William Morris Gallery
2.jpg)
The philistines of Waltham Forest Council have approved cuts that will see Monday to Friday closure of the William Morris Gallery & Vestry House Museum from April 2007, also loss of jobs and expertise. Saturday will be the only regular opening day. From one day to complete closure is a very small step! The William Morris Gallery is featured on my London page (CLICK) as one of my favourite museums in London. It is a vital resource for anyone interested in Morris, the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. To slash its staff and opening hours to save a piddling £56,000 a year! What are those lunatic councillors thinking of? They should be investing in valuable museums and galleries that bring visitors and tourists to an otherwise boring and deprived borough. Click the title link to sign an online petition. You'll also find the local MP's email address. Use it!
posted by Unknown @ 13.3.07
8 comments
8 Comments:
I'd never heard of the William Morris Gallery, and I live in London. As in the case of the recently-closed Theatre Museum, of which nobody knew the existence until it closed, a little promotion might have helped.
Hi, Alan
I absolutely agree. If a commercial firm owned the William Morris Gallery, it would advertise it, invest in temporary exhibitions and make money. Councillors are clueless. But, to be fair to them, they are forced to run everything as non-profit-making. That means, if any council project makes too much money, it screws up the budget, which is bad news!
You must visit this little gem before it's too late. See my London page, which has a brief write-up and a link to the Morris website. The Morris wallpaper is reproduced with the Gallery's permission (nice folks there).
I'm sure that the theatre museum in Covent Garden is not closed, it was refitted recently though.
The refit was probably to lull everyone into a sense of false security!
I checked my facts before replying to you. Here's a quote from the horse's...
"Plans are in place for displaying the V&A's theatre and performance collections following the closure of the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden in January 2007. There will be a new permanent gallery at the V&A and major new exhibitions and touring displays. An exhibition on Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes is scheduled for 2009."
It's now an "online" museum! Visit it at:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/
vastatic/theatre/
William Morris Gallery is a beautiful place and a fantastic resource,the Council are incredibly short sighted reducing opening hours and funding. Local people have set up the following website www.keepourmuseumsopen.org.uk - please visit it and email the local and national MP's and Councillors on there if you can. There is also an online petition that has over 2,000 signatures. www.petitiononline.com/savewmg
Thanks you so much
Hi, Katherine
Thanks for the comment. I wrote to the William Morris Gallery soon after I heard the news, and asked that my email be forwarded to the Council as a complaint, if the closures went ahead. I've signed the petition (I'm No 1663) and sent an email to the local MP.
Please keep me abreast of developments, so I can post any news on my blog.
2181
Good on yer, 2181.
Post a Comment
<< Home