The World Expo Museum's latest year-end attraction “An Encounter with Beauty: William Morris and the British Arts and Crafts Movement”- will be open to the public from December 13, 2024 to April 6, 2025, free of charge. In the afternoon of December 2, the co-organizers of the exhibition - Tim Reeve, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the V&A Museum, and Nick Marchand, Director of International Affairs of the V&A Museum, visited World Expo Museum to warm up the exhibition. Liu Wentao, Director of the World Expo Museum, and Zou Jun, Deputy Director of the Expo Museum participated.

Director of the World Expo Museum Liu Wentao talkwith Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the V&A Museum Tim Reeve

　　At the press conference for the countdown to the opening of the “An Encounter with Beauty: William Morris and the British Arts and Crafts Movement”, Deputy Director Tim Reeve emphasized the historical links and value of the collaboration between the V&A and the World Expo museums, discussing how William Morris's innovative spirit echoed contemporary design ideas and how he responded to challenges, Provided the viewer with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the exhibition.

　　“William Morris was an indispensable and iconic figure.”

　　“Throughout the creation and development of the V&A Museum, he has been a great thinker with his ideas about beauty, nature and the equal importance of practicality and aesthetics.” Tim Reeve believes William Morris's design ideas resonate with a wide range of people.“Look at objects of all materials everywhere, look at nature; these are the things that inspired Morris. Although some of the designs may not be familiar to Chinese audiences, the themes, values and styles of these designs are all around us, in the world we live in. I believe that today's audience will be able to understand and appreciate these exhibits better than 150 years ago.”

Deputy Director of the V&A Museum Tim Reeve was interviewed by media journalists.

　　“I hope that visitors to Shanghai will come to see this exhibition.”

　　“Morris's design philosophy is still profoundly relevant today, and it is a great honor to share the story of Morris's design and the Museum's valuable collection with Chinese audiences.” Tim Reeve encourages visitors to think about the connection between art and their personal lives before visiting, and to appreciate how Morris's designs are relevant to everyday life and nature. The exhibition hopes to convey the ideas and values of William Morris and encourage visitors to apply this historical wisdom to modern life. The exhibition “not only demonstrates his importance as a central figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, but also exemplifies how his ideas and work have influenced contemporary society across time and culture.”

　　The two museums which linked by the Expo will work on global cultural cooperation

　　In response to a question from a reporter, Tim Reeve offered is vision for the World Expo Museum's global cultural collaboration and his expectation that the exhibition will attract widespread attention. He said in the interview,“We should all have an international outlook and be committed to global cultural cooperation. The spirit of the Expo is to be open and forward-looking, sensitive and receptive to new ideas and trends.”

　　Director of the World Expo Museum Liu Wentao said that the exhibition “An Encounter with Beauty: William Morris and the British Arts and Crafts

Movement” is not the first cooperation between the World Expo Museum and the V&A Museum. For the two museums that share the same genes of the World Expo, the two museums will continue to explore in strengthening the cultural exchanges between China and the West and promoting international exchanges and mutual understanding, so as to bring the audience a richer and higher-quality cultural experience. Afterwards, Tim Reeve visited the permanent exhibition of the World Expo Museum

　　Deputy Director of the V&A Museum Tim Reeve visits the permanent exhibition at the Expo Museum.

Director of the World Expo Museum Liu Wentao and Deputy Director Jun Zou, with Deputy Director of the V&A Museum Tim Reeve and Director of International Affairs Nick Marchand

　　“An Encounter with Beauty: William Morris and the British Arts and Crafts Movement” will be open to the public from December 13, 2024 to April 6, 2025 at no charge.

　　The exhibition features 123 pieces (sets) of treasures from the V&A Museum's collection that are closely related to the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, echoing the three chapters of “Inspiration,”“Making,” and “Society” in the Prologue. Through the three chapters of “Inspiration”,“Manufacture” and “Society”, visitors will be led to explore the artistic thinking of the Arts and Crafts Movement under the leadership of William Morris, the father of modern design, and get a close-up view of the extraordinary charm of the “British Arts and Crafts Movement” between 1890 and 1920.

　　The exhibition will display a wide range of William Morris's design works and household items, from graphic patterns to textiles, from interior furniture decoration to architectural exteriors, as well as the exquisite design of book bindings, all of which demonstrate William Morris's design philosophy of “creating beautiful and practical objects for the public”. The entire collection illustrates William Morris's design philosophy of “creating beautiful and functional objects for the public.