Img:Event Poster

Bowl, Kawai Kanjiro. Image © National Museums Scotland

Art Without Heroes : Mingei Exhibition at William Morris Gallery, London

  •   23 March - 22 September 2024
  •   10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday
  •   William Morris Gallery, Lloyd Park, Forest Road, London, E17 4PP
  •   https://wmgallery.org.uk/
  •  
  •   wmg.enquiries@walthamforest.gov.uk

Art Without HeroesMingei is the largest ever exhibition in the UK dedicated to Mingei, the influential folk-craft movement that developed in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s. With more than 80 works, including ceramics, woodwork, paper, toys, textiles, photography and film, the exhibition will incorporate unseen pieces from significant private collections in the UK and Japan, along with museum loans.
Mingei is a term coined by the Japanese philosopher and critic Yanagi Sōetsu (1889-1961) to mean ‘the art of the people’ and ascribes cultural value and aesthetic purity to traditional craft objects, unnamed makers and a simpler way of life. The exhibition will consider Mingei both as a historical moment and as a set of principles that remain relevant to contemporary craft, manufacturing and material consumerism worldwide.