A free exhibition celebrating 30 years of the partnership which brought us The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom is coming to The Lowry this year.
‘Julia and Axel – Thirty Years of Favourite Stories’ is an immersive showcase recognising the creativity of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s characters – from Zog to The Smeds.
Running at The Lowry from Saturday 22 July to Monday 1 January 2024, the exhibition will show never-before-seen preliminary sketches and ideas behind the picture book stories.
Julia Donaldson said: “I am delighted that we are working in partnership with The Lowry on this exhibition and that they are celebrating 30 years of Axel and me working together.
“It is exciting to be able to share some ‘behind the scenes’ secrets with our young readers and to show what happens before a finished book is in their hands.
“I hope that it will help them to feel creative and to start writing and illustrating their own stories, so that we have new picture-book creators in the future.”
The exhibition will also look at Julia and Axel’s own personal stories and their brilliantly creative partnership and how this has developed over 30 years. The exhibition explores their stories through three key themes:
‘Highways’, brings together stories where Julia and Axel’s characters embark on new exciting journeys – from ‘the deep dark wood’ with The Gruffalo and across the sea, so wild and free’ with The Snail and the Whale to blasting into space with The Smeds and the Smoos.
The second theme celebrates ‘Heroes’ – from the super-long and super-strong Superworm, to the little girl in The Baddies, who shows us that you don’t have to be big to be brave, and George, the smartest – and kindest – giant in town.
Lastly, ‘Home’ focuses on stories with families and friendships at their heart; from Stick Man, reunited with his ‘Stick Lady Love and stick children three’, to the Tales of Acorn Wood, home to many animal friends.
Axel Scheffler said: “I find it hard to believe that it is 30 years since Julia Donaldson and I did our first picture book together with A Squash and a Squeeze. So much has happened since then and many children have now enjoyed our stories over the years.
“I am very pleased that The Lowry is hosting this special celebratory exhibition and that it will give families the chance to discover more about my illustrations and Julia’s writing.”
Julia and Axel – Thirty Years of Favourite Stories runs at The Lowry, Salford from Saturday 22 July 2023 to Monday 1 January 2024.
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