The William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow has been closed over the summer for renovations and a rehang of its collection, and it reopens its doors on Saturday 3 October.
Time Out describes the rehang as the first shake-up of the space since the gallery's 2012 redevelopment. It was created with Sam Jacob Studio and timed to mark 130 years since William Morris's death.
For many of us, the gallery is simply part of the neighbourhood. It is housed in Water House, a Grade II-listed Georgian villa where Morris lived as a teenager from 1848 to 1856, and it holds what Time Out calls "the world's most comprehensive collection of his work". After its 2012 redevelopment it went on to win the Art Fund Museum of the Year award in 2013.
Familiar favourites, and some new stories
The restored galleries will keep the pieces regular visitors know well, including Morris's original textile and wallpaper designs. They will sit alongside early examples of furniture and recent acquisitions that shed fresh light on his life and legacy.
The rehang also makes room for stories that have had less attention in the past. It puts women in the Arts & Crafts movement at the forefront, among them May Morris, Morris's daughter and a designer who ran the firm's embroidery work. It explores how South Asian and Islamic art influenced Morris's patterns, and looks at why his ideas still matter today in design, politics and environmental thinking.
There will be objects the public has not seen before, too. They include Morris's original Hammersmith Socialist League banner, on loan from Manchester, and his own copy of One Thousand and One Nights, which shaped his writing and his love of Asian decorative arts.
Built by local hands
Local wood-turners, glass blowers and furniture makers were brought in to build the new spaces, in keeping with Morris's commitment to sustainable craft.
Looking further ahead, a new space called Morris Today is due to open in 2027 as a hub for contemporary artists working with his ideas.
The reopening coincides with the gallery's major new exhibition, Earthly Paradise: Radical Living in the UK, which looks at 200 years of British art and activism.
The William Morris Gallery reopens on Saturday 3 October.
