William Morris Design Line celebrates local art and design at LDF 2022

The streets of Walthamstow are alive and covered in street art. For London Design Festival 2022, these streets will consist of interactive workshops and guided trails. These events are part of the William Morris Design Line, a design route traversing through Walthamstow – from Wood Street to Blackhorse Lane – with the intent to inspire creativity among the local community and global visitors. This William Morris-inspired walking trail is part of the ongoing design festival, which runs from September 17 to September 25, 2022. “Our innovative trail is inspired by Morris’ famous statement ‘art made by the people, for the people’,” Mark Clack, Co-Founder of Wood Street Walls & Creative Director of William Morris Design Line, explains. “The events and activities on offer explore the themes of identity and community power, and in doing so shine a light on the richness of East London’s creative community, past and present,” he adds.

William Morris Design Line is developed as part of Urban by Nature, a creative programme from lead partners William Morris Big Local and Wood Street Walls. Supported by Creative Civic Change, the trail uses art and creativity to create meaningful civic and urban change. All visitors who walk the art trail can hope to discover and interact with an eclectic mix of art and design. Through this journey, the viewers consequently discover their creative calling, whether it is drawing, spraying, making, or fixing. “There’s plenty of opportunities to get hands-on, so we hope to bring out the creative side of all who visit, to make sure this part of East London remains home to the next generation of artists, makers and creatives,” says Clack.

An additional event pays homage to the life of The Queen in the light of her recent demise. As part of the homage, 96 mini trees, each three to four feet tall, were placed on the steps of Waltham Forest College on Monday, September 19, 2022, and then distributed across Walthamstow on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. Furthermore, there are almost 30 other events and activities to engage visitors over this week-long design event. The William Morris Gallery hosts a variety of programs, most of which are free, ranging from new art installations and pop-up exhibitions to unique street art tours and community workshops. Curated tours of the museum are synonymous with Morris and his family home, and the exhibitions take over the Locus of Walthamstow.

Visitors and Londoners will embark on a creative journey through different neighbourhoods. The trail includes the Blackhorse Lane area that was recently made a Creative Enterprise by the Mayor of London, Forest Road, and the Wood Street area. The neighbourhood teems with vivid street art by internationally acclaimed artists such as HATCH, the moniker of London-based artist & illustrator Dave Smith, and Aaron Li-Hill. A new immersive installation was unveiled on the front of the William Morris Bar by multi-disciplinary designer Aimee Capstick as a tribute to the LGBTQ+ community. The design event also encompasses workshops such as ‘Weaving the Trees’ workshop by artist Rezia Wahid MBE that features a contemporary dance performance by Togolese-born dancer Isaac Ouro-Gnao. A music video by the Digital Story company titled ‘Freedom’ will also be projected onto a six-storey tower block on loop over three nights, from September 23 to 25, 2022.

This enticing project is one of 15 across England supported by Creative Civic Change (CCC), an experimental funding programme delivered by the Local Trust, National Lottery Community Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Local organisations and residents helm this project that celebrates local art and talent. The project, through an array of artistic outlets, reiterates the necessity of creativity in the process of achieving a more equitable and caring society.

Everything you need to know about London Design Festival 2022. Celebrating its 20th year, the festival takes over the city of London with installations, exhibitions, and talks from major design districts such as Brompton, Shoreditch Design Triangle, Greenwich Peninsula, Design London, Clerkenwell Design Trail, Park Royal, Mayfair, Bankside, King's Cross, William Morris Line, and Islington.