I’m on the V&A mailing list. Normally it’s only of passing interest but when I opened one and found that they were running an exhibition featuring the work of Aardman Animations I was there and booked tickets.
Hold on a Minute…
When I originally booked the tickets, I hadn’t realised that the exhibition was actually being held at the Young V&A and not the main place in South Kensington. Like many London museums, the V&A has been opening outposts in other locations to make them more accessible to everyone in the country. For example, the Tate has opened up in Liverpool and St Ives. The V&A clearly didn’t get the memo about opening outside of London, as their additional museums are both in the capital, albeit in the far flung corners (OK I’ve just checked and there’s one in Dundee too). Still, it would be an opportunity to visit Bethnal Green.
My next concern was whether an exhibition held in a museum for children would be too childish for four 60 something adults. I needn’t have worried as it turned out to be superb for all ages.
A Grand Day Out
The exhibition opens with the complete story board to the infamous train chase sequence from The Wrong Trousers. A strong start.
It wasn’t all Wallace & Gromit though, as there were props from other Aardman works too, including the ship from The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! There were also a number of detailed drawings by Nick Park and others, showing the development of the characters, videos, and interactive elements. The latter included a really good display showing the scene where Feathers McGraw is in prison. You could change the lighting to see what it would look like during the day, at night, etc., which was very effective.
For those not in their sixties there were opportunities to draw your own character or create your own stop motion film, although there was a very large kid (i.e. an adult) hogging this when we were there.
In true museum style you exit via the gift shop where I resisted buying a build-your-own cardboard model of the space rocket from the first Wallace & Gromit adverture along with other Aardman related stuff.
All in all it was a A Grand Day Out!
Postscript
The exhibition is on until November 2026 and, in theory, your tickets allow you to return as many times as you like. However, you cannot book a timed slot and checking the V&A calendar now many days are already fully or near-fully booked. I queried this with them and was told:
Your exhibition pass does also grant you entry on sold out days, but during extremely busy times it would be at the discretion of our Front of House team to ensure everyone enjoys the exhibition in a comfortable, safe environment. This means if you are planning on attending during a sold out day to try to arrive at off-peak times such as in the morning.
You have been warned – it is very popular!
