supported in the context of art trails and festival models. The panel will also explore the potential of innovative and interactive public art installations to inspire and connect new audiences.

Read more about the event on the E17 Art Trail programme.

About the speakers

Yinka Danmole is a cultural producer interested in cultivating meaningful connections between people and places. He is currently the Creative Director of Abandon Normal Devices and has previously worked for notable cultural organisations such as Mediale, the Manchester International Festival and Creative Black Country.

Jazmin Morris is a Creative Computing Artist and Educator based in Leeds. Her practice interrogates the historical trajectories of modern technology and critically speculates on the evolving landscape of human-computer interaction. Using free and open-source tools, Jazmin crafts participatory digital experiences that challenge power dynamics and hierarchies within cyberspace, with a particular emphasis on the nuanced processes of simulating culture and identity. Despite her critical approach, she retains a fond nostalgia for the early days of the internet and the classic gaming icon, Super Mario 64.

Kristina Pulejkova is a visual artist based in London. Her interdisciplinary practice is informed by science and technology. Kristina’s work explores how the use of technology might lead to greater forms of sustainability in human-nature relationships.

Compiler is a digital art and curation collective based in Walthamstow E17. It is led by Tanya Boyarkina and Oscar Cass-Darweish. They aim to create accessible works and events through which audiences with different levels of technical awareness can delve deeper into digital technologies that shape day-to-day experience.

Doors open at 6.30pm for a 6.45pm start.

Amnesty International UK x Refugee Week

A collaborative art show celebrating home.

LATE EVENT

Thursday 20 June 2024

Join Amnesty International UK for an evening of shared art and celebration at the Gallery.

What does home mean to you? Get involved in a collaborative workshop exploring home, journeys and solidarity, facilitated by artist Tasnim Mahdy.

The whole Gallery will be open late, to explore the collections, Art Without Heroes exhibition and to enjoy a drink at Deeney’s Café (bar). All welcome.

Presented as part of Refugee Week: The world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees. www.refugeeweek.org.uk

The theme for Refugee Week 2024 is “Our Home”. From the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth: everyone is invited to celebrate what our Our Home means to them.

Creative Health Late

For Creativity and Wellbeing Week 2024

LATE EVENT

Thursday 23 May 2024

We’re proud to be taking part in this year’s Creativity and Wellbeing Week. At this special event we’re welcoming two groups, who will be introducing their work in the borough.

In the Café you’ll find SnugArt, a peer supportive community for individuals facing mental health challenges. SnugArt, hosted by CREST Waltham Forest, a local charity with a 29 history of supporting mental health of local residents, offers a safe space for individuals to explore their emotions and experiences through various artistic mediums.
 
On our first floor Landing, local music charity Soundcastle welcomes over 50s wanting to discover how learning to play an instrument and singing can improve mental health. Soundcastle runs regular music sessions to support wellbeing through creative music-making.
 
Meet, chat and enjoy a taster session with each group.
 
6-8pm. Free. Drop-in sessions.
 
This event launches a new strand of programming at William Morris Gallery, focused on embedding health and wellbeing through creativity. Watch out for more events and activities this summer. Organised in partnership with London Borough of Waltham Forest Public Health Social Prescribing team.

Dementia-Friendly Tour

of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

SPECIAL EVENTS

Monday 13 May 2024

Art Without HeroesMingei is the most wide-ranging exhibition in the UK dedicated to Mingei, the influential folk-craft movement that developed in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s. With works including ceramics, woodwork, paper, toys, textiles, photography and film, the exhibition will incorporate unseen pieces from significant private collections in the UK and Japan, along with museum loans and historic footage from the Mingei Film Archive.

Organised in partnership with Waltham Forest Council’s Intensive Dementia Outreach Service as part of Dementia Action Week 2024 (13th – 19th May), William Morris Gallery would like to invite people affected by dementia to a ticket-only curator-led tour of this exciting new exhibition.

The Gallery staff have received Dementia Friends training and a member of the Outreach Service will be on-hand to support the tour.

Please note that this event is free and is ticket only.

Film Night

The Lotus and the Swan

FILM

Thursday 27 June 2024

For the Gallery’s June Film Night, see Nirmal Chander’s documentary The Lotus and the Swan, spotlighting the inspiring tale of Sardar Gurcharan Singh, founder of Delhi Blue Pottery in India. Afterwards, you will have a chance to see his work on display as part of our Art Without Heroes: Mingei exhibition.

The Lotus and the Swan (2023)

Directed by Nirmal Chander. Produced by Delhi Blue Pottery Trust.

“​Hands destined to mould a thing of beauty​”.

Thus wrote James Cousins, eminent writer, of a young Sikh potter he met in Japan in 1922. The film celebrates the life and legacy of S​ardar Gurcharan Singh​, the father of studio pottery in India. Daddyji, as he came to be fondly called, introduced ​the ​underpaid and undervalued craft of pottery to the imagination of the ​Indian ​​mass​es​ with plates, jugs and teapots, ensur​ing that ​colour and beauty ​are accessible to everybody.

71 mins. With English subtitles.

About Nirmal Chander:

Nirmal Chander has worked in the field of non-fiction since 1996 as editor, director and producer. He has directed more than 10 documentaries and has over thirty editing credits. His films have travelled to many international festivals, winning multiple awards and receiving appreciation for their choice and presentation of characters, storytelling skills and humanistic approach. Some of his films have been telecast on BBC Online and Indian TV channels such as NDTV and Doordarshan. He is the recipient of three National Film Awards from the President of India for excellence in cinema and his documentary Moti Bagh was an Oscar entry from India in 2019.

Nirmal Chander
Nirmal Chander, Director

This event forms part of the Mingei on the Move public programme, designed in response to the Gallery’s Art Without Heroes: Mingei exhibition. The programme spotlights the diasporic nature of Mingei and why artists from all cultures and backgrounds are continually inspired by the movement’s ethos.

Image: Still from The Lotus and the Swan, Nirmal Chander

Sashiko embroidery in a circular pattern (Japanese technique) joining 3 pieces of material together (3 shades of blue fabric)

Sashiko & Sip

Hosted by Mika Sembongi

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 25 April 2024

Literally meaning ‘little stabs’, sashiko is a method of sewing together one or more layers of cloth with running stitch. Used to reinforce fabric to make it last longer, the technique is characterised by distinctive stitching patterns. 

Hosted by Mika Sembongi of the Monday Mending Club, participants have the opportunity to explore various sashiko patterns, spanning from AI-generated William Morris designs to the traditional Uroko and Shippō stitches. All alongside some sake or a non-alcoholic substitute. 

Please book for your one-hour sashiko slot (6pm, 7pm or 8pm). You are welcome to come any time between 6pm – 9pm as there will also be a chance to see the exhibition, have a drink and try some basket weaving on our first-floor lounge. 

About the artist:

Born in Japan, Mika brings Manga influences to her hand printed designs and is highly skilled in the traditional mending technique, sashiko. Mika co-runs The Monday Mending Club, a monthly social sewing night at Big Penny Social, and holds monthly family sewing mornings at Leyton Green Studios, which aim to encourage families to enjoy mending clothing together as a weekend activity. 

Anti-Poetry Workshop

With WalthamScribe

WORKSHOPS

Sunday 7 April 2024

Are you ready to break free from the conventional boundaries of poetry and explore the captivating world of anti-poetry?

Join WalthamScribe for an immersive workshop at William Morris Gallery, designed for adults seeking to embrace the unconventional.

Anti-poetry is a revolutionary form of expression that defies traditional poetic norms. It celebrates the beauty in chaos, the profound in the mundane, and the rebellion against conventional language structures. Through anti-poetry, participants have the freedom to experiment, challenge, and redefine the art of verse.

Led by local anti-hero Fletch Fletcher.

Organised by WalthamScribe, currently in residency at William Morris Gallery. WalthamScribe is a creative writing group that explores different forms of storytelling in guided workshop sessions around Waltham Forest.

Mingei Art Without Heroes Book Cover

Mingei / Art Without Heroes – Panel discussion

London Craft Week 2024

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Wednesday 15 May 2024

Join us for an exciting evening exploring and expanding on the themes of the book, Mingei / Art Without Heroes. 

Originating in Japan in the 1920s, the Mingei movement was based on the principle that beauty is inherent in handmade, everyday objects created by anonymous craftspeople. Spearheaded by the philosopher Yanagi Sōetsu, and potters Hamada Shōji and Bernard Leach, the movement sought to elevate the status of folk craft in a rapidly modernising society.

Mingei / Art Without Heroes covers a wide range of objects associated with Mingei, from ceramics and furniture to textiles and toys, alongside a series of profiles of leading designers and makers working in Japan today. Contributors from a variety of backgrounds explore Mingei’s origins, interpretations and contemporary implications, shedding new light on the ways in which the principles of the movement remain relevant to today’s personal, social and environmental concerns.

This event forms part of the Mingei on the Move public programme, designed in response to the Gallery’s Art Without Heroes: Mingei exhibition. The programme spotlights the diasporic nature of Mingei and why artists from all cultures and backgrounds are continually inspired by the movement’s ethos.

  • 6pm – 6:30pm Doors Open
  • 6:30pm – 7:30pm Panel Discussion
  • 7:30pm – 9pm Private View

Mingei / Art Without Heroes is edited by Roisin Inglesby and published by Yale University Press. Read more about the book here.

Tomo Yoshizawa is a journalist and cultural translator, based in Japan.

In collaboration with The Japan Foundation.

Supporters and partners

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 19 September 2024

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Ikupasuy (Ainu language, prayer stick). Image © National Museums Scotland

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 25 July 2024

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: From the collections of the Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts.

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 27 June 2024

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Bowl, Raku type earthenware with clear glaze over decoration painted in enamel colours, Japan, Tokyo, by Tomimoto Kenkichi, 1912. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 16 May 2024

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Six-fold screen, stencilled and resist-dyed silk on a wooden frame showing a map of Okinawa, by Serizawa Keisuke (1895-1984), Japan, ca.1940. © Serizawa Keiko. Victoria and Albert Museum

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 25 April 2024

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Bowl, Kawai Kanjiro. © National Museums Scotland 

A woman reading at a workshop

Creative Writing Workshop & Book Club

With Waltham Forest Twinning Association

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 16 March 2024

Waltham Forest Twinning Association is holding monthly Creative Writing & Book Club workshops at the Gallery in 2024.

Participants are asked to bring their life experiences from the British, African Caribbean diaspora and Northeast London. These experiences will be shared through spoken and written word, leading to performance and publication opportunities. Creative writing will be followed by a book club ‘with a difference’ where you can discuss and share your favourite books. For all ages.

Facilitator: Jane Ulysses Grell – storyteller, author

Times: 12-2.30pm Creative Writing Workshop, 3-4pm Book Club ‘with a difference’

Where: Acanthus Room, William Morris Gallery

Travel: You are encouraged to use public transport, such as bus 123 or the 34, 97, 215, 275, 357 or SL1 to Bell Corner. Walthamstow Central and Blackhorse Road (Victoria Line) are the nearest tube stations.

Film Screening & Discussion

Telling our Story & The iD Project

FILM

Saturday 9 March 2024

Visit William Morris Gallery for the screening of three films in the Gallery’s Acanthus room on the top floor of the building. The screenings will be followed by a discussion, allowing you the opportunity to share your thoughts and experiences of the subjects raised in the films.

Two short films:

12-30-12.40pm – ‘Telling Our Hurricane Irma Story’ (2019) – Barbuda,10 minutes. The Be Foundation

Trustees from Barbudan based International NGO The Be Foundation, share their Category 5 Hurricane Irma stories in a frank and honest short film, also exposing why they are so passionate about the future of their tiny island in the Caribbean called Barbuda.

12.50-1pm – ‘Telling our Hurricane Maria Story ‘ (2018) – Dominica, 8 minutes. The Waltham Forest Twinning Association

Members and friends of the WF Twinning Association share their stories in a moving short film which captures some of their experiences when they were in Dominica as Category 5 Hurricane Maria struck.

Followed by:

1.15-2.30pm – ‘The iD Project – My Dominica Story’ (2019) – by Richard Etienne. 1 hour. Everyone has a Story to tell

“On the week that marks 15 years since my paps’ passing, I want to gift you the film that was inspired by the great man. I give to you: The iD Project – My Dominica Story”. The multiple award-winning documentary.

Rest in eternal peace – Richard Etienne Snr. 1953-2004

About the Film:
Travel to the beautiful island of Dominica as one British man documents his journey of discovery and identity. Through a captivating narrative, he explores the birthplace of his late father and delves into the rich cultural heritage of Dominica.

About the Director:
Richard Etienne is a British filmmaker and videographer best known for his work as the official videographer to UK Prime Minister Theresa May (2016-19). His debut film ‘The iD Project’ won the Film Reel Award at the 2019 Caribe Film Festival and Best Documentary at the 2019 British Urban Film Festival.

Blue cyanotype image of two swans, with water and trees in background

Film Night: Radical Landscapes

SPECIAL EVENTS

Thursday 8 February 2024

Join us for the resurgence of Film Night at William Morris Gallery, showcasing four films by independent filmmakers who each explore the themes of the natural world as a space for artistic inspiration, spiritual connection, and political and cultural explorations.

Great Sale Wood (2024) – Michaela Davis

A short, animated film crafted through the sustainable process of cyanotype, featuring over 2,800 hand-printed frames. Shot around Highams Park Lake, the film explores themes of ecology and climate crisis. A study of interconnected beauty in nature, the film contains a score featuring digitally manipulated audio recordings of the lake.

2:02 mins

The Land we Seek the Land we Dream (2022) – Fourthland

Fourthland’s film is a deep remembrance of, ‘the first story´, performed through various acts in the landscape and a conversation between a group of cross-cultural and intergenerational hands. This piece is an invitation to feel ourselves as part of nature. The main elements of the piece are filmed on and around Leyton Marshes.

17 mins (including meditative piece)

OCAK (2020) –  Zeynep Kaserci

OCAK offers an intimate portrait of a family harvesting hazelnuts, where questions of labour, gender, family, and love come to the fore. With its observational cinematography and unhurried editing style, it offers glimpses into the daily life in rural north-eastern Turkey and explores peoples’ connection to land and their hazelnut gardens, which have been inherited for generations. In Turkish with English subtitles.

28:20 mins

Effigy for a Black Soldier / Protector of the Children (2022) – Maya Campbell

Effigy for a Black Soldier uses a reworking of the folk song Wayfaring Stranger as a storytelling device to explore memories of the artist’s estranged father, who served in the British Army and had a strong Christian faith. This meditates on the complexities that come with being a black man in service of the British Army, suggesting themes of migration, longing for home and the lingering phantom of the British Empire on the diaspora. The unnamed location suggests borders, emphasised by the dynamic presence of the sea and watery interlude that follows.

Protector of the Children alludes to the Nepali folklore figure of the Lahkey, who is said to be a man-eating demon who protects children and townspeople, dwelling deep in the forests of Nepal. The work draws from the artist’s early encounter with the Lahkey mask, when placed into her grandmother’s care at the age of four, and is an intimate video-performance filmed during the artist’s residency at Space A in Kathmandu, Nepal, exploring walking as a methodology to build connection with ancestral land.

10:32 mins

 Image: Still from ‘Great Sale Wood’ Michaela Davis, 2024

Woman stands outside next to a shed in an alotment space.

Waltham Forest: A Radical Landscape

Talk and private view

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Wednesday 31 January 2024

Join us for a special event bringing together our Radical Landscapes commissioned artists: Abel Holsborough, Zaiba Jabbar and Graeme Miller. The event will include a panel discussion followed by a private view of the Radical Landscapes exhibition. The artists will be exploring how their memories and experiences of Waltham Forest and home have influenced the social sculptures that they have created across the borough.

  • 6pm – doors open
  • 6.30pm – panel discussion followed by Q&A
  • 8.30pm – private view of Radical Landscapes

About the artists: 

Abel Holsborough 

Abel is an artist who uses photography, writing and performance to explore the un-monumental and question what constitutes ‘useful’ art. Their interest in obscure histories and ‘not-quite’ archives also feeds into their work at Brixton Windmill where they are the lead miller of the last working windmill in London. Their collaborative works with organisations such as Artsadmin (Artist in Residence 2023/24), Grizedale Arts and Create London often link to ideas of home, place-making and community. 

Commission: Small Things Are Possible 

Zaiba Jabbar 

Zaiba is an award-winning director, moving image artist, commissioner, independent curator and Founder of HERVISIONS. She’s interested in the democratisation and accessibility by how we experience art outside the white cube. Her curatorial project HERVISIONS is an investigation into how people in the margins are using technology to create art outside of traditional formats, making space for themselves through the experience of expanded moving image. She is a leader in augmented reality and digital art exhibitions online and offline working with partners and institutes that include Tate Modern, LUX, i-D, Google Arts and Culture, IAMSOUND, The London College of Fashion, Loom Festival, Spectacles, arebyte, Furtherfield and The Photographers Gallery. Zaiba was curator in residence at LUX in (2018) and a board member of Abandon Normal Devices. 

Commission by HERVISIONS: Wild Wired! Rewilding Encounters of Langthorne Park

Graeme Miller 

Graeme Miller is an artist, composer and performance-maker working internationally across a wide range of media from radio to gallery installation and is known for his sited, performative social works. 

His practice emerged from UK performance of the 1980s as the co-founder of the influential theatre company Impact Theatre Co-operative. While continuing to make his own stage works that include A Girl Skipping (1990), he evolved a wide-ranging practice as an artist. He makes work that often responds to ideas about place and time, creating situational pieces that shift the attention in his audience. He also composes music and designs sound for theatre, dance, TV and film and is Associate Artist Tutor on the MA Performance Making Course at Goldsmiths University, London.  

Graeme lived for a decade in artists housing in Leyton between 1984 and 1994. His family home ended up in the epicentre of the protests to stop the M11 Motorway and was one of the final houses to be demolished for its construction. His radio work LINKED has broadcast in the area since 2003. 

Commission: LINKED

Please ‘pay what you can’ for your ticket. Our suggested donation is £7.50.

Image: Abel Holsborough

In Conversation with Veronica Ryan

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Thursday 18 January 2024

We are proud to be welcoming Veronica Ryan in a discussion about her extraordinary career and the themes and motivations around her work. Ryan won last year’s Turner Prize for her solo exhibition Along a Spectrum at Spike Island, works from which are included in our current exhibition Radical Landscapes, and for her public sculptures celebrating the Windrush Generation in Hackney. Her sculptures and installations examine environmental concerns, personal narratives and memories, as well as the wider psychological implications of history, trauma and recovery.  A former resident of Leyton, Ryan last showed work at the William Morris Gallery in a group show  ‘E11 Works on Paper’ in the 1980s and we are very proud to see her return.

The artist will be joined in conversation with Hadrian Garrard, Director of the William Morris Gallery, co-curator of Radical Landscapes. Garrard worked previously with Ryan, leading the Hackney Windrush Commissions as Director of Create London. The event will be followed by an audience Q&A.

  • 6.30pm – Doors open
  • 7pm – Talk and Q&A
  • 8pm – Radical Landscapes curator’s tour

Please ‘pay what you can’ for your ticket. Our suggested donation is £7.50.

Image: Veronica Ryan. Photographed by Erdem Moralioglu for Harper’s Bazaar

Moon at night through the trees

William Morris Gallery & The Hive present: Nightwalk

With Misery

OFF SITE

Saturday 17 February 2024

Inspired by social movements such as Right to Roam, Reclaim the Night and the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, William Morris Gallery and The Hive present Nightwalk, an evening packed full of outdoor and creative activities.

The event begins at Chingford Station, where participants join our invited walking group guides to ramble through Epping Forest to reach The Hive Climate and Environment Education Centre – in the middle of the forest. We’ll be joined by Epping Forest Heritage Trust guides as well as the GEM Family Hike group for this journey.

At The Hive, a range of activities will be on offer both indoors and outdoors. The Hive will be offering fire pit building, bushcraft and other nocturnal animal inspired activities. Sober club night and mental health collective, Misery, will be taking over The Lodge and the historic Suntrap building for music performances and creative workshops, all inspired by the local landscape and history of Epping Forest.

Enjoy food and drink from The Gleaners Community Cafe  throughout the night. Normally based at the Hornbeam Centre, The Gleaners is a community cafe that uses surplus produce — quality ingredients that would otherwise go to waste — to make tasty, plant-based meals.

Timings:

4pm – 5pm Walk from Chingford Station to The Hive, Epping Forest

5pm – 8pm Music, performances, and activities for all (5pm – 6pm family friendly)

6pm – 7pm Option for younger audiences to walk back to Chingford station

8pm – 9pm Walk back from The Hive, Epping Forest, to Chingford Station

 

About Misery

Misery is a playful mental health collective and sober rave led by and for queer, trans, intersex, people of colour with lived experience of madness, addiction, disability, trauma, and neurodivergence. we co-create accessible sober spaces, services, practices and resources to cultivate communities of care that can support and sustain the collective healing and resilience of queer, trans, intersex Black, indigenous and people of colour. misery is a reminder that you’re not too sensitive, it’s mad out here.

Since early 2022, Misery has run monthly, in-person, plant magic gatherings called ‘misery medicine’ which have seen hundreds of QTIBPOC gather in green spaces across London. Guided by community herbalists, we learn about the medicinal properties of the plants that grow freely around us, communally forage and make tea and tinctures, and engage in healing art practices held by the nature around us.

@miseryparty

 

About The Hive

The Hive (previously Suntrap) has been offering environmental education for over 50 years at a beautiful, inspiring location in Epping Forest. The Hive is dedicated to fostering a deep understanding of the environment and its intricate connections with the climate. Through immersive experiences, hands-on activities, and expert guidance, The Hive seeks to empower individuals of all ages to become informed stewards of the Earth.  Their aim is to inspire curiosity, instill awareness, and encourage sustainable actions that positively impact the planet through interactions with the natural world in the beautiful environment of Epping Forest.

@hiveintheforest

 

Our walking guides and groups

The Epping Forest Heritage Trust is a charity and a membership organisation with a big mission to inspire people about Epping Forest, and to conserve and protect its irreplaceable biodiversity, culture and heritage now and for generations to come. It operates across the whole of Epping Forest, covering 6,000 acres stretching from Manor Park in East London to Epping in Essex.

www.efht.org.uk

The GEM Family Hike is a monthly walking group, created as a way of connecting Global Ethnic Majority families and enjoying nature together. The group meets on the first Sunday of the month to explore Walthamstow Marshes and Wetland.

@gemfamilyhike

 

Image: by Neven Kremarek

Queer Stone Circle

With Simon Olmetti

OFF SITE

Saturday 3 February 2024

A workshop and collective ritual to create a temporary stone circle of painted and reclaimed small rocks. Join the event at Lea Bridge Library where participants are invited to queer rocks through painting and patterning whilst sharing experiences of the land. The event will then proceed to Walthamstow Marshes, culminating in an Imbolc-inspired ritual. This is originally a Celtic/Pagan celebration to mark mid-winter, and will involve planting new ‘seeds’ for spring and spiritually reclaiming the land as queer and as our own.

Welcoming the LBGTQIA+ community, friends, and allies to this Radical Landscapes event.

About the artist

Simon is an Italian artist living in London, and a PhD candidate in Fine Arts at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham. His practice and research focus on queering the land through spirituality, utilising walking, sculptural forms, video, photography, creative writing and performative rituals. Simon has participated in several exhibitions, including Visions in the Nunnery, Bow Arts; Queer/in/g/Nature at the Ledward Centre, Brighton; and Queer Land(s), his solo show at the James Hockey Gallery, UCA. He has run many art and spiritual workshops. He’s currently a member of Queer Religious Past, an international academic group in collaboration with Paris8 University.

 

Woman painting a ludo board

Exploring Culture and Identity Through Ludo

for Black History Month

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 28 October 2023

A free community workshop for Black History Month.

The theme for Black History Month this year is ‘Saluting our Sisters’ and this workshop highlights the crucial role that Black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities.

Using your imagination and creativity, you will design unique and personalised ludo boards that serve as a continuation of this cultural legacy. This allows you to not only produce beautiful works of art but also enjoy playing the game with friends and family at home.

Workshops are open to all adults and children aged 12 and over (no experience necessary).

Serene Sketching Activity Pack

RADICAL LANDSCAPES PROGRAMME

Saturday 21 October 2023 - Sunday 18 February 2024

Based on Ruskin’s art theory on “truth to nature”, this drawing pack and its prompts aim to help visitors slow down and take a closer look at the nature around them, and the beauty of Lloyd Park. It includes a drawing pad, coloured pencils, a nature-themed viewfinder, a description and a list of drawing prompts for inspiration. There will be 20 packs available at the front desk with a visitor sign-out sheet.

Ashish Gupta at this exhibition with mannequins in the background in Ashish designs

In Conversation with Ashish

With Ashish Gupta and Avani Thakkar

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Wednesday 14 June 2023

Join us for an In Conversation with Ashish and Avani Thakkar. Together they’ll be taking a deep dive into Ashish’s expansive career and how his penchant for juxtaposition and contradictions led him to create such colourfully mischievous collections in response to the social fabric of our world.

The talk will be followed by a private view of the exhibition Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender.

Please ‘pay what you can’ for your ticket. Our suggested donation is £7.50 in person or £5 online.

  • 6pm – Doors open
  • 6.30 – 7.30pm – Talk followed by Q&A
  • 7.30 – 8.30pm – Private view
  • 8.30pm – End

The event will be live captioned. Please note that the live streaming has been cancelled. A recording of the talk will be uploaded to our YouTube channel following the event.

Ashish Gupta is a celebrated voice in international fashion. He has won the prestigious NEWGEN award three times and has been included in major exhibitions and presentations at The Victoria & Albert Museum, London and The Metropolitan Museum, New York. Ashish’s designs have been worn by global icons including Beyonce, Debbie Harry, Hunter Schafer, Rihanna, Charli XCX and Taylor Swift.

Avani Thakkar is a fashion and culture writer with words in Vogue, ELLE, Dazed, i-D, gal-dem, W, Nylon, The Observer, InStyle and other publications.

Image © Dave Bennett Photography

Rezia Wahid: dancing in the womb

Book launch

SPECIAL EVENTS

Saturday 20 May 2023

The book foregrounds the making, the processes and the physicality of a woven artform.’Susie Campbell

Come and celebrate the launch of Rezia Wahid’s new book dancing in the womb, a colour hardback with stunning photographs by Paul Tucker and essays by the late Simon Olding, Catherine Harper and Hettie Judah. Rebecca Jacobs will host a conversation with Rezia, Paul Tucker and Sangeeta Banerjee, followed by a book signing and refreshments.

Rezia Wahid MBE is a textile artist and designer based in Walthamstow. dancing in the womb is published by Hesterglock Press.

 

 

Curator-Led Tour

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender

TOURS

Thursday 27 July 2023

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender is the first major survey exhibition of fashion designer Ashish Gupta. It will showcase over 60 designs, offering an unprecedented overview of Ashish’s subversive and playful practice. The exhibition features a major new commission by the Mumbai-based photographer and film-maker Ashish Shah.

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide. A great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the work and ideas behind Ashish’s creations.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Curator-Led Tour

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender

TOURS

Thursday 22 June 2023

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender is the first major survey exhibition of fashion designer Ashish Gupta. It will showcase over 60 designs, offering an unprecedented overview of Ashish’s subversive and playful practice. The exhibition features a major new commission by the Mumbai-based photographer and film-maker Ashish Shah.

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide. A great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the work and ideas behind Ashish’s creations.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Curator-Led Tour

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender

TOURS

Thursday 18 May 2023

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender is the first major survey exhibition of fashion designer Ashish Gupta. It will showcase over 60 designs, offering an unprecedented overview of Ashish’s subversive and playful practice. The exhibition features a major new commission by the Mumbai-based photographer and film-maker Ashish Shah.

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide. A great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the work and ideas behind Ashish’s creations.

Read more about the exhibition here.

Curator-Led Tour

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender

TOURS

Thursday 27 April 2023

Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender is the first major survey exhibition of fashion designer Ashish Gupta. It will showcase over 60 designs, offering an unprecedented overview of Ashish’s subversive and playful practice. The exhibition features a major new commission by the Mumbai-based photographer and film-maker Ashish Shah.

See the exhibition with one of our curators as your guide. A great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the work and ideas behind Ashish’s creations.

Read more about the exhibition here.

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