A special event celebrating William Morris & Art from the Islamic World as the exhibition reaches its final week.
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