May 2008

The friends scheme is renewing it’s membership currently, please support the gallery by joining the scheme. You will be invited to events, talks and exhibitions, be updated with the newsletter and meet others. Please see the latest friends newsletter.

To become a friend of the gallery, please fill in this form and send back to:

Hon. Secretary, Helen Dunstan-Smith
21 Barrett Road
London E17 9ES

After a fraught year with the uncertainty of the future of the gallery, the friends have now launched a programme of events. Please do come along to the following events:

18 May
12-4pm Family activities at the gallery.

May 24
The friends have organised a visit to the fabulous Christ Church, Southgate, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1862 which has a stunning array of windows by Morris & Co’s principal designers: Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris,
Ford Madox Brown and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, along with layout and ornamental detail by Philip Webb. Please download and fill out the booking form.

This will be a wonderful start to a new season of visits and lectures. Come along and meet the other Friends, wether you are a member, or not,  it promises to be a good day out for all the family with a chance to see some stunning art. Southgate is at the end of the Piccadilly line and we need to be at the Church, a ten minute walk from the station, by 10.30. It is important to get a ticket, or to let the organisers know you are coming, so we can get the numbers for tea sorted out.

June 21
The last and greatest work by Edward Burne-Jones, The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon (1881-1898), will return to the UK for the first time in forty years when it goes on display as part of the major re-hang of the BP British at Tate Britain in April 2008. This enormous painting, measuring over six metres in width, is being loaned to Tate Britain with Frederic Leighton’s masterpiece Flaming June (1895) from the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico, while its galleries undergo a major renovation and expansion during 2008. These important paintings will be shown alongside other masterpieces of late Victorian art from the Tate Collection. The Friends have arranged a tour of the Gallery – a truly unqiue opportunity to see these extraordinary works.

12 July – News From Nowhere
Peter Cormack will be lecturing on William Morris – not overtaken by History for the News from Nowhere Club at The Epicenter, 41 West Street Leytonstone E11 4LJ. The evening will begin at 7.30 for 8pm. There will be refreshments, visitors are asked to contribute to the buffet if possible. Enquiries:020 8555 5248 or check for online: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/News_from_Nowhere_Club  

July 15
Our Annual General Meeting will be held at Greenleaf Road Baptist Church Hall. We would warmly welcome your attendance.

July 20
We shall be taking a stall at the Green Fair, which will be held between 1pm and 7pm in Lloyd Park. This is Waltham Forest Council’s annual environmental event and this year’s fair is host to creative and musical works by young people inspired by the cultural legacy of William Morris.

The council has organised a consultation for friends of William Morris Gallery about the latest proposals for development of the gallery and the plans for submission of a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. The meeting will be hosted by Lorna Lee, Head of Libraries, Museum and Gallery and Jemma Taylor, Museum, Gallery and Archives Manager. Other members of the Project Board will also be present. This will be an opportunity not only to find out about the long-term plans for the Gallery but also to meet the new manager and hear about current developments.

 The meeting will be at William Morris Gallery, 21 May 2008, starting from 7.30pm.

Voluntary Action Waltham Forest are a major player in the social infrastructure of Waltham Forest borough. They are committed to shaping the future of the borough in partnership with its inhabitants, the local council and community groups. They were asked by the council to draw up a report on the Hoe Street and Wood Street areas under the Better Neighborhoods initiative, to outline the problems and make recommendations.

A lot of work went into it, lots of people were consulted and the result was a good report, a fair, balanced and comprehensive look into the difficulties facing us and the resources available to deal with them, it was well received. Critical of the council in some areas, it pointed out solutions that involved working with the community groups and local people in ways that extended democracy and participation. Genuine involvement of the local population in their own lives.

That was the problem, the report exposed the councils lack of commitment to real participation. The council banned the report, but you can read it at the antiscrap site, www.antiscrap.co.uk and click on “involuntary action”