WALTHAM FOREST: Council policy on Morris Gallery 'bizarre' (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

WALTHAM FOREST: Council policy on Morris Gallery 'bizarre'

2:30pm Sunday 4th November 2007 in

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THE ROYAL College of Art's senior tutor in fine art has slammed the council over its cultural policy.

Mark Hampson, who is also the current artist in residence at William Morris Gallery, and has shown his art around the world, called councillors philistines who 'haven't got a clue' about culture.

He said the decision to cut hours at William Morris Gallery to save money was bizarre.

"Morris is massive. He's on a par with Hogarth or Reynolds and so much bigger than the Arts and Crafts movement," he said.

Morris is massive. He's on a par with Hogarth or Reynolds and so much bigger than the Arts and Crafts movement,

Mark Hampson

"He was an artist, writer, philosopher, politician and academic. His translations of Icelandic novels were hugely influential on J.R.R Tolkein and C.S Lewis. His ideas were really far reaching."

Mr Hampton said other cities, like Manchester with Lowry and Glasgow with Mackintosh, had turned their local artist into a tourist attraction and a source of civic pride, even including their work in letterheads and logos.

He called Morris mindblowing in comparison to Lowry, who he described as pretty parochial.

Yet Manchester, near to Mr Hampson's home town of Oldham, built a huge multi-arts centre named after Lowry and kick-started the regeneration of Salford at the same time.

Mr Hampson, who said he had to print and distribute his own posters and flyers for his end of residency exhibition, Making Nowhere Somewhere, shared campaigners' concerns that the council was deliberately running the gallery down, so it can be turned into a wedding venue, and despaired of gallery keeper Peter Cormack's redundancy after 30 years at the venue.

"Peter's international status as the world authority on all things relating to Morris is an unrecognised treasure of the borough," he said.

"I'm very angry about the way he's been treated." Making Nowhere Somewhere ends on November 10. Mr Hampson said the exhibition, which satirically explores the idea of the Gallery and Lloyd Park turned into a pleasure and leisure park, has definite contemporary resonances.