radio 4 INTERVIEW
Joan charnley’s legacy

Radio 4 interview with Julian Bovis and Nigel Durkan on Joan Charnley’s legacy

THE OBSERVER
”How a dying artist’s wish turned her neighbours into gallery curators”

It was a week after the funeral of textile artist and teacher Joan Charnley, who died, at 84, in the summer of 2016, that her solicitor got in touch with her neighbours, Julian Bovis and Nigel Durkan, to tell them she had left them her house – a tall, listed Georgian building in Uppermill, on the edge of Saddleworth moor outside Manchester – and that she would like, although she understood it might not be possible, for it to be turned into what she quaintly called an “art house”…

LESLEY JACKSON
THE LIFE OF JOAN CHARNLEY

I first encountered the work of Joan Charnley when I was researching my book Alastair Morton and Edinburgh Weavers. Whilst sifting through the V&A’s collections, I came across a striking hand screen-printed cotton furnishing fabric called ‘Beachcomber’ (1952) by Joan, acquired by the museum in 1954….

CREATIVE REVIEW
HOW TO BUILD AN ART HOUSE

We live in an age where everyone is obsessed with stories. From brands to reality TV stars, podcasts to novels, we all know the value of a good old yarn – the more compelling and relatable, the better. But even in this time of endless narratives, every now and then you hear of a tale that proves remarkable. Sometimes, perhaps too often, this is due to the sheer awfulness of the story, but occasionally it’s down to its unexpected joy….