Help transform our new helical staircase into an everlasting artwork
Can you help us bring Oneness, a spectacular and unique contemporary art commission, to the walls of the new wing at Leighton House?
Leighton House is one of the most extraordinary Victorian buildings in the country, the vision of Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896), President of the Royal Academy, who lived there for 30 years. Behind its unassuming exterior lies a kaleidoscope of art forms, ideas and cultural references, expressed most vividly in the Arab Hall, lined with exquisite tiles from Syria, Turkey and Iran.
For the past year, we have been carrying out much-needed works to the unsympathetic 20th-century additions made to Leighton’s home. New visitor facilities, exhibition spaces, a purpose-built collections store, a dedicated learning suite and a stunning helical staircase will harmoniously interconnect with the historic house and garden. Thanks to a new lift, for the first time we will be able to introduce disabled access to all parts of the museum.
This ambitious project will ensure the long-term sustainability of the house while preserving its historic fabric, but to complete the final piece of this transformative endeavour, we need your support.
We need to raise £17,300 to create Oneness, a spectacular 11-metre-high mural that will decorate the walls of the grand helical staircase in the new wing. The piece, by Iranian artist Shahrzad Ghaffari, will be the first contemporary artwork on permanent display at Leighton House, giving new life to the interlacing of East and West which is such a key part of Frederic Leighton’s unique legacy.
In Oneness Ghaffari draws on a 13th-century Persian poem by Rumi exploring universal themes of love and knowledge, weaving words into abstract form. The central visual motif, the turquoise calligraphic brushstrokes, pays homage to the traditional designs of the Middle-Eastern tiles in Leighton’s Arab Hall while its spiralling form echoes the helical structure of the staircase. The mural will bring a fresh perspective on the fusion of cultures and the close relationship between art and architecture found in the Victorian interiors at Leighton House, creating ‘Oneness’ between the past, the present and the future of the museum.
With your help we can secure Ghaffari’s masterpiece for permanent display in time for our reopening next year, so that Oneness becomes an everlasting symbol of the museum’s commitment to a future of engagement, inclusivity and openness. In return for your donation, you will be able to choose from a range of wonderful bespoke rewards inspired by both this beautiful artwork and Leighton’s treasures.
Be part of this exciting opportunity to mark this new chapter in the story of the museum:
Please donate today and bring Oneness to Leighton House, forever transforming our new helical staircase into an immersive artwork full of hope, beauty and ambition. We cannot do it without you!
Latest updates (12)
September 2022
After a long wait, Oneness will be revealed at our museum's public reopening on October 15
Exciting spaces, inspiring art, dreamy interiors
Leighton House will reopen to the public on October 15 following the major project of Hidden Gem to National Treasure. The museum has been transformed to provide a richer visitor experience, with new displays and exhibition spaces, restored historic interiors and improved facilities.
A fully refurbished new wing, which originated from the twentieth-century additions to the original house, reveals hidden original historic details and features additional exhibition spaces and displays, the De Morgan Café, looking onto the reinstated garden, a dedicated Learning Centre and a collections store. Full step-free access is also provided across the building for the very first time.
The Oneness mural, created thanks to your incredible support, is a key highlight in this 'new' Leighton House. Reflecting on the house’s unique dialogue with artists and craftsmanship from the Middle East, the artwork was completed in mid-March of this year, and will finally be unveiled publicly this October.
Plan your visit
Both Leighton House and Sambourne House will reopen to the public on Saturday 15 October 2022. Our opening hours will be:
Leighton House: Wednesdays to Mondays, 10am – 5:30pm
Sambourne House: Wednesdays to Sundays, 10am – 5:30pm
We recommend booking your ticket in advance if you wish to see the historic house - but some of our new spaces, including the helical staircase featuring Oneness, are free to visit, without need for pre-booking.
We look forward to seeing you all there, and once again, thank you for making art happen.
February 2022
Our grand mural is being painted - get a sneak-peek of the progress so far.
As announced in December, Iranian artist Shahrzad started working on her striking 11-metre-high mural, Oneness, in early January. All surfaces in the rotunda's interior were protected, and scaffolding was set up, covering the whole top floor to allow her to reach the highest areas of the wall. To give her access to all wall surfaces on the lower levels, two mobile raised platforms adapted to the staircase were installed.
Shahrzad worked on the background layers, with the help of her assistant, up to the beginning of this month. Despite the scaffolding, it is already possible to see the changing colour palette on the walls, from the dark chocolate with glimpses of terracotta orange at basement level, into the cream, grey and silvery tones near the staircase's skylight. The rich textures of the painted surface have completely changed the feel of the space.
Early this February she started to trace the vibrant turquoise calligraphy lines, scaling them up from the oil sketch by making a grid on the wall. The first layers of the blue strokes are now visible in all three levels of the rotunda, helping to visualise how the mural will look when complete, this March. We look forward to the grand reveal to the public at the reopening - and hope to announce dates soon.
With Shahrzad in London, the last rewards have been finalised: the framed signed prints and the oil studies should be with you early next month - look out for emails from the Art Fund, as they might check they still have the right address for correspondence. Thanks for your patience - we hope you like them as much as we do!
With thanks to...
A big thank you to all project backers. You made art happen.