Leytonstone Arts Trail – part of Leytonstone’s rich creative history Leytonstone Arts Trail is proud to be part of the BBC’s Get Creative initiative this year – but it’s not a one­off. Leytonstone’s history of being creative is one of inclusion, engagement and experimentation that stretches as far back as its Victorian terraces and shows no sign of stopping yet. From William Morris, founder of the 19th century Arts and Craft movement as a social and aesthetic force for good, onwards, the roll call of famous and influential artists in the area is huge, often demonstrating a spirit of democratic inclusivity that blurs boundaries between creating and consuming art. In the 1920s, the East London Group grew out of one of the earliest adult education evening classes. Set up in Bethnal Green, its first members were tradesmen who struggled to pay for their materials from meagre wages. They were encouraged to make their own images, not copy others and so their work captures their surroundings – including many images of Leytonstone, Wanstead and Stratford. Showing initially in the East End, their work won critical acclaim and two – Elwin Hawthorne and Walter Steggles – went on to show at the Venice Biennale of 1936 alongside Barbara Hepworth and their mentor, Walter Sickert. Via the Royal Academy, Sickert was associated with the sculptors Frank Dobson RA and Jacob Epstein KBE; both giants of the early 20th­century art world with local connections. Dobson had attended Harrow Green school, Epstein lived in Loughton and he painted many fantastic watercolours of Epping Forest (somewhat at odds with his main oeuvre). Post­war, South West Essex Technical College – now Waltham Forest College – featured in the early career of several great names. Peter Blake RA, CBE, pop artist and creator of the iconic Sgt Pepper album cover was a Leytonstone native who taught Ian Dury, Peter Greenaway and Ken Russell there. David Bailey, born in Leytonstone, captured many of his iconic swinging sixties photographs in the East End. Coming to attention around the same time was Keith Albarn, a highly talented and influential artist who has continued to work over many decades on his pattern and belief art. He showed several times at the ICA, with one in 1976 leading to the book Illusion in Nature and Art by R L Gregory and E H Gombrich. His son, Damon Albarn OBE, was honoured with a blue plaque at their Fillebrook Road, Leytonstone house and his song Hollow Ponds refers to the boating lake off Whipps Cross Road, Leytonstone and the adjacent Green Man area of common land. Stuart Freeborn, “the grandfather of modern make­up design”’s first big film, 2001: A Space Odyssey was released in 1961 – although he is much better known as the creator of Yoda in the Star Wars trilogy. He was born and raised in Grove Green Road, Leytonstone and was recently also honoured with a blue plaque; his work has inspired the creation of street art in the area. The heyday of art in Leytonstone may well be the 1980s/early 90s, where a quirk of town­planning introduced a decade which saw Leytonstone house the largest population of artists in Europe. The Department of Transport’s plans to cut through the suburb with a motorway had the unexpected consequence of providing cheap short­term leases for low­rent live/work spaces via the artist­led

organisation ACME. Many now famous names were residents – Paul Noble, Cornelia Parker, Grayson Perry (two Turner prize nominees and one winner). Protestors against the road squatted other properties and made art part of their non­violent strategy; the protests made national TV and the theme of eviction to make way for developers’ plans resonated in Turner prize­winner Rachel Whiteread’s piece House in nearby Bow in 1993. The protests were formally commemorated in a sound­walk artwork by Graeme Miller, one of the evicted artists. Commissioned by the Museum of London in 2003, the piece is a three­mile walk alongside the road relaying audio testimonies of those who lived and worked where the motorway now runs. In 2001, the Leytonstone Centre for Contemporary Art was born in a Leytonstone garden. Brainchild of Royal Academician, Bob and Roberta Smith, the piece – a small and charmingly handbuilt shed – went on to tour and inspire replica exhibition spaces internationally. Recent Bob and Roberta works encourage people to Make Your Own Damn Art, and recently, in his campaign for art education ­ Art is Your Human Right. In keeping with that spirit is the Leytonstone Arts Trail. Started in 2008, the Trail idea developed open­studio and open­house formats in a festival that draws together artists, businesses and residents, providing a different way to navigate and experience the neighbourhood. The Trail has grown each year since but remains true to the original vision of inclusivity and experimentation. Its history to the present day maps an interesting period in Leytonstone as rents and property prices soar while the local high street, like many others, is at a low ebb. Many of the artists have forged close links with independent businesses and community schemes working to bring back the soul of the high street and offer a local alternative to the culture of sanitised corporate consumerism. Interesting collaborations, groups and spaces have sprung up throughout the area and each year the Trail fosters new ones. This year the Trail has 67 exhibitions and 25 events with all art forms from traditional oil painting to performance and installation represented. There are great opportunities to join in with workshops, tours and talks. We’re very proud to be a BBC Get Creative champion and we fully support the initiative to encourage more people to see, think and make. We’d like to welcome people in to Creative Leytonstone, this geographical quirk of social and economic history that has fostered and inspired so many artists over the years. Leytonstone Arts Trail runs 2nd – 10th July at venues throughout the area, see http://www.leytonstoneartstrail.org

With special thanks to curator Alan Waltham for information on the East London Group

http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/whats_on/event/The­East­London­Group­Out­of­the­City

Julie Brown of The New Art Gallery Walsall for information on Jacob Epstein in their collection see

http://thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk

and author of This Other London, John Rogers, for all his local knowledge and remarkable blog ­

http://thelostbyway.com/

Additional historical images are on our online version of this article – see http://www.leytonstoneartstrail.org

FURTHER INFORMATION AND CONTACTS:

Further information and the full programme can be found at www.leytonstoneartstrail.org. Contact: Eleanor Bedlow mail@leytonstoneartstrail.org 079 3966 7518 www.leytonstoneartstrail.org Twitter: @Leytonstone_Art

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About us:

The Leytonstone Arts Trail is an annual festival of visual arts in Leytonstone run entirely by volunteers. It provides an opportunity for anyone to show their work regardless of age or training. Participants display their work in a variety of venues and the public is invited to enjoy all the exhibitions and events free of charge / at cost­recovery, so that the Arts Trail increases the enjoyment of all living, working and visiting the area.

The Trail has grown each year from 2008; this year has 67 exhibitions and 25 events.

We’re proud to be champions of the BBC’s Get Creative project, which aims to boost creativity in the UK, as well as celebrating the millions of people already doing something artistic and creative every day.

Press Pack

High Resolution images and logos are available via

http://www.leytonstoneartstrail.org/press­media/press­pack/

Permissions are required to use any of the images below from the owner, we can provide contact details on request.

Figure 1 Jacob Epstein, Autumn Landscape, Epping Forest, 1933, watercolour on paper, courtesy The New Art Gallery Walsall

Figure 2 East London Group members Elwin Hawthorne, Phyllis Bray, John Cooper, Brynhild Parker at Lefevre Galleries 1932, courtesy of Alan Waltham / E Hawthorne estate

Figure 3 Keith Albarn at his Pattern and Belief exhibition, 2013, the Minories Gallery, Colchester ©Jim Birdsell

Figure 4 pre M11 road sign, ©Alan Simpson courtesy of Leytonstone Museum https://leytonstonemuseum.wordpress.com/

Figure 5 M11 protest – last house standing, Leytonstone, 1993/94, ©Maureen Measure

Figure 6 Poster for Hearing Voices Seeing Things featuring The Leytonstone Center of Contemporary Art, 2006, courtesy of Bob and Roberta Smith

Figure 7 Bob and Roberta Smith, Art is Your Human Right, William Morris Gallery, 2015, photo by Paul Tucker ©William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest

Figure 8 Jeff Moore & Andy White, from Some Pictures Wot we Took, Leytonstone Arts Trail 2015, ©Jeff Moore

Figure 9 Karen Logan, Girlhood, Epping Forest, 2015, ©Karen Logan