Anti-Poetry Workshop

With WalthamScribe

WORKSHOPS

Sunday 7 April 2024

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

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

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

Led by local anti-hero Fletch Fletcher.

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

Mingei Art Without Heroes Book Cover

Mingei / Art Without Heroes – Panel discussion

London Craft Week 2024

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Wednesday 15 May 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In collaboration with The Japan Foundation.

Supporters and partners

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 19 September 2024

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

Read more about the exhibition here.

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

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 25 July 2024

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

Read more about the exhibition here.

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

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 27 June 2024

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

Read more about the exhibition here.

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

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 16 May 2024

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

Read more about the exhibition here.

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

Special curator-led tour of Art Without Heroes: Mingei

TOURS

Thursday 25 April 2024

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

Read more about the exhibition here.

Image: Bowl, Kawai Kanjiro. © National Museums Scotland 

Cray design by William Morris.

Community Iftar at William Morris Gallery

An event organised by PL84U AL-SUFFA

SPECIAL EVENTS

Tuesday 19 March 2024

You are warmly invited to gather together at this time during Ramadan to break your fast and to pray. Taking place in the ground floor Cafe and on the first floor landing of the Gallery. Refreshments are provided.

All members of the community are most welcome.

In partnership with London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Read more about PL84U AL-SUFFA here.

A woman reading at a workshop

Creative Writing Workshop & Book Club

With Waltham Forest Twinning Association

WORKSHOPS

Saturday 16 March 2024

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

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

Facilitator: Jane Ulysses Grell – storyteller, author

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

Where: Acanthus Room, William Morris Gallery

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

Film Screening & Discussion

Telling our Story & The iD Project

FILM

Saturday 9 March 2024

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

Two short films:

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

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

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

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

Followed by:

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

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

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

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

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

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