The Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends exhibition opens at the Young V&A in London this week (Thursday 12th February 2026). Given the huge numbers who headed to the recent Aardman exhibition at the Harris Gallery in Preston, advance booking is definitely recommended.
2026 is Aardman’s 50th anniversary year and this exhibition celebrates their iconic characters and worlds, as well as their craft and storytelling. The exhibition will take you behind the scenes of stop-motion animation and show you how Aardman brings clay to life.
In Aardman’s 50th anniversary year, peek behind the scenes of your favourite stop-motion animations and find out how Aardman brings clay to life.
From the initial sketch right through to the final effects, the exhibition will show you just how Aardman do it. You’ll find out how storytellers and sketch artists draw out their ideas, how the modelmakers build sets and puppets and how the directors, animators and film crew work together to make these small worlds feel so large.
Visit Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Morph as many times as you like with your exhibition pass.
V&A members can catch an Online Curator Talk about the exhibition later today (10th February), starting at 3.00pm. Gain behind-the-scenes insight into the world of stop-motion animation with exhibition curators Alex Newson and Tanaya Basu De Sarkar.
• Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends Opens Thursday 12th February 2026 and runs until November 15th 2026| Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PA | Booking Details Here | Tickets £12.50 Concessions apply. (Become a V&A Member and enjoy free entry to all exhibitions – even when sold out – with no need to book. Members also save 10% in V&A shops)
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Animation, Art and Illustration, downthetubes News, Events, Exhibitions, Other Worlds
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