Images of the locations Map of the area
:: Description of the locations of News from Nowhere: Visions of Utopia ::
Arcadia - The Building Site

Artists will be exploring the archaeology of utopia on the site of a demolished shopping arcade situated in central Walthamstow.  The one remaining feature from its former use, is a strip of tarmac, now literally a road to nowhere.  Large enough to accommodate a small town centre, the site will be structured around the ideal of a medieval square or village green, marked out ready for development.

Artefacts of any future Utopias will be carefully placed amongst the rubble. See the billboard work of Albert Duman and Peter Ainsworth, concrete airplanes by Bjorn Birk, conceptual architecture by Wheeler and Faye, and the chestnut forest of Marigold Hodjkinson.

Members of the public will not have access to the site, either during work in progress or upon completion: there will be three gated viewing points in the perimeter wall, plus a number of strategic “spy-holes” for the micro-utopias that are to be attached to the inside of the wall.

These will provide magical glimpses into worlds of other dimensions, featuring the work of Ana Bianchi. For a close up look at what is happening on site check the inspanidual pages of each artist from the "participants" page.

 William Morris Gallery

William Morris, Designer, Craftsman, Writer and Socialist, was born at Walthamstow on the 24th March 1834 and died – ‘having done more work than most ten men’ – at Hammersmith in 1896.
The 18th-century Water House, Morris’s family home from 1848-1856 is now the William Morris Gallery.  It is the only public museum devoted to the country’s best known and most versatile designer with internationally important collections illustrating Morris’s life, achievements and influence."

For the first time, a selected group of artists and designers will be given a unique opportunity to work within the House and permanent displays.  Newly created works will be created in response to the space and artefacts, resulting in a series of juxtapositions and interventions.

‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’

WM The Beauty of Life, 1880

‘…I love art, and I love history; but it is living art and living history that I love. If we have no hope for the future, I do not see how we can look back on the past with pleasure.’

WM The History of Pattern-Designing, 1882
Lloyd Park

Formerly the Grounds to the Water House [William Morris Gallery], Lloyd Park offers landscaped lawns, formal gardens and other features, which may also be considered for the siting of outdoor work.		 The Moat

Home to an array of wildlife, flora and fauna, the moat provides opportunities for work that engages directly with this water based environment.
The Bowling Green

An artificial bowling green set behind the William Morris Gallery, will pay tribute to Ivor Cutler.

The Utopian Independent Island State - Waltham Forest Theatre.

Situated in Lloyd Park, to the rear of the William Morris Gallery is an island surrounded by a moat, accessible by two bridges across the water. The Waltham Forest Theatre and the lounge occupy the main central part of the island, with a considerable amount of outdoor spaces in which work can be sited.
Members of the public will have to negotiate their way through border control before they can cross to the Island - an entire site-specific visual and audio installation.		 The Changing Room Gallery

The familiar white cube gallery space is set within the park to the rear of the William Morris Gallery and Theatre.
It will host an ‘office based installation in progress’ that will act as a temporary hub for the project.
The editorial team of News From Nowhere will be taking over the Gallery to receive reports and sightings of Utopia from around the planet via the web and other means.
Documentation from Arcadia [The building Site] together with specifically commissioned artworks will be in the mix.
Viewers will be able to experience the chaos of a new world order in the making.
The work of hundreds of artists, writers, thinkers, musicians, and performers, all crammed into one tiny space.