Exhibition ‘Inspired by William Morris’
Online gallery
We invite all Members to create a 30cm square exhibition panel in response to the theme Inspired by William Morris. Your panel can be made with traditional stained glass techniques or with contemporary and experimental methods. We look forward to seeing your work, whether you are a professional, an enthusiast or a novice. If you are not already a Member you can join here to enter.
All work should be new and can interpreted the theme in any way you choose. We are hoping for a wide range of work that reflects William Morris’ varied creative, social and intellectual achievements. You can watch a free webinar that launched the project here.
Stained glass is an art form that takes time and thought to create. By studying the past we can look at the craft afresh and communicate it to a modern audience. We would like this exhibition to help inspire a new generation of people to work with stained glass and commission it for public buildings and homes as William Morris succeed in doing.
Entry to the online exhibition is free and work can be added until December 2025. You can submit up to three panels for the online exhibition by sending a high-resolution image to portfolio@bsmgp.org.uk. You must include your name, title, medium/techniques and up to 60 words about your piece.
We have commissioned a new display stand sponsored by Morris & Co to showcase 24 exhibits. A panel of experts from the Master Glass Painters, Sanderson and the The Stained Glass Museum made an initial selection of panels for the touring exhibition.
All panels for the tour MUST fit within an aluminium opening exactly 30cm square and 15mm deep. We recommend all panels, including fused glass, are made with a 12mm edge lead that can be trimmed to 297mm x 297mm if necessary. All work on tour is for sale and should be priced to include a 40% commission fee. We will change the panels on display periodically and sold work will leave the exhibition so there will be an opportunity for other panels to be displayed. There is a £30 selection fee to enter the tour. Please email portfolio@bsmgp.org.uk if you would like your panel to be considered for venues.
The exhibition launched at the International Festival of Glass in Stourbridge 23-26 August 2024 and then moved to the Stained Glass Museum in Ely before travelling to the stunning Rochdale Town Hall. From Rochdale the exhibition moved to the beautiful medieval cathedral of Ripon in North Yorkshire where it will stay until the end of July.
Enjoy the online exhibition. Just click on the image to scroll through the panels. We will add more as they are submitted.
Fused and painted glass. "The panel was inspired by a dusty crumpled old book on William Morris, found in the library of a retired textiles artist and friend. The book brought to life the ageless Morris fabric designs for me. The background is a mixture of his designs compiling a garden and made in two layers of fused and painted stained glass."
Antique glass, sandblasted, painted and stained. "Taking inspiration from the ecclesiastical windows of William Morris and his passion for the natural world - this piece reflects on how we treat it. A crushed can among the grass and wildflowers is a quiet but sharp reminder of our carelessness. The piece explores the tension between appreciation and destruction, asking us to think about the small ways we harm the world we claim to value, a world we are slowly destroying."