Warm Words with Stories & Supper

A community celebration for Refugee Week

SPECIAL EVENTS

Thursday 19 June 2025

Join the Stories & Supper community of refugees, people seeking asylum and local residents for this Refugee Week event – an evening of conversations, poetry and food.

Stories & Supper, community residents at the William Morris Gallery, meet every week to share stories, food and laughter. To mark Refugee Week, they’re inviting you to join them in the Gallery’s beautiful cafe to celebrate the power of community and the value of friendship.

All residents of Waltham Forest are welcome.

This event is supported by the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Read more about the  William Morris Community Residency programme at William Morris Gallery.

Photo by Laura Martinez.

 

Supporters and partners

Mini Morris

Fantastic Beasts

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 19 June 2025

This June, get ready to dive into a fun and messy clay workshop where your imagination takes the lead! Using air-drying clay, you’ll create your very own fantastic beast to take home.

Take inspiration from the magical creatures in the Gallery, or squish, roll and create your own imagined beast! Do they have big teeth or spiky hair, or a gigantic nose? Do they have googly eyes? It’s up to you to make the most impressive, monstrous – or friendly – beast of your dreams and then set off on a Gallery adventure together.

Mini Morris sessions are now DROP IN ONLY. FREE. Donations welcome.

Choose from:

  • 10:00am to 11:00am.
  • 11:45am to 12:45pm.

As this can be a messy session, please wear or bring old clothes. Aprons are available.

All sessions include the craft activity, singing and a snack to take away.

Drop in with limited capacity.

A minimum of one adult per 2 children. Mini Morris sessions are ideal for children aged 2- 4 but anyone under 5 years old is welcome. We regret we cannot accept any children over 5 at these sessions.

Family Day with Stories & Supper

A Dream Home: For Refugee Week 2025

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 21 June 2025

A special Family Day to mark Refugee Week 2025, this June we’ll be working in partnership with Stories & Supper to celebrate the contribution of refugees and people seeking asylum in our borough. This year the theme is ‘Community as Superpower’ and Family Day will feature workshops promoting understanding and unity within our community.

Design and decorate a Morris Dream Room – Second Floor Learning Rooms

Join the Learning Team to explore the amazing influence William Morris had on the design of our homes. Be inspired by his designs and patterns and create your very own unique Dream Room to take home. Craft activities suitable for children ages 5+

Building Our Own Utopia – First Floor Landing

Join Stories & Supper at this free drop-in community workshop exploring the theme of utopia. Inspired by Morris’s writing, we’ll play with words and images to build a dream of a better world and think about what home means to us. If you have an object that makes you think of home, please bring it along. Although this workshop is not designed for young children, everyone is invited to participate!

Stories & Supper is one of the  William Morris Community Residency groups at William Morris Gallery.

Photo by Laura Martinez.

 

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

THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT

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

Family Day

Purrfect Prints

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 24 May 2025

Come along to our May Family Day, as we celebrate the amazing influence of William Morris on art and design here in Britain and around the world. Join artist Lucy Rainbow for a hands-on workshop to design and screen print your very own Morris Mania-inspired Lucky Cat poster to take home.

These free, drop-in sessions are open to all. The activity is suitable for children aged 5+ years. All materials will be provided.

Screen printing will take place in the Learning Rooms on the 2nd floor of the Gallery. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Part of the Morris Mania events and activities programme.

Children participating in craft sessions

Mini Morris

Morris Medallions

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 15 May 2025

This May our youngest artists are invited for a fun and friendly session where we’ll explore beautiful patterns by William Morris and see how they’ve travelled all around the world. Together we will craft a special piece of jewellery — a colourful medallion featuring Morris-inspired designs to take home and wear!

In celebration of the current exhibition Morris Mania.

Mini Morris sessions are now DROP IN ONLY. FREE. Donations welcome.

Choose from:

  • 10:00am to 11:00am.
  • 11:45am to 12:45pm.

As this can be a messy session, please wear or bring old clothes. Aprons are available.

All sessions include the craft activity, singing and a snack to take away.

Drop in with limited capacity.

A minimum of one adult per 2 children. Mini Morris sessions are ideal for children aged 2- 4 but anyone under 5 years old is welcome. We regret we cannot accept any children over 5 at these sessions.

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.

Family Day

Make a Morris

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 26 April 2025

Our April Family Day celebrates the opening of our new exhibition Morris Mania. We’ll be learning all about William Morris and his iconic designs, exploring the Gallery collection for ideas and making a Victorian style William Morris peg doll to take home.

We’re also very excited to welcome Jabberwocky, a local drama group, who will be dressed in Victorian costume and telling fascinating sensory stories of William Morris’s life and the inspiration behind his most popular designs: Trellis and the Strawberry Thief.

These free, drop-in sessions are open to all. The activity is suitable for children aged 5+ years. All materials will be provided.

Craft activities will take place on the Landing (1st floor) and story sessions will be in the Acanthus Room (2nd floor). All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Part of the Morris Mania events and activities programme.

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

Mini Morris

Play along with us

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 20 March 2025

This March, we’re crafting our own instruments to make musical magic together!

Our youngest artists are invited to join us at Winns Gallery in Lloyd Park to learn about William Morris and the love of music he shared with his family and friends. Create a percussive tambourine, play along with us, and bring the music home.

Mini Morris sessions are now DROP IN ONLY. FREE. Donations welcome.

Choose from:

  • 10:00am to 11:00am.
  • 11:45am to 12:45pm.

As this can be a messy session, please wear or bring old clothes. Aprons are available.

All sessions include the craft activity, singing and a snack to take away.

Drop in with limited capacity.

A minimum of one adult per 2 children. Mini Morris sessions are ideal for children aged 2- 4 but anyone under 5 years old is welcome. We regret we cannot accept any children over 5 at these sessions.

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

Morris Mania

How Britain’s greatest designer went viral

EXHIBITION

On now until Sunday, 21 September 2025

William Morris (1834-96) has gone viral. Today, we find his infinitely-reproduced botanical patterns on shower curtains, phone cases, on film and TV, and in all corners of our homes, dentist waiting rooms and shopping centres.

One of our greatest designers, Morris argued that beautiful objects could only be created through a responsible and close relationship with the natural world and enjoyable, creative working conditions. These principles continue to influence subsequent generations of designers, makers and consumers today.

Morris Mania explores a complicated legacy. Over 125 years since his death, Morris’s work continues to grow in popularity. His patterns are now affordable, well-loved and available to people across the globe, something he failed to achieve in his lifetime. However, this has been achieved in the context of mass-production, computer-generated design, global capitalism and environmental crisis. Morris Mania considers the ongoing impact of Britain’s most iconic designer in our increasingly cluttered and commodified world.

Objects from William Morris Gallery and private and public international collections include a ‘Rose’ patterned seat from the 1980s British Nuclear Submarine Fleet, ‘Willow’ pattern Nike trainers, and Loewe fashion inspired by Morris’s designs. The exhibition also features Morris-patterned objects donated by the public. Revealing how the designer’s work has permeated our everyday lives, visitors are invited to continue to lend and donate their own Morris-print objects throughout the course of the exhibition. Morris-patterned donations to date include chopsticks, a waving cat from Japan, hand-embroidered wedding jackets, Wellington boots and an array of mugs and biscuit tins.

The exhibition will feature Wallpaper (2025), a newly-commissioned work by archive documentary filmmaker Natalie Cubides-Brady, exploring how William Morris’s designs have been used in screen history. A montage of scenes from film and TV will reveal the diverse and sometimes surprising range of narratives, settings and moods that Morris designs conjure up. Cameos in everything from My Fair Lady, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Django Unchained, to Gogglebox, Coronation Street and Peep Show, highlight how Morris designs form part of the fabric of 20th- and 21st-century popular culture.

Morris Mania is curated by Hadrian Garrard, Director of William Morris Gallery. Part of the Gallery’s 75th Anniversary Year programme, the exhibition will be accompanied by an exciting programme of events and activities at the Gallery.

Exhibition design by Sam Jacob Studio.

 

Wallpaper (2025) trailer – see the full-length film at Morris Mania

 

Living with Morris

We are also excited to be developing a Living with Morris Archive of photographs from the public, that explores how Morris’s designs provide a backdrop to everyday life. Do you have a photograph you’d like to share? It might feature a Morris-patterned chair, curtains, or wallpaper from your home either now or from your childhood? Or something more unexpected—perhaps a handmade item, something that you have made, or even a tattoo…

Send your photos to wmg.enquiries@walthamforest.gov.uk in a high resolution format. In sending your images you will be granting permission to share on social media and in our exhibition’s display.

 

Family Day

Bags of Fun

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 15 February 2025

For our February Family Day, we’re very excited to welcome visual artist Fatima Zahra Hassan of FZH Atelier and the School of Miniature Painting. Inspired by our current exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World, you’ll explore the patterns and designs that so inspired William Morris and then decorate your own tote bag using fabric paints and stencils designed by Fatima Zahra Hassan.

These free, drop-in sessions are open to all. The activity is suitable for children aged 5+ years. All materials will be provided. Cotton Tote Bags will be provided until stocks run out

Activities will take place in Gallery in the Learning Rooms on the 2nd floor. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

All children must be accompanied by an adult.  

 

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 

Muslim History in Walthamstow: A guided tour

With AbdulMaalik Tailor

TOURS

Sunday 9 February 2025

AbdulMaalik Tailor is an award winning trailblazer in the field of Halal tourism and Muslim Heritage in Britain. As the founder of Halal Tourism Britian, he specialises in providing guided tours that showcase Muslim history and culture. The walking tour of Walthamstow will begin at Queen’s Road Mosque, where participants will be introduced to some significant local landmarks reflecting the area’s rich Islamic heritage.

The tour will then conclude at William Morris Gallery, where AbdulMaalik will lead an exclusive, bespoke tour of the critically acclaimed exhibition, William Morris and Art from the Islamic World 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.

Starting location:
(Outside) Masjid e Umer
79 Queens Road
Walthamstow, London E17 8QP

Ending location:
William Morris Gallery
Lloyd Park
Walthamstow, London E17 4PP

Supporters and partners

https://www.halaltourismbritain.com/

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

An elderly Frank Brangwyn sits at a table with evacuee children

Work by Austrian, German and Swiss Artists

From the Collection of Frank Brangwyn

EXHIBITION

Saturday 6 September 1997 - Sunday 4 January 1998

Frank Brangwyn (1857 to 1956) was one of the founders of the William Morris Gallery. Read more about him here.

This exhibition features work collected by the Welsh artist.

Image: Frank Brangwyn with evacuee children at Ditchling

A bust of William Morris inside the William Morris Gallery

Collecting Arts and Craft

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Friends of William Morris Gallery

EXHIBITION

Tuesday 9 June - Saturday 12 September 1998

Founded in 1988, The Friends of William Morris Gallery help to maintain the high standards of the gallery.

This exhibition celebrates a decade of its support.

Join The Friends of William Morris Gallery.

Edward Burne-Jones stands behind William Morris, who is sitting on a bench in the garden at The Grange

The Romance of the Rose

The Rounton Grange Embroideries and other works

EXHIBITION

Tuesday 3 November 1998 - Sunday 7 March 1999

Painter and designer Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833 to 1898) became good friends with William Morris at Oxford University.

In 1861, Burne-Jones was one of the six partners Morris worked with to found Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co, which would go on to become Morris & Co. He designed a wide range of items including ceramic tiles and tapestries.

Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell and his wife Margaret commissioned a frieze in five parts for the dining room of Rounton Grange, Northallerton, Yorkshire. The panels depict the story of The Romaunt of the Rose by Geoffrey Chaucer and were based on original pictures drawn by Burne-Jones. The exquisite embroidery was executed by the wife and daughter of Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, Margaret Bell and Florence Johnson, respectively.

Image shows Edward Coley Burne-Jones and William Morris.

Christopher Whall

The Making of an Arts and Crafts Glazier

EXHIBITION

Friday 16 April - Sunday 4 July 1999

Christopher Whall (1849 to 1924) was a British artist and important figure in the history of stained glass in 19th and 20th century Europe.

This exhibition celebrates his work.

Image: Adam and Eve Before God by Christopher Whall.

Chintz of birds and strawberries

Beauty, Imagination and Order

William Morris and Textile Design

EXHIBITION

Tuesday 6 June - Tuesday 7 November 2000

William Morris pioneered a new and refreshing approach to design and manufacture, championing hand craftsmanship during a time in British history when industrial mass-production was at its peak.

This exhibition shines a spotlight on Morris’s innovative and timeless designs, which continue to be produced today.

Image shows a sample of Strawberry Thief printed cotton.

The front of William Morris Gallery in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow

William Morris Gallery Fifty

A landmark exhibition

EXHIBITION

Saturday 21 October 2000 - Saturday 20 January 2001

In 1935, artist and former apprentice to William Morris Frank Brangwyn, signed a trust deed with the then Walthamstow Borough Council to set up William Morris Gallery.

‘The William Morris Gallery and Brangwyn Gift’ opened to the public in October 1950. This exhibition celebrates the gallery’s first half century of bringing the work of Morris, and the people who worked with him and have been inspired by him, to the public.

Pattern with large floral motif

The Century Guild

Pattern Designs, Textiles and Wallpapers of the 1880s and 1890s

EXHIBITION

Saturday 26 May - Sunday 7 October 2001

The Century Guild was an influential association of artists, designers and craftspeople, established by architect and designer Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851 to 1942.) His work features in this exhibition alongside the work of poet, architect, typographer and designer, Herbert Horne (1864 to 1916.)

Line drawing of the front of Kelmscott Manor

Kelmscott Manor

FH Evans and EH New

EXHIBITION

Tuesday 9 April - Sunday 4 August 2002

In 1896 Morris invited Frederick Henry Evans (1853-1943) to photograph Kelmscott Manor, his country home in Oxfordshire. Morris and his wife Jane shared the house with the Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti from 1871 to 1874, and it remained a country retreat for Morris and the artists and intellectuals in his circle until his death in 1896.

In 1895, Edmund Hort New (1871-1931) was invited to Kelmscott Manor and went on to provide design work for Morris’s Kelmscott Press.

This exhibition shows work from both men capturing Morris’s home.

Image: Kelmscott Manor by EH New.

Exterior of the front of William Morris in the sunshine

Designs and Applied Art

An exhibition by William Morris and Phillip Webb

EXHIBITION

Saturday 19 July - Sunday 2 November 2003

Architect and designer Philip Webb (1831 to 1915) was sometimes known as the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. He was a champion of “the art of common building” and a business partner of William Morris. This exhibition celebrates their work.

Brightly coloured William Morris fabric hangs from the ceiling of the gallery cafe

Experiments In Colour

Thomas Wardle, William Morris And The Textiles Of India

EXHIBITION

Saturday 10 October 2009 - Sunday 24 January 2010

This exhibition explores the relationship between William Morris and Thomas Wardle and their experimentation with natural dyes and printing techniques and how their interest in colour led them to the textiles of India.

Thomas Wardle, who lived from 1831 to 1909, owned a family silk dyeing business and in 1897 Queen Victoria gave him a knighthood for his services to the silk industry. His collaboration with William Morris, famously known as leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement, flourished into a friendship that lasted until Morris’ death in 1896

People taking part in a craft workshop

Our Community Patchwork Memory Blanket

With Creative Community

WORKSHOPS

Sunday 2 February 2025

A Creative Community event at William Morris Gallery.

Share your favorite memories, stories, and experiences whilst piecing together a special blanket that represents our shared history. This event is a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow Waltham Forest community members and contribute to a beautiful project that celebrates diversity and unity. Don’t miss out on this chance to be a part of something truly special!

This session is for all ages but children must be supervised at all times.

Creative Community brings families and communities together through art, play, and learning for developing new skills, positive mental health and well-being. This project is supported by the London Borough of Waltham Forest Fellowship Fund.

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

Peacocks on a carpet facing away from each other on a decorative background

William Morris

Designer, Craftsman, Local Celebrity

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 11 July - Saturday 18 August 2012

The centrepiece of the exhibition at the library is the magnificent Peacock and Bird carpet, donated to the Gallery in 2010 by The Monument Trust.

Exterior of the front of William Morris in the sunshine

Can Altay: Distributed

Everyday objects in public buildings around Waltham Forest

EXHIBITION

Thursday 2 August - Sunday 16 December 2012

Distributed is an installation of everyday objects in public buildings around Waltham Forest, including The Mall, Priory Court housing estate, shops along Hoe Street and the William Morris Gallery. These beautiful and functional door sculptures will activate a dialogue with the local community and explore our relationship with the urban environment that surrounds us.

Distributed is a new public art project for Frieze Projects East, and has been commissioned by CREATE and The London 2012 Festival. This series aims to bring the best artists to east London in 2012 by working with each of the six Olympic host boroughs.

A woman wearing a headscarf is surrounded by images depicting consumerism

Grayson Perry

The Walthamstow Tapestry

EXHIBITION

Thursday 2 August - Sunday 30 September 2012

‘Consumerism is very lazy. It’s a sort of sugar rush, like eating sweets… Luxury goods are dangled in front of us because people can make money out of them, not because they give any lasting satisfaction.’

On 2 December 2003, Grayson Perry (born 1960) accepted the coveted Turner Prize wearing a lilac babydoll dress. Equally famous for his ceramics and his cross-dressing, he became a celebrity overnight. A self-confessed lover of ‘beautiful things’, his work delights in the possibilities of the decorative surface. Colour, texture and pattern are all used to attract the eye and draw us in. The power of his work lies in the deliberate clash between form and content – between beautiful objects and the challenging, often disturbing subject matter they address.

This exhibition features one of Perry’s most powerful works, a vast tapestry (3m x 15m) exploring the impact of branding and advertising on our everyday lives. Chronicling man’s passage from birth to death ‘via the shops’, Perry captures all the humdrum details of our daily lives. His exploration of the corrosive powers of consumerism throws up some interesting parallels with William Morris, who expressed similar ideas over a century earlier. Both also share a connection to the Walthamstow area, where Perry has had his studio for many years.

With insightful contributions from the artist himself, the exhibition will explore the motivation and inspiration behind the creation of the Walthamstow Tapestry.  In a world where it is seemingly impossible to escape the power of advertising, this work encourages us to consider the feelings and emotions that different brands evoke in our own lives.

Image shows detail from The Walthamstow Tapestry © Grayson Perry

Illustration of a young woman or child's face surrounded by multi-coloured foliage

E17 Art Trail: Bestow

Locally sourced art and poetry

EXHIBITION

Saturday 1 - Sunday 16 September 2012

Photographer Paul Tucker captures fleeting moments of the William Morris Gallery in transition, the Forest Poets create new work inspired by objects from the gallery’s collection, and printmaker Anna Alcock displays her winning cover design for this year’s E17 Trail Guide.

Image: Anna Alcock

Close up on folded paper porcelain

Everyday Encounters

Bringing the useful and beautiful into our homes and lives

EXHIBITION

Saturday 13 October 2012 - Sunday 3 February 2013

‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’

In this famous statement, William Morris summed up his belief that art should be part of our everyday lives. He argued that well-designed and expertly-crafted objects could lift the spirit, and inspire both the maker and the eventual owner. Functional items could be made to carry stories and tell tales that enrich daily life. By slowing down and not taking the ‘everyday’ for granted, we can see and experience new things.

Today’s designers and makers continue to explore the role of craft. The William Morris Gallery invited members of the Society of Designer Craftsmen to create new work in response to Morris’s rallying call. This exhibition brings together an extraordinary range of objects which explore the potential of materials, decoration and narrative.

The Society of Designer Craftsmen is a multi-disciplinary society with roots stretching back to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society.  Twenty-eight members have been shortlisted for this exhibition to present textiles, ceramics, mixed media, metal work and the book arts. They range from the Society’s most prominent names to individuals just starting out in their careers.

List of exhibiting artist: Adam Aaronson (glass), Judith Battersby (ceramics), Amy Cooper (ceramics), Sara Fell (glass and precious metals), Jenny Ford (textiles), Kirsten Glasbrook (textiles), Marion Hewitt (glass), Simon Jewell (furniture), Debbie Lyddon (textiles), Armando Magnino (furniture), Peter Moss (ceramics), Amarjeet Nandra (textiles),  Sandra Owens (ceramics), Sumi Perera (book art), Caroline Rees (glass), Niru Reid (textiles), Sally Reilly (ceramics), Rosalind Roberts (mixed media), Waring Robinson (furniture), Pam Schomberg (ceramics), Diana Springall (textiles), Kate Standen (ceramics), Teresa Strachan (textiles), Sass Tetzlaff (textiles), Susie Vickery (textiles), Jeanne Werge-Hartley (metalwork), Molly Williams (textiles), Stephanie Wright (ceramics)

Image: Nacre by Judith Battersby

The front of William Morris Gallery, showing planted flower beds to the side of the building

Protest Bottles

A collection of ceramic milk bottles by Walthamstow artist Raewyn Harrison

EXHIBITION

Tuesday 6 November 2012 - Sunday 3 February 2013

The delicate ceramic milk bottles on display in the Tea Room carry a strong message. They represent one of the most infamous government cuts of the 1970s: the withdrawal of free milk from schools.

The bottles are inscribed with people’s personal views about the cuts, drawing parallels with the present day. The bottles are made by Raewyn Harrison, who lives and works in Waltham Forest.

Close up on the face of a woman dressed in an orange scarf and brown coat. She looks severe.

David Bailey

East End Faces

EXHIBITION

Saturday 23 February - Sunday 26 May 2013

David Bailey’s iconic photographs immortalised 1960s London. When he turned his camera east, he photographed the part of London he grew up in. As he expressed it recently, ‘London’s East End is in my DNA’.

This exhibition brings together intimate portraits of the characters, faces and streetscapes he encountered in the East End during the 1960s.

Image: David Bailey

A bust of William Morris inside the William Morris Gallery

Regime Change Begins at Home

David Mabb

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 1 May - Sunday 28 July 2013

In this series of paintings, David Mabb champions the history of political protest by bringing together slogans from recent and historical demonstrations. Removed from their context and framed in Morris & Co fabrics, this exhibition presents an opportunity to experience their messages afresh. On display in the Discovery Lounge.

Two embroidered birds shown side on with beaks touching

The Art of Embroidery

Nicola Jarvis and May Morris

EXHIBITION

Saturday 6 July - Sunday 22 September 2013

Winner of the 2010 Inspired by Morris group show, Nicola Jarvis returns to the William Morris Gallery with a solo exhibition. A hand-embroidery specialist, Jarvis’s new work includes works on paper and textiles created in dialogue with the techniques and ideas championed by William Morris’s daughter, May Morris. Jarvis’s work will be exhibited alongside rarely seen archive materials offering refreshing new perspectives on May Morris’s career.

Family Day

Tulips and Peacocks

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 18 January 2025

Explore the metalwork collection on display in our current exhibition William Morris & Art from the Islamic World and then join us to discover the ancient art form of metal embossing.  You’ll use a stylus on a lightweight metal sheet to explore how to achieve different marks and textures and create a raised 3D design to take home.

No prior experience is needed, and all materials will be provided. It’s a fantastic opportunity to develop new skills, unleash your creativity and make lasting memories together.

These free, drop-in sessions are open to all. The activity is most suitable for children aged 5+ years.

Sessions take place on Gallery’s first floor Landing.

All children must be accompanied by an adult.  

 

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.

 

 

Mini Morris

Here comes the Sunshine

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 16 January 2025

In January we’re welcoming in the New Year by crafting a piece of art inspired by a beautiful embroidery in the Gallery showing Khorshid Khanoom ‘the Lady Sun’, a common motif in Iranian folk art. Our youngest artists will be creating their very own embroidered artwork to bring sunshine into their homes.

Mini Morris sessions are now DROP IN ONLY. FREE. Donations welcome.

Choose from:

  • 10:00am to 11:00am.
  • 11:45am to 12:45pm.

As this can be a messy session, please wear or bring old clothes. Aprons are available.

All sessions include the craft activity, singing and a snack to take away.

Drop in with limited capacity. Please arrive on time and sign up at the front desk.

A minimum of one adult per 2 children. Mini Morris sessions are ideal for children aged 2- 4 but anyone under 5 years old is welcome. We regret we cannot accept any children over 5 at these sessions.

Image: Detail from 19th Century Tent Panel Rasht (Resht), Iran (Quajar). Embroidered patchwork made with wool and silk. Birmingham Museum Trust.

Inside an exhibition room at the gallery showing the print process

Lizzie Hughes

Work from William Morris Gallery's first local artist in residence

EXHIBITION

Thursday 1 - Saturday 31 August 2013

Lizzie Hughes’s diverse practice includes installation, video, sound works and performance

Working with the gallery’s archive, Hughes will investigate William Morris’s tireless pursuit of learning and enter into a dialogue with the local community. The amateur interests Hughes as someone often undertaking a solitary pursuit, an autodidact who finds unorthodox and innovative ways to solve problems. The residency will include a public event for amateur craftspeople to contribute to a lasting record of the residency.

The front of William Morris Gallery, showing planted flower beds to the side of the building

Person As Patient

Emma Barnard and Michael Papesch

EXHIBITION

Saturday 3 August - Sunday 29 September 2013

Biomedical artifacts such as notes, scans and surgeons’ theatre drawings, are superimposed onto patients’ portraits, forcing a critical reflection on the patient’s and surgeon’s vision of each other. This exhibition is the result of a collaborative project at Whipps Cross University Hospital between Emma Barnard Artist in Residence and Michael Papesch Consultant Surgeon.

The Patient as Paper project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

On display in the Discovery Lounge.

Brightly coloured patterned fabric hanging from the roof of William Morris Gallery

The Makers

Creators at work by Nicola Tree

EXHIBITION

Tuesday 15 October - Sunday 24 November 2013

Living in North East London, the highly skilled designers and makers featured in this exhibition work in all kinds of spaces from tiny garden sheds to kitchen tables and railway arches, yet sell their wares in some of London’s grandest stores. Nicola Tree photographed them in the process of making, capturing the emotion, ritual and intricacy of their craft.

This exhibition will be held in the Tea room and Discovery Lounge.

Close up on cream material with burn marks across it

Fashion as Craft

The making of a Giles Deacon dress

EXHIBITION

Saturday 12 October - Sunday 15 December 2013

The acclaimed British fashion designer is known for his extravagant, evocative designs. His sources of inspiration range from pop culture to William Morris and William De Morgan. This exhibition tells the story of one of his latest catwalk creations; from the first concept through to the choice and manufacture of materials and the art of making.

A bust of William Morris inside the William Morris Gallery

Will in Our Eyes

Artworks created by young people

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 4 - Sunday 29 December 2013

The work was produced during a week long creative project at the gallery, learning digital photography and Photoshop skills and then working in the studio with local artist Errol Reuben Fernandes.

The William Morris Gallery’s Young People’s Programme provides art and craft activities, events and learning experiences for young people aged 16 to 22 free of charge. The programme is curated by the Waltham Forest Young Advisors in partnership with the William Morris Gallery.

An exhibition in the Discovery Lounge.

Exterior of the front of William Morris in the sunshine

A Memory Palace of Her Own

Self-portraits in the style of Jane Morris

EXHIBITION

Saturday 11 January - Sunday 9 March 2014

Contemporary double of Jane Morris, Dutch artist Margje Bijl, shows a series of self-portraits, staged and photographed in William and Jane Morris’s former homes. Referring back to Jane’s life story, Margje Bijl makes Jane’s environment her own. The exhibition marks the centenary of Jane’s death in January 1914. See more of Margje’s work on her website: www.reflectionsonjanemorris.com

An exhibition in the Discovery Lounge.

Detail of an artwork showing the side of a face

Diana Furlong

Zoom In, Zoom Out

EXHIBITION

Friday 30 May - Sunday 3 August 2014

Taking inspiration from Celtic art patterns and lettering forms, calligrapher Diana Furlong shows two contrasting series of artwork. Furlong uses scale by zooming in and out to differentiate between modern and traditional gilding and illumination skills.

This exhibition is held in the Tea Room as part of the E17 Art Trail.

Detail of a sculpture of a wolf

Ghost of a Ghost

New work by Lizzie Hughes

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 25 June - Sunday 31 August 2014

A philanthropic organisation founded in the UK during the late 1800s, the Association’s main objective was to train working class men and boys from rural areas. The trainees would learn crafts that had once flourished but were close to extinction, thus providing them with a worthy pastime and means of earning a living. At the time blacksmithing was still a thriving trade, however today it is estimated that there are only 2,000 blacksmiths working professionally in the UK.

The sculptures on display, a set of potentially functional hinges, take their form from the psychological tests devised in the 1920’s by Hermann Rorschach. The tests exploit the human desire to find form in pattern and abstraction. The main title of the work is taken from a review of Morris’ work which featured in the 1899 annual exhibition held by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition. The critic suggested that the skilfully subdued tones of Morris’ tapestries and carpets were similar to the colours of historic textiles, faded over hundreds of years; “…a Morris tapestry, if it survive for three hundred years, will be but a ghost of a ghost”.

For Hughes, the phrase “ghost of a ghost” echoed her own response to a potentially beautiful door hinge concealed under decades of paint in the Gallery’s Learning Centre. Hughes has spent the last twelve months studying blacksmithing and is conscious that ironmongery, once considered highly decorative, is becoming increasingly invisible. The scultpures simultaneously draw attention to quality craftsmanship hidden all around us and pay homage to the dedicated group of blacksmiths both amateur and professional who are keeping this ancient tradition alive.

The artist would like to thank Richard Pace and Neil Stuart of Design Blacksmith

This exhibition takes place in the Story Lounge.

Morris and the Amateur Craftsman: slideshow of research from Lizzie Hughes’s residency

During her residency, Lizzie researched the notion of the amateur craftsman in relation to Morris’s legacy. The slideshow juxtaposes images that Lizzie discovered in the archives of the Gallery alongside images of craftwork produced locally by people who contributed to a study day at the gallery in November 2013.

William Morris Gallery Artist in Residence programme

Lizzie Hughes lives and works in Leytonstone. The Artist in Residence programme is open to artists who live or work in Waltham Forest. Shortlisting takes place annually in January.

Staircase in William Morris Gallery covered in a blue Morris-design carpet with wooden bannisters, looking down at the shop

Lucille Junkere: Artist in Residence

All Blues

EXHIBITION

Friday 1 - Sunday 31 August 2014

About Lucille Junkere

Lucille Junkere is a textile artist and dyer. Her work combines millinery skills perfected at the London College of Fashion with the fluid character of machine embroidery. She is concerned with the social and environmental impact of the textile industry and uses textile waste, water based inks, natural fibres and dyes in her work.

In the Caribbean, Lucille researched the loss of textile traditions through colonialism. She then started a deeper exploration of her own cultural ancestry through the history and use of indigo dye. Her residency at the gallery is part of her personal and artistic journey.

About the residency

During her residency Lucille will focus on the relationship between William Morris, Thomas Wardle and indigo, their skill in mastering the complexity of the indigo dye vat, their descriptions of the dye process and their meticulous artistic approach to documenting their samples and dye experiments.

Lucille has called her residency All Blues inspired by the title of a track from the album Kind of Blue by Miles Davies. The lyrics and melody capture the beauty and complex, painful history surrounding natural indigo dye. Blues music was the spiritual connection between the indigo plant, grown in many southern American slave plantations, and the West African slaves who sang of their suffering as they worked on the cotton that the indigo dyed. These songs became known as “the Blues”.

Study of a pink bloom criss crossed by black lines

Deborah Baker

In Paradiso

EXHIBITION

Friday 5 September - Sunday 2 November 2014

Having worked in late 1970s New York as Ralph Gibson’s assistant as well as  assisting Mary Ellen Mark and Robert Mapplethorpe, Deborah Baker’s work now resides much closer to home. Her ongoing series In Paradiso has developed alongside the planting of her woodland garden, which Baker designed and established over the last eight years. Many of the plants are rare and unusual. She continually photographs the area to capture the metamorphosis of their growth and development in the garden.

Challenging clichéd representations of plants, Baker’s photographs are beautiful, richly coloured, sensuous, and otherworldly. Each image captures the varied conditions of light and time of day to depict the cycle of growth and decay. In the final stages of image development, Barker uses digital montage and layering techniques to increase perception of space and create intense visual resonance.

Baker gives each image a hybrid title created from fragments of the names of the actual plants photographed, which are recognisable and purposely disordered in their representation.

An exhibition in the Discovery Lounge and Tea Room.

Image: Deborah Baker.

A bust of William Morris inside the William Morris Gallery

Art & Socialism

Museums at Night 2014

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 24 September - Sunday 12 October 2014

The exhibition features prints created under the expert guidance of Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop.

The prints form a quote taken from William Morris’s Art & Socialism, delivered first as a lecture and then published in a pamphlet in 1884:

“It is right and necessary that all men should have work to do which shall he worth doing, and be of itself pleasant to do; and which should he done under such conditions as would make it neither over-wearisome nor over-anxious.”

Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop

Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop is run by Kelvyn Laurence Smith, who creates beautifully crafted contemporary printed matter using traditional wood and metal type. From limited edition artworks to a range of commercial commissions for British Airways, Marks & Spencer and Pret A Manger, Mr Smith’s Letterpress Workshop was set up following a career teaching graphic design at art institutions across the UK.

The gallery got the chance to host Mr Smith after winning the public voting stage of Connect10, a competition that teams up museums with contemporary artists to run an event during Museums at Night.

This exhibition takes place in the Story Lounge.

Painted mural of William Morris throwing yacht into Venetian Lagoon

Jeremy Deller

English Magic

EXHIBITION

Saturday 18 January - Sunday 30 March 2014

For Jeremy Deller, William Morris’s art and politics are inseparable, both being expressions of his rage against the excesses and iniquities of Victorian Britain.

In English Magic, the Turner Prize-winning artist brings Morris “back from the dead”, encouraging us to turn the mirror on ourselves and ask questions of the society in which we live.

English Magic was commissioned by the British Council for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2013. The UK tour of the exhibition is supported by the Art Fund – the national fundraising charity for art.

The tour is the first of its kind and will enable audiences across the country to see the exhibition at the William Morris Gallery, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and Turner Contemporary, Margate in 2014.

Image: We sit starving amidst our gold, painted by Stuart Sam Hughes, 2013. © Cristiano Corte

Lithograph showing a crowd of people. One man has his fist in the air

Help is Better Than Sympathy

Frank Brangwyn and the First World War

EXHIBITION

Monday 25 May 2015 - Sunday 14 September 2014

At the start of World War 1, more than a million Belgian refugees fled the advancing armies, seeking sanctuary abroad. Around 250,000 made it to England – one of the largest groups of refugees in British history – and found a sympathetic welcome. Local relief committees formed all over the country, raising funds to sustain them during their time in exile.

The exhibition takes its title from a poster designed by Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) for the Belgian & Allies Aid League. “Will you help these sufferers from the war to start a new home”, it asks. “Help is better than sympathy.”

Bruges-born Brangwyn, already a well-known and successful artist before 1914, became a prolific poster-maker during the war and his designs became synonymous with First World War propaganda. Many present the horrors of the war, while others aim to recruit soldiers and vilify the enemy.  One propaganda poster in particular was so violent that the German Kaiser allegedly put a price on Brangwyn’s head.

Help is Better Than Sympathy presents some of Brangwyn’s best known posters, including ‘The Retreat from Antwerp’, alongside lesser known work. Shown together they offer an opportunity to examine Brangwyn’s attitude to the First World War, and the Belgian refugees in particular, using the gallery’s rich collection.

Find out more about Frank Brangwyn by exploring the Frank Brangwyn permanent exhibition or by browsing the collection online.

The exhibition is kindly supported by Farrow & Ball’s Islington showroom and the Heritage Lottery Fund

Lithograph showing a worker up a ladder with others working behind them

The Brangwyn Gallery (2014 to 2016)

First World War posters

EXHIBITION

Saturday 27 September 2014 - Sunday 10 January 2016

Both shows focus on Brangwyn’s concern for Belgium, and the powerful propgaganda posters the artist created to support the war effort.

The Belgian & Allies Aid League poster and the Rebuilding of Belgium poster highlight the little known story of Belgian refugees in Britain.

Image: David Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery.

Find our more about Help is Better Than Sympathy: Frank Brangwyn and the First World War here.

Close up on a woman with long, wavy dark hair. She looks sad

Rossetti’s Obsession

Images of Jane Morris

EXHIBITION

Saturday 4 October 2014 - Sunday 4 January 2015

Jane Morris (née Burden, 1839-1914) was the wife of William Morris, and the favoured model of Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882).

In his maturity, Rossetti drew and painted Jane with an obsessional intensity and she was cast in many literary and mythological roles, including Dante’s Beatrice, Pandora, Proserpine and Astarte.

Whether in direct or symbolic guise, Jane’s features are depicted with a sombre intensity that offer a glimpse into Rossetti’s troubled soul. The exhibition, marking the centenary of Jane’s death, brings together compelling and rarely seen drawings and pastel studies of Jane by Rossetti, shown with images of Jane as herself, and explores her life and interests beyond modelling.

Jane was a talented embroiderer, linguist and musician and played a role in the family business Morris & Co. The recent publication of her letters (The Collected Letters of Jane Morris, edited by Jan Marsh and Frank C. Sharp, 2012), gives an unparalleled insight into her interests and personality, balancing the sullen and silent impression that Rossetti’s paintings have immortalised.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was the leading member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His depictions of Jane Morris ensured that her face became the iconic image of Pre-Raphaelite womanhood.

A touring exhibition in partnership with Bradford Museums and Galleries.

The exhibition is kindly supported by Farrow & Ball’s Islington Showroom.

Image: detail of painted portrait of Jane Morris, Bradford Museums and Gallery.

Torn and burnt pieces of brightly coloured fabric against a dark urban landscape

Alke Schmidt

Tangled Yarns

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 15 October 2014 - Sunday 1 February 2015

Each work in Tangled Yarns examines a different episode in the cotton trade’s complex – and often brutal – history, combining found fabrics with painting, stitch or print. Using both narrative and more abstract approaches, Alke Schmidt reveals how the trade is intertwined with issues of race and gender, exploitation and violence.

The earliest story is that of the violent campaign by English weavers against imported Indian cotton in the early 18th century, when gangs attacked women wearing patterned cotton gowns or petticoats. Elsewhere, classic William Morris prints have been subverted to remind us how Morris & Co, through its supply chain, was linked to the cotton mills of 19th century Lancashire. Recent events explored by Schmidt include the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building, which killed 1,138 Bangladeshi garment workers.

Each piece incorporates a different fabric, chosen for its association with the story being told and used as a canvas, sculptural medium or object in itself.

Schmidt deliberately cultivates the tension between the works’ provocative subject matter and their delicate, often decorative, appearance.

Rather than presenting a definitive political statement, she invites us to consider the contradictions and ambiguities of a trade that spans centuries, and every part of the globe.

The exhibition and associated educational programme is kindly supported by Arts Council England.

Special thanks to Morris & Co for supplying fabrics used in the show.

Faceless figures wearing headscarves grouped together

Torn Justice

Working conditions in the global textile industry

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 19 November 2014 - Sunday 1 March 2015

The work was developed at the gallery in August 2014 and involved exploration of Alke Schmidt’s art work from the exhibition Tangled Yarns and William Morris’s interest in employment rights.

This exhibition will take place in the Discovery Lounge.

A sepia-toned photo of an older woman sitting in an armchair sits next to a modern colour photo of an older woman. Both wear headdresses

Yinka Shonibare MBE

The William Morris Family Album

EXHIBITION

Saturday 7 February - Sunday 7 June 2015

The Victorian age, the legacy of Empire and the global textile trade are central themes in the work of Yinka Shonibare.

In this new exhibition, the internationally acclaimed British Nigerian artist turns his attention to William Morris. By inviting Waltham Forest residents to help recreate photographs of Morris’s family, he encourages viewers to reflect on the realities of equality in both Morris’s time and our own.

The free exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive education and events programme.

Image copyright the artist. Courtesy of the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and The Church of England Record Centre. Commissioned by William Morris Gallery.

Close up on indigo dyed fabric

Lucille Junkere

All Blues

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 8 April - Sunday 14 June 2015

This exhibition is the result of textile artist Lucille Junkere’s residency at the gallery.

All Blues examines the complex, often painful, history of indigo dye. On display is a sample book documenting Junkere’s artistic journey into this complex and culturally significant colour.

This exhibition takes place in the Discovery Lounge.

Black letters on white floral background

Language Cannot Be Dead

The impact of textspeak on the English language

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 24 June - Sunday 30 August 2015

With words like ‘twerk’ and ‘selfie’ making entries for the Oxford English Dictionary it is clear that textspeak has moved beyond the confinement of a computer screen. In a series of etchings and floral tributes, Adam Hogarth considers the impact on the English language.

An exhibition in the Discovery Lounge and Tea Room.

Series of red, black and white lines and blocks laid over pages from William Morris books

David Mabb

Announcer

EXHIBITION

Saturday 27 June - Sunday 27 September 2015

William Morris and Russian artist El Lissitzky both wanted to change people’s lives through their art. While Morris saw beauty in the past, Lissitzky sought a new visual language for the future.

In this work, British artist David Mabb celebrates the utopian ideas of these two men through their seminal book designs: Morris’s Kelmscott Chaucer and Lissitzky’s For the Voice, a revolutionary book of poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky considered one of the finest achievements in Russian avant-garde bookmaking.

Comprising 30 canvasses, Announcer takes over the gallery space, interweaving and contrasting the two designs so that Morris and Lissitzky’s graphics are never able to fully merge or separate.

Want to know more? See our Tumblr for images, quotes and short articles relating to Announcer.

Announcer is a touring exhibition from Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea.

A an in a hat stands in the door of a white van with Art Maker written on the side of it. He holds a banner which reads This campaign is an artwork

Art is Your Human Right

The artistic campaigns of Bob and Roberta Smith

EXHIBITION

Friday 16 October 2015 - Sunday 31 January 2016

Enraged by the Government’s downgrading of art in schools, the artist decided to fight back. In this exhibition we follow his campaigns, from his furious painting, Letter to Michael Gove, to the launch of the Art Party and his attempt to be elected to parliament in 2015.

Combining film, placards, sculpture, banners and even his slogan-covered campaigning van, this exhibition makes the case for creativity. All schools should be art schools. Music makes children powerful.

The show includes a new film Art is Your Human Right: why can’t politics be more fun? and presents the artist’s hopes and fears for the future.

Close up on a decorated bowl bearing the words Love yourself

Young People’s Exhibition

Letters for Everyday

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 18 November 2015 - Sunday 31 January 2016

Young artists aged 16 – 22 exhibit original art work exploring art that sends a message, inspired by artist activists William Morris and Bob and Roberta Smith.

Furniture and household objects have been transformed into beautiful works of art alongside more traditional pieces in this diverse exhibition. As the title suggests, the exhibition references the daily lives and experiences of young people living in London.

The work was developed at the gallery in August 2015 by nine young people, Grace, Elly, Sherazade, Joe, Christina, Ray, Esin, Theo and Tina, taking part in a week-long creative project led by artist Della Rees.

Image: Eat Your Cereal, Ray 2015.

Repeating pattern on fabric showing a smiling Nelso Mandela

Social Fabric

African Textiles Today

EXHIBITION

Saturday 20 February - Sunday 29 May 2016

Social Fabric explores how the printed and factory-woven textiles of eastern and southern Africa mirror the changing times, fashions and tastes of the region.

Bringing together kanga from Kenya and Tanzania, and shweshwe from southern Africa, the exhibition reveals how these fabrics express the social, political, religious, emotional and even sexual concerns of the people who wear them.

The varied patterns and inscriptions are thought provoking and sometimes humorous. They convey an unspoken language, expressing thoughts and feelings which cannot always be spoken out loud. Worn in both secular and sacred contexts, the fabric plays a central role in all major rite-of-passage ceremonies in women’s and, in some cases, men’s lives.

The exhibition will reveal how these types of wearable cloth mirror the convergence of African tastes and patronage with strong historical and contemporary trading ties from across the globe. It will also explore how the cloth is used to celebrate influential people and great occasions, such as Josina Machel, Nelson Mandela or the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The exhibition also features contemporary art and fashion inspired by the textiles in the show. South African artist Lawrence Lemaoana uses kanga to explore the notion of power in post-Apartheid South Africa. Kapwani Kiwanga’s sculptural work draws our attention to how African fabric is not only a decorative object but also a medium for expressing the main concerns of society. The bold graphic print on the designs of London based fashion label CHiCHia was inspired by chief designer Christine Mhando’s favourite proverbs and sayings sourced from Tanzanian kanga.

A British Museum touring exhibition. Supported by The British Museum and The Dorset Foundation.

Image: Nelson Mandela, South Africa, 2008 (c) Trustees of the British Museum.

Pine cone, string and ribbon for decoration making

Mini Morris

Jingle Bells

WORKSHOPS

Thursday 19 December 2024

In December we will take inspiration from all things Morris and make festive decorations using natural materials and bells to spread cheer and good will!

Our youngest artists are invited to join us at the Gallery to create their very own jingly, jangly festive creation to take home and display.

Mini Morris sessions are now DROP IN ONLY. FREE. Donations welcome.

Choose from:

  • 10:00am to 11:00am.
  • 11:45am to 12:45pm.

As this can be a messy session, please wear or bring old clothes. Aprons are available.

All sessions include the craft activity, singing and a snack to take away.

Drop in with limited capacity. Please arrive on time and sign up at the front desk.

A minimum of one adult per 2 children. Mini Morris sessions are ideal for children aged 2- 4 but anyone under 5 years old is welcome. We regret we cannot accept any children over 5 at these sessions.

Image: Birds in a Holly Tree wallpaper (1890s), designed by Charles Voysey

Two men pushing an olive press

Songs of a Wayfarer

Frank Brangwyn

EXHIBITION

Thursday 1 January 1970

As a young man, Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) travelled extensively through southern Europe and to the North African coast, recording the landscapes he encountered. He also journeyed to South Africa, painting the old towns and farms around Cape Town.

This small display combines oils and watercolours from the gallery’s collection with important loans from private collectors, depicting scenes in North and South Africa, Italy and Spain. They were painted in the 1890s when Brangwyn was in his twenties and making a name for himself in the salons of Europe.

Repeating wallpaper pattern of delicate birds in flight and on tree branches

Chelsea College of Arts

A modern take on the Morris & Co wallpaper book

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 24 February - Saturday 26 March 2016

Following a visit to the William Morris Gallery and Lloyd Park, students at Chelsea College of Art created a wallpaper sample book, on display in the Discovery Lounge.

The Fruity Birds design shown above is by Le Xi.

Partially coloured drawing showing close up of a flower head

Clare Twomey

Time Present and Time Past

EXHIBITION

Saturday 18 June - Sunday 18 September 2016

Ceramicist Clare Twomey transforms the gallery into a live studio, where members of the public will work as apprentices on a William Morris-inspired tile panel; an ambitious installation that will bring his ideas to life.

Twomey is planning to create a vast tile panel embellished with Chrysanthemum, one of William Morris’s most compelling and intricate designs. Over 68 days, 68 volunteer apprentices will work on the piece. Every day, a new apprentice will work alongside a skilled master painter, slowly transforming the tiles from one state of beauty to another. Visitors will be able to watch this process slowly unfold.

The exhibition is a response to William Morris’s approach to making. Like the would-be apprentices, Morris learned his skills through practice and concentration. Skills need to be constantly passed on and shared, from one person to another, to retain their vitality. Twomey’s installation will explore how practising a skill can connect us through time and space to other people. As Morris observed, ‘The past is not dead, but living in us.’ You can view a film in which the artist explains the idea behind the exhibition in more detail at the gallery or online.

This exhibition is funded through Art Happens, the Art Fund’s crowd-funding platform, and we would like to thank all funders for their support.

Brightly coloured poster of a crowd of people from behind, holding hands int he air with red banners waving around them

A World to Win

Posters of Protest and Revolution

EXHIBITION

Saturday 8 October 2016 - Sunday 15 January 2017

A World to Win: Posters of Protest and Revolution shows a spotlight on how political activists around the world have used posters to mobilise, educate and organise.

The exhibition will present around 70 posters drawn from the national poster collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Showcasing the work of diverse artists, graphic designers and print collectives it will include new acquisitions gathered from recent outbursts of protest in the UK, Russia and the Middle East.

Making or displaying a poster is in itself a means of taking political action, while for many social and political movements, posters have represented an important form of cultural output. The show will feature posters made by the Atelier Populaire during the student protests in Paris in 1968, as well as examples from the Russian, Chinese and Cuban Revolutions.

The exhibition will also host artist Ruth Ewan’s A Jukebox of People Trying to Change the World, an ongoing collection of over 2000 idealistic or political songs collated by Ewan and disseminated via a CD jukebox.

Exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Grainy black and white image of a figure in a hat bending over

Rosalind Fowler

NowhereSomewhere

EXHIBITION

Saturday 8 October - Sunday 6 November 2016

NowhereSomewhere is a two-screen film installation inspired by William Morris’s utopian novel News From Nowhere. Fowler explores the resonance between Morris’s vision and Organiclea, a food growing co-operative based in Waltham Forest where she herself is a gardener. The footage, shot over the autumn and winter season is combined with fragments of gardeners reading from News From Nowhere.

On a second screen, as the new growing season arrives and seeds are planted for the coming year, community members reflect on their own dreams for an imaginary future London.

This visually engaging piece of work includes 16mm film, hand-processed by Fowler at Organiclea using an ecological formula. She worked on site in a temporary film lab, and experimented with natural dye to create the film.

The installation is accompanied by Fowler’s seed packet project, in which she invited gardeners and others around the Borough to share their visions for the city of the future on empty seed packets.

The final film was created in collaboration with sound artist Andrej Bako.

Rosalind Fowler is an artist and filmmaker with a background in visual art and anthropology. Her work explores the politics and poetics of place and belonging in the contemporary English landscape through the prisms of folk culture, alternative communities, science fiction, pre-history and dreams.

Her work has been shown widely, including at the ICA, William Morris Gallery, BFI, Plymouth Arts Centre, Milton Keynes Gallery, Pumphouse Gallery, BBC Birmingham, and  Fundação Manuel António da Mota in Porto.  She was the 2015-16 artist in residency at the William Morris Gallery.

Supported by Arts Council England.

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.

Detail showing teacups and saucers. The insides of the cups are coated in gold leaf

Pam Schomberg

Ceramics

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 2 November 2016 - Sunday 8 January 2017

A Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen, potter Pam Schomberg uses porcelain, stoneware, or a combination of both to make marks and impress pattern into rolled out slabs of clay, with made or found tools. Colour is included at all stages, with the use of oxides, slips, glazes and on-glaze lusters.

‘As a potter you feel you know what you are making, but things can change dramatically from when they go in a kiln to when they come out after firing. Nothing is ever quite as expected, there is always a surprise when the kiln door opens and the contents shine back at you…’

For further information visit: www.pamschomberg.com

Close up monochrome illustration of a face with gas mark and soldiers helmet in front of newspaper cuttings and the word propaganda on a red banner

Think! The Poster Collective

Young People's Exhibition

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 2 November 2016 - Sunday 29 January 2017

Inspired by the themes and techniques of our exhibition A World to Win: Posters of Protest and Revolution, each young artist developed their individual response during a week-long project exploring the gallery, meeting artists, curators and designers and learning new printmaking skills led by artist Della Rees.

The result is a resounding endorsement of the creative talent of young people, their individualism and their thoughtful engagement with the world around them. The art works comment on current events including the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and the media’s relationship to society, while evoking a strong sense of community and an impression of the world as they would like it to be.

An exhibition in the Discovery Lounge, curated by the William Morris Gallery Young Curators Group.

Image: Hey Have Ya Heard? by Khalil

The cover of The Fox and the Star photographed from above, sitting on the leaves of green ferns

Coralie Bickford-Smith

The Fox and the Star

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 9 November 2016 - Sunday 29 January 2017

The Fox and the Star is a beautifully crafted tale of loss, friendship and discovery from award-winning illustrator and author Coralie Bickford-Smith. This exhibition will tell the fascinating story of the book’s conception and production, with original illustrations and rarely seen proofs. Taking inspiration from William Morris’s Kelmscott Press, every physical detail of this modern classic, from the cloth binding to the carefully chosen paper, has a ‘definite claim to beauty’.

This exhibition will appeal to all ages, from serious book lovers to families who will be able take part in hands-on activities. William Morris’s Kelmscott Press edition of Reynard the Fox, one of Coralie’s key inspirations, will also be on display.

Coralie Bickford-Smith graduated from Reading University where she studied Typography and Graphic Communication, and currently works in-house at Penguin Books. Her designs for the covers of the Penguin Classics clothbound series have attracted international acclaim and refer back to the world of Victorian book bindings.

In 2015 Coralie wrote and illustrated her own book, The Fox and the Star, which was published by Penguin and won Waterstone’s Book of the Year.

Kindly supported by Fullers Builders, Walthamstow.

Image credit: Thomas Lehman

A large crowd dressed in peasant robes gather on a grassy hillside to listen to a speaker

Red Saunders: Hidden

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 11 January - Sunday 12 March 2017

Each scene in photographer Red Saunders’ work is carefully planned and lit, using costumed models in the style of tableaux vivants (living pictures).

John Ball the Hedgerow Priest, the Peasants Revolt 1380 and William Cuffay and the London Chartist 1842 will be displayed outside in front of the Gallery and light up the entrance. Rediscover their extraordinary stories, and the contribution they made to bring about change.

Supported by Impressions Gallery.

Figures on a bridge with a larger bridge looming behind

Sheer Pleasure

Frank Brangwyn and the Art of Japan

EXHIBITION

Saturday 4 February - Sunday 14 May 2017

Sheer Pleasure – Frank Brangwyn and the Art of Japan examines Brangwyn’s love of Japanese art and his collaborative relationships with Japanese artists and patrons.

Brangwyn donated his collection of Japanese prints and paintings to the gallery. They have rarely been displayed and the exhibition includes highlights such as woodblock prints by Utagawa Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai and a carefully restored decorative screen.

During the 1910s, Brangwyn met the Japanese artist Yoshijiro Urushibara (1888-1953) in London. Their meeting led to a remarkable example of collaborative printmaking, combining the exuberant bravado of Brangwyn’s designs with the subtle and distinctive techniques of Japanese printmaking. The exhibition explores the collaborative process, with sketches, notes and key block prints, as well as displaying some of their most successful works, such as The Devil’s Bridge and the ambitious Bruges series.

It also tells the story of Brangwyn’s relationship with his patron Kojiro Mutsakata, and their ill-fated plans to create an art gallery in Tokyo.

To complement the exhibition, we have invited painter and printmaker Rebecca Salter RA to display her work in one of our first floor galleries. Having studied at Kyoto City University of the Arts, and having lived in Japan for six years, Salter studied the art of Japanese woodblock printing extensively. She creates prints in collaboration with the Sato Woodblock Workshop in Kyoto, one of just a few surviving in an industry in slow decline. Salter’s work offers scope to compare the complexities of collaboration between designer and maker, artist and patron, Britain and Japan.

Supported by the Decorative Arts Society Collection Access Grant 2016.

Image credit: the Estate of the Artist, William Morris Gallery

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

Close up on pattern featuring recurring ovals and geometric shapes

PLANTWORKS

A Factory As It Might Be

EXHIBITION

Wednesday 5 April - Sunday 21 May 2017

The artist Clare Mitten’s reimagining of A Factory As it Might Be – William Morris’s vision for how beautiful factories would act as centres of education and creativity – is influenced by Victorian science fiction and bio-inspired technology.

PLANTWORKS explores the relationship of Morris to industrial manufacturing through drawings and paintings of plant specimens, translated into a collection of cardboard models, before transforming back into 2D motifs.

PLANTWORKS is generously supported by the Arts Council and Bow Arts Trust.

Self-portrait of Peter Blake showing head and upper body. He is wearing a denim jacket covered in badges

Be Magnificent

Walthamstow School of Art 1957 to 1967

EXHIBITION

Friday 9 June - Sunday 10 September 2017

Walthamstow School of Art cultivated some of the most influential creative talent of the 1950s and 60s. Leading names in art, fashion, music and film studied and taught here – including Pop Artists Peter Blake and Derek Boshier, musician Ian Dury, filmmakers Ken Russell and Peter Greenaway, and fashion designers Celia Birtwell, Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin.

The exhibition will explore this radical era at the school, showing the early work of these seminal artists and designers and revealing how they were encouraged to explore their creative imagination, taking art and culture in radical new directions.

This incredible era at the school has never been explored or researched in depth, despite the fact that all the leading players cite their time in Walthamstow as key to their later development.  For the first time, the early work of these influential artists and designers will be brought together in one exhibition, to show how it was in the art schools of post-war Britain, rather than the universities, that the benefits of a free, universal secondary education were most evident.

The exhibition will capture the energy, excitement and dynamism of these young artists, teachers and designers as they first started out in their careers. The exhibition will reveal personal testimony and original work created by the pupils and teachers during their time at the school, as well as personal photographs and archival material, film, music and ephemera from the period.

Close up on embroidered flowers

May Morris

Art and Life

EXHIBITION

Saturday 7 October 2017 - Sunday 28 January 2018

This landmark exhibition explores the life and work of May Morris, the younger daughter of William Morris and one of the most significant artists of the British Arts and Crafts movement. May Morris: Art & Life is the most comprehensive survey of May’s work to date, bringing together over 80 works from collections around the UK, many of which have never been on public display.

May Morris: Art & Life has been funded through Art Happens, the Art Fund’s crowdfunding platform.

The exhibition will coincide with the publication by Thames & Hudson of May Morris: Arts & Crafts Designer, which is co-authored by curators at the William Morris Gallery and the V&A.

Close up detail of adorned tree trunk

Gayle Chong Kwan

The history, politics and people of Epping Forest

EXHIBITION

Saturday 3 March - Sunday 20 May 2018

Gayle Chong Kwan’s The People’s Forest is an exhibition of new photographic and sculptural work exploring the history, politics, and people of London’s ancient woodland, Epping Forest.

The exhibition is the culmination of Chong Kwan’s two-year engagement and research investigating the Forest as a liminal threshold between rural and urban, as a site of historic and recent protest, as a shared and contested resource, and the conflict between capital and common.

Line illustration of a monument and buildings with a leafless tree in the foreground

The Brangwyn Gallery

Made in London

EXHIBITION

Saturday 3 March 2018 - Sunday 26 January 2020

Recent exhibitions at the gallery have emphasised Brangwyn’s international connections; his interest in Belgium, his journeys through Europe and South Africa, and his passion for Japanese art.  But these interests are reflective of the opportunities offered by London, the city in which he lived.

This display focuses on Brangwyn’s relationship with the capital; where he learnt his trade and how its energy drove his work.

Numbers using Morris fabric on vibrant blue material

Tatsuo Miyajima

The leading Japanese artist responds to an iconic William Morris design

EXHIBITION

Saturday 16 June - Sunday 23 September 2018

Tatsuo Miyajima is one of Japan’s foremost contemporary artists. Through his work he explores the concept of time, incorporating original material made around the establishment of Greenwich Mean Time in 1884 with his trademark “Miyajima numbers”. For his latest work, Miyajima has collaborated with William Morris, using his iconic Bird fabric from 1878 to create a new work in the series.

Supported by the Japan Foundation

Brightly coloured tapestry showing shapes, shades and berries

Weaving New Worlds

Sixteen women artists weave the stories of our time

EXHIBITION

Saturday 16 June - Sunday 23 September 2018

Tapestries have always told stories. In this exhibition 16 women artists from the UK, USA, Norway, Canada, New Zealand and Japan weave the stories of our time: the possibilities, the hopes and lost chances.

Woven tapestry is formed from the most basic construction: using a loom, the maker forms a design through tightly packed horizontal threads (the weft), which cover vertical threads (the warp). To weave a tapestry is an intensely intimate act; the weaver must concentrate on tiny areas at a time, building shape upon shape of imagery, colour and narrative until the final, and usually large scale, work is completed. Historic examples of tapestry range across time, and across cultures, including the 4th or 5th century Coptic (Egyptian Christian) tapestries with their bold imagery, the highly complex early 16th century European tapestries telling the story of The Lady and The Unicorn, right up to the present day. In each historical instance, tapestry has always been used to tell stories of the time.

Using traditional hand woven tapestry techniques that connect us to the past, the artists included in ‘Weaving New Worlds’ have drawn on contemporary images and events, personal dreams and feelings, bringing the art form into the 21st century through their vibrancy and subject matter.

The tapestries range in subject matter, from reflections of rural mythologies, to floods and urban decay. The featured artists are notable for continually pushing the boundaries of their craft, and in some cases this is the first UK presentation of their work. Norwegian artist Mari Meen Halsøy has been working for the last eight years in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, a city marked by violence and political unrest. For decades bombed buildings with countless bullet holes have stood as monuments to the ravages. Halsøy weaves, on site, patches for the ‘wounds’ of the buildings, as an act of metaphorical and actual healing. Her tapestry Snipers Room is exhibited here for the first time in the UK.

Also on display is British artist Pat Taylor’s portrait of Kim Jong-un, taken from her recent series of tapestry portraits. Preoccupation with physiognomy has been a constant theme in her work, stimulated by current and sometimes physically distant events. By using physiognomy as the linchpin, stories are expressed through the landscape of the subject’s face.

American artist Erin M. Riley will present a new work in this exhibition, reflecting a thematic change from her ‘Selfie’ series and the sexually explicit tapestries for which she is well known. Her work Head On references her childhood in which she grew up in a town in Cape Cod, Massachussetts, that had a markedly high rate of drunk driving accidents and related deaths, causing her to make a significant choice from a young age not to drink. Always at the heart of the work is the human condition, the artists offering us both a utopian and dystopian view – the choice is ours.

Curated by Lesley Millar, Professor of Textile Culture and Director of the International Textile Research Centre at the University for the Creative Arts in collaboration with National Centre for Craft & Design and William Morris Gallery.

A catalogue of the exhibition is available here

Image: Ripples & Ribes by Jennie Moncur, 2015 ©The Artist

Detail from Rob Ryan, If You Believe In Freedom, with the phrase 'If you believe in freedom then you must want freedom for everyone' written on a spider web

Rob Ryan

Solo exhibition celebrating the artist

EXHIBITION

Saturday 20 October 2018 - Sunday 27 January 2019

“Patterns and words and pictures, pictures and words and patterns, I don’t want them to live apart and segregated. It’s always been my aim to somehow weave them all together to keep each other company, nobody in the world should have to feel alone.” – Rob Ryan

A solo exhibition of work by renowned fine artist Rob Ryan, featuring highly patterned original papercuts and limited edition silkscreen prints created in response to the William Morris Gallery’s collection. To accompany the exhibition, Rob has designed and produced a range of exclusive merchandise for the Gallery shop. The range includes ceramics, glassware and a limited edition lasercut.

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