You don’t have to be a member to come along, everyone is welcome. They are held at The Art Workers’ Guild in London and whenever possible they are also live-streamed.
Dec
Lettercarver
Over a long career starting in 1966 when he set up his own studio in London after 5 years working for his father David, Richard has undertaken hundreds of prestigious public and private commissions around the world involving lettering and sculpture in a wide variety of materials, some on a large architectural scale using innovative techniques. He has inscriptions in many public places including the Supreme Court, Parliament Square London, and in great churches and cathedrals around the country including St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey. Several successful lettercarvers owe their training to Richard, who has also been awarded an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA.
kindersleystudio.co.uk
This is an in-person and live-streamed event
Members £7, non-members £10, students £5
You can pay at the door or book tickets in advance via Eventbrite
13 December 2023
18:30 – 20:30
The Art Workers’ Guild
Map
Feb
Letterpress artist, graphic designer & art director
My love of letterforms has developed throughout my career and how I use them has changed dramatically. As a corporate designer and art director working for luxury brands, such as Harrods and Condé Nast, through to my work as a printmaker in the Wood Words Letterpress Studio, I’d like to explore how I have used both digital and analogue typography to capture an audience, communicate ideals and to make art and how corporate constraints and artistic freedoms have affected my work.
woodwordsletterpress.com
This is an in-person and live-streamed event
Members £7, non-members £10, students £5
You can pay at the door or book tickets in advance via Eventbrite
21 February 2024
18:30 – 20:30
The Art Workers’ Guild
Map
Mar
Calligrapher, lettering artist and painter
‘Writing and painting share a common source’ is a Chinese maxim. It is true of Chinese calligraphy and painting because both are executed with the brush. For Susie it is not so different. Having begun her lettering career with the pen, Susie has gone on to develop many forms of brush lettering before taking the brush further, into the realm of abstract painting. How have those beginnings in lettering influenced her painting? How does she now navigate between the two disciplines?
susieleiper.com
This is an in-person and live-streamed event
Members £7, non-members £10, students £5
You can pay at the door or book tickets in advance via Eventbrite
13 March 2024
18:30 – 20:30
The Art Workers’ Guild
Map
Apr
Lettering, illustration and type designer
From his Bristol-based studio, Jamie Clarke designs illustrative lettering projects alongside contemporary typefaces. Balancing these two letter-led, but distinct disciplines, has led him to discover an endless cycle of fresh ideas and new opportunities as well as giving him freedom that comes from switching between activities. In his talk, Jamie will share how his approach to drawing letters developed and explain how his two specialities interconnect and influence each other.
jamieclarketype.com
This is an in-person and live-streamed event
Members £7, non-members £10, students £5
You can pay at the door or book tickets in advance via Eventbrite
17 April 2024
18:30 – 20:30
The Art Workers’ Guild
Map
May
Arabic calligraphy artist and instructor
Mahmoud is an award-winning Arabic Calligraphy artist, instructor, and designer from Egypt who has been fascinated by the art of calligraphy since a young age. After many years of studying calligraphy, Mahmoud started to share his art and thoughts to let people see the beauty beyond this magnificent art. Through this talk, Mahmoud will share with you his passion for Arabic calligraphy and why he considers it a unique art by questioning different aspects historically, technically, and artistically.
callimoud.com
This is an in-person and live-streamed event
Members £7, non-members £10, students £5
You can pay at the door or book tickets in advance via Eventbrite
15 May 2024
18:30 – 20:30
The Art Workers’ Guild
Map
Jun
Calligrapher, typographer, design historian, educator
An overview of the calligraphy and lettering of American graphic designer W.A. Dwiggins (1880–1956) from his roots in the Arts & Crafts movement to Art Deco-influenced lettering and idiosyncratic scripts.
Paul Shaw has been researching, writing about and lecturing on the life and work of W.A. Dwiggins since 1977.
paulshawletterdesign.com
This is an in-person and live-streamed event
Members £7, non-members £10, students £5
You can pay at the door or book tickets in advance via Eventbrite
12 June 2024
18:30 – 20:30
The Art Workers’ Guild
Map
Nov
Design writer (MW) and Architect (TS)
Architect Tszwai So and writer Michèle Woodger discuss a selection of contemporary architect-designed memorials from the 21st century which feature in their recent book ‘Remembrance Now’ (Lund Humphries, 2023). Chosen from a wide geographical spread, the memorials are hauntingly eloquent and often make surprising use of materials; their architects’ insights – gleaned from interviews – will be shared. So will discuss his recent memorial projects in London and for the EU parliament, Brussels.
lundhumphries.com/products/remembrance-now
Oct
Lettercarver
I’ve been a lettercarver for 45 years. The first dozen years as a trade lettercarver. I was then inspired by a slate carving I saw by Richard Kindersley. Set about the long journey to become an artist/lettercarver with a lot of help from Alec Peever and some from Suzanne Haines and Michael Harvey. I set up my workshop 25 years ago. I have had some amazing commissions including The Great Court of The British Museum. I also designed 1 silver/gilt and 2 gold medal winning Chelsea Flower Show gardens.
martincookstudio.co.uk
Jun
Type designer and calligrapher
The way of letter creation, movement or stability, halftones or the solid black, and many other distinct characteristics of typographic and calligraphic letters are a fruitful field for exploration and insight. Vera is going to speak about the properties of letterforms in type and calligraphy that she experiences in her projects. Opposites and similarities of these forms’ nature provoke new ideas to evolve in both fields.
behance.net/VeraEvstafieva
May
Type designer
Type design is an activity that goes beyond the mere creation of new forms to provide an increasingly saturated market of typefaces. As a specialized activity, it can contribute to a more inclusive dialogue within the framework of our global society. Typecraft Initiative organizes and develops type design workshops in which communities of artisans (mainly women) are involved to link their skills and expertise in drawing letters. A strategic aspect is to use these workshops as a way to introduce design methodologies to local communities in India.
andreubalius.com
typerepublic.com
Apr
Lettercutter and sculptor
Many things can cause a change in design or working practice. These changes often have a positive influence on current and subsequent work. I predominantly take on commissions for individuals and families. Collaborating with clients to develop designs feels very rewarding. It leads to unexpected changes in direction, and can frequently spark exciting new ideas.
(Photograph by Douglas Atfield)
louisetiplady.com
Mar
Calligrapher, graphic designer and bookbinder
I believe all things are creatively connected. All the books, pens, type, printing-presses, computers, paints, fabrics, postcards, empty cans, tools, rags, pigments, glasses, magazines, scanners, book-presses, yarn, threads, needles, nibs, brushes and all the other things I have forgotten to mention that are crammed into my studio. They are all part of my creative process together with the people you meet and places you go. In this lecture I will look at the red thread that connects them all in my professional life.
kalligrafi.no
Feb
Typographic artist, designer and lecturer
A talk about the pleasure to be found in using commercially obsolete print processes to create typographic art; the delights of the analogue; and the ‘thingy-ness’ of books.
Barrie Tullett is a lecturer and graphic designer, who, for over thirty years, has been working on a project to typographically illustrate each Canto of Dante’s Divine Comedy using a different ‘commercially obsolete’ technology for each book.
the-case.co.uk
Dec
Lettering artist
Being a lettering artist was never my plan. That was something my Dad did. My teenage toe-dip into calligraphy was swiftly deemed both extremely boring and way too difficult. But after career-ing off for 20 years exploring most corners of graphic design, I find myself today firmly fixated on drawing letters, for clients around the world. My talk is about this journey, what it is about letters that keeps me coming back and my obsession with seeking out new (yet familiar) forms within the 26 pre-defined set of shapes that constitute the lettering artist’s ‘blank canvas’.
danforster.com
Nov
Lettering artist
Seb Lester charts his life in letters from student days to working for some of the biggest companies in the world. The presentation includes a section on designing a logo for a NASA space mission. Lester discusses new passions and obsessions, how he ended up with two million followers on social media, and how he became the first visual artist to be offered a one year contract by Apple.
seblester.com
Oct
Wood engraver, designer
Of all the crafts that William Morris undertook, his calligraphy was perhaps the most personal, his painted manuscripts being either for his own pleasure or as gifts for friends. The time, patience and detailed execution required for these writings contrast with a popular image of Morris as someone who didn’t have the temperament for such painstaking, repetitive work.
peteralawrence.co.uk