Talks: presenting ‘In the footsteps of the East London Group’ – a symposium curated by Alan Waltham, Ferha Farooqui and Frank Creber
Saturday 19th October 2024 , 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Featuring voices from leading contemporary painters and thinkers, this half-day symposium will dive into the works and lives of the East London Group and the longstanding legacies and impact of their work on a generation of artists today.
Through a programme of presentations and conversations, this event will provide context to the East London Group, introducing their work to new audiences and offering deeper insights to existing followers to be captivated by the work of this earlier generation of mostly working-class men and women, who captured the streets and scenes of the east London of their time.
Traversing the work of the Group through a constellation of themes such as the ‘self-education’ ethos of an earlier age, artistic representations of London across time, the artist’s studio and gallery scene in east London, and the contemporary context that artists make and show work today, this symposium will shine a light on the impressive legacy of the East London Group, weaving together the stories and histories of the London of now and that of nearly 100 years ago.
This symposium is curated and presented Alan Waltham (Curator of the East London Group), Ferha Farooqui and Frank Creber (Curators of Urban Contemporaries) and the Nunnery Gallery.
Running order for the day
13:00 – 13:10 : Introductions
13:10 – 13:50 : Introducing the East London Group with Alan Waltham
Co-curator of In the footsteps of the East London Group Alan Waltham will set the scene for the symposium, journeying through the genesis of the Group and tracing key moments in its historical and exhibiting career. In this introduction, you will gain not only an understanding of both the work of the Group collectively, but also a deeper insight into the stories of some of the main protagonists within its membership.
14:00 – 14:40 : Timothy Hyman RA in conversation with Alexandra Blum
Wandering London’s streets whilst drawing from direct observation is a shared passion for Timothy Hyman RA and Alexandra Blum. Their conversation will explore how they each layer space (and time, for Blum especially) to build journeys into their panoramic imagery. The presence or absence of the self within the image, the way each ‘mythologises’ London, and finding inspiration in previous art – such as Kirchner’s 1914 Berlin streets or the imagery of pre-Renaissance Siena- will be some of the territory they hope to touch on.
14:50 – 15:30 : DIY exhibitions of the East End with Philippa Beale
Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of SPACE, ACME, and other artists’ studios curating exhibitions in project spaces and indie galleries, artist Philippa Beale will interrogate these happenings and histories through a presentation of previously unseen material, spanning across the years from 1975 to the present day.
15:40 – 16:20 : Tim Craven in conversation with Ben Johnson
Exhibiting artists Tim Craven and Ben Johnson will illustrate their credentials and connections which date back to the British Realists exhibition at The Ikon Gallery, Birmingham in 1976; Johnson’s major solo retrospective exhibition at Southampton City Art Gallery in 2015 where Craven worked for 37 years in conservation, collections management, and as a Curator; through to the present day.
Following a ‘Desert Island Discs’ type interview with Johnson as subject, they will consider the ethos and achievements of the East London Group – notably their inquisitiveness and strong motivation to learn and express themselves and how their shared backgrounds of living and working in the East End districts of London was pivotal to their legacy.
16:20 – 16:30 : Closing remarks
16:30 – 17:00 : open socialising and networking
This event will take place in the Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London, E3 2SJ. The Nunnery Cafe will be open for the duration of the event, selling a range of delicious refreshments and snacks.
Concession rate applies to students, over 65s, under 18s, Bow Arts artists, National Art Pass members, and key workers
More about Alan Waltham – curator of The East London Group and co-curator of In the footsteps of the East London Group
As a private individual, with no formal background or training in the art world, Alan was pitched into this new environment in 2008/9 due to the inheritance of some of the works and archives of his wife’s late uncle, Walter Steggles. Walter and his younger brother Harold had exhibited widely in the late 1920s and 1930s but, beyond that, Alan and his wife had no context as to their artistic achievements. Whilst sorting through old catalogues and correspondence, it became clear just what they and the Group had achieved and, as time has gone on, he has become steeped in their world and that of the East London Group and discovered the true scope of their achievements and reputation in their day. Alan has used various social media platforms to add immeasurably to that understanding, most notably Twitter.
Alan has launched three websites for the East London Group and runs profiles for the group on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. He has been closely involved in seven exhibitions in recent years, four of which he has curated, and with a fifth in prospect.
More about Timothy Hyman RA
Timothy Hyman RA born 1946, brought up London; painting at The Slade ,1963-7. Ten London solo exhibitions; works in many public collections. Elected as painter/ Royal Academician 2011. Author of BONNARD [1998], SIENESE PAINTING [2003 ,2022], THE WORLD NEW MADE [2016,2022]- all published by Thames & Hudson. Curated Narrative Paintings [Arnolfini/ICA 1979]; Stanley Spencer,Tate retrospective [2000]. Visiting Professor at Baroda, India; wrote pioneering monograph on Bhupen Khakhar 1997.
More about Alexandra Blum
Alexandra Blum’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of the Home (permanent collection acquisition), Hackney Museum, and London Transport Museum, amongst many other venues. Solo shows include ‘Wayfaring’, Fitzrovia Gallery, London, 2023 (catalogue essay by Dr Rachel Sloan, Associate Curator for Works on Paper, The Courtauld Gallery). Awards include the Hugh Casson Drawing Prize 2019, the Oppenheim-John Downes Memorial Trust Award 2012 and the David Gluck Memorial Bursary for Drawing 2008 (first-prize). She was artist-in-residence at Dalston Square construction site (2008-10) and awarded a post-graduate MEXT research scholarship in painting at Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan (1996-98).
More about Philippa Beale
Philippa Beale born Winchester 1946. Elected a Fellow in Fine Art of the ITLHE for the UAL 2006. PG Dip. Digital Image Making (Distinction) University of the Arts. 2007- PhD Research Degree Supervision UAL. 2004 – MCIM Chartered Institute of Business and Management Kensington and Chelsea 2002. MA Fine Art, Goldsmith’s College 1987 – PG Dip Psychology and Philosophy University of Reading 1971. BA (Hons) Goldsmith’s College, University of London 1965. Winchester School of Art 1962.
Elected President of The London Group in 1995 and Founding Member of The Arborealists in 2016. Solo exhibitions include – The Margate Gallery 2023 – Musee de Brux Vienne France 2022- Bermondsey Project Space London 2020- Chelsea Arts Club, London 2018- Retrospective Conceptual Art Practice, LCC Galleries, London 2007- Visions, Key London Ltd 2001 – From Wilson to Callaghan, video viewing ICA 1997 – Musee des Dortoirs des Moines, St Benoit, Poitiers, France 1988 – Southampton City Art Gallery 1984 – ‘Baby Love’ Angela Flowers Gallery, London 1982 Akumulatory 2 Galleria, Poznan, Poland 1982 – Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh 1977 – ‘Collected from There, Angela Flowers Gallery, and ‘Collected from Here’, Acme Gallery, London 1978 – Park Square Gallery, Leeds 1976 – Camden Arts Centre, London 1972. Collections include Tate Britain, ACGB, Southampton City Art Gallery, Bourg de Brux France, Kraków Museum of Modern Art, and Camden Borough Council.
More about Tim Craven
Tim Craven was born in Birmingham and trained in fine art at Stourbridge College of Art (BA degree, 1976) before completing a Postgraduate Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings at Gateshead Technical College in 1979. He was employed at Southampton City Art Gallery from 1980 until 2017 in Conservation, Collection Management and as Curator. In 2013 he founded The Arborealists artists’ collective (38 exhibitions and 9 publications to date) and was elected a member of The London Group in 2015. He became Chair of The Friends of Southampton’s Museums, Archives and Galleries in 2019 and joined the board of The British Association of Friends of Museums in 2021. In 2022 he formed the Southern Exhibitions Group that initiates and delivers diverse fine art exhibitions in different venues, and he regularly lectures on art and history subjects. His work is held in The New Art Gallery, Walsall, Nature in Art Gallery, Gloucester, and the Longleat Wessex collection as well as private collections world-wide.
More about Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson studied at the Royal College of Art and lives and works in London. He is best known for his paintings based on architectural spaces and his large-scale cityscape paintings, which include panoramas of Hong Kong, Zürich, Jerusalem, Liverpool and finally London, which was completed as part of a residency at the National Gallery, London, in 2010.
Johnson has exhibited widely in galleries and museums across the world, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; the Art Institute of Chicago; Kunsthalle Tübingen; and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. A retrospective of his paintings was exhibited at the Southampton City Museum and Art Gallery in 2015.
He has undertaken commissions for the Royal Institute of British Architects, the British Museum and National Museums Liverpool as well as for IBM, HSBC, JP Morgan, British Steel and Hong Kong Telecommunications amongst others. His work is included in permanent collections worldwide, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Regional Services Museum, Hong Kong; and the Government Art Collection.
More about Ferha Farooqui – co-curator of In the footsteps of the East London Group and this symposium
Ferha Farooqui was born in Hyderabad, India and came to London in the late 1960’s. She studied Fine Art at Winchester School of Art in the early 80’s under Gillian Ayres and Vanessa Jackson. Her work can be seen in the collections of the V&A Print Department, the Guildhall Art Gallery and the London Borough of Newham Heritage Archives, as well as private collections in Rome, Sydney and UK. She won a Dulwich Open Exhibition prize and her work has been shown at the Freud Museum, the V&A Museum of Childhood (now Young V&A), Pushkin House, the Barbican library and the Whitechapel Open Exhibition, amongst others. In 2019, Ferha set up the Urban Contemporaries Group with Frank Creber, bringing together a group of painters with a shared interest in capturing the urban condition offering themed exhibitions about encounters with the city at the Espacio Gallery, Coningsby Gallery and Lauderdale House. This came about because of her passion for promoting work, which reflects diverse ‘voices’ in the field of contemporary urban painting. This exhibition and book ‘In the footsteps of the East London Group’ is an exciting development in this journey.
More about Frank Creber – co-curator of In the footsteps of the East London Group and this symposium
Frank Creber, recipient of the national Barclays Bank Young Painters award in 1986, draws on extensive topographical cityscape sketches in East London, UK, reflecting its evolution since the 1990s. As both an artist and project manager at the renowned Bromley by Bow Centre, he intertwines memory and observation in his paintings, narrating the stories of local families. His work is in public and private collections including:- The Royal Collection, Clarence House, Mother and Children’s Unit Mildmay Mission Hospital. Since 1992, Creber has curated acclaimed exhibitions at venues like the South Bank Centre, Barbican Concourse Gallery, and Tobacco Dock London. Notable shows include “Walking on Water,” a mile-long exhibition at ExCel London, in partnership with Grand Designs, organised by Water City CIC, with Frank Creber in his role as Artistic Director, curating the exhibition with stands and a continuous display of 100 Water City paintings by the artist.The exhibition featured; Emirates Airline, CASA at UCL, UEL, Barrett London, UCL Partners, and Poplar Harca. He co-founded “Urban Contemporaries” with exhibitions at Espacio Gallery and Coningsby Gallery, that foster a discourse on contemporary urban issues.
Access information
The Nunnery Gallery has step-free access throughout from street level, including to the accessible toilet, and is service animal friendly. This venue does not have a hearing loop system. Accessible parking is not available on-site but blue badge parking can be found 500m away on Fairfield Road.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility at this venue or event, would like to make us aware of any access requirements that you have in advance of visiting, or would like this information in an alternate format including Easy Read, please email nunnery@bowarts.com or call 020 3967 1643.
Access requirements could include things like providing equipment, services or support (e.g. information in Easy Read, speech to text software, additional 1:1 support), adjusting workshop timings (e.g. more break times), adjustments to the event space or anything else you can think of!
Transport Information
Opening hours: Tues-Sun, 10am to 4pm
Address: Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London, E3 2SJ
Nearest station(s): Bow Road (District and Hammersmith and City lines) is a 6-minute walk away, and Bow Church (DLR) is a 3-minute walk away.
Bus: 205, 25, 425, A8, D8, 108, 276, 488 and 8 all service the surrounding area.
Bike: Bicycle parking is located at Bow Church Station. The nearest Santander Cycles docking station is at Bow Church Station.
