Culture / Events & Exhibitions

Illustrator’s Diary: May Events and Exhibitions

Illustrator’s Diary: May Events and Exhibitions

Here are the some of the events and exhibitions we are most looking forward to opening this month. We have also included a few must-see exhibition ending this month.

If you know of an upcoming event or exhibition that you think we should know about, get in touch. We would love to hear your suggestions.

The Red Virgin

Cartoon Museum, London, 4 May 2016
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The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia, © Mary M Talbot; Bryan Talbot

The Cartoon Museum’s hosts The Red Virgin. Award-winning authors and artists Mary M Talbot and Bryan Talbot will discuss their latest collaboration: a graphic novel chronicling the extraordinary life of Louise Michel, the revolutionary feminist who fought for the Paris Commune of 1871. The talk begins at 6.30pm, and will last an hour. Admission Free, but seating limited.

Free Comic Book Day 2016

International, 7 May 2016
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Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day is held the first Saturday in May each year. As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book specialty shops around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops. London comic book shops, Forbidden Planet, Orbital Comics, and Gosh! will all be hosting signings and special guests.

Shaun Tan – A Surrealist Vision

Illustration Cupboard, London, 11 May – 18 June 2016
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The old country, © Shaun Tan

Illustration Cupboard presents Shaun Tan – A Surrealist Vision. Shaun Tan is one of the great artistic talents working today with an extra-ordinary ability affording him a world-wide following. This extensive collection is all newly-released original artwork produced over many years including early published artwork work from The Bird King, sketches for Rules of Summer, Tales from Outer Suburbia and work for the Oscar – winning film The Lost Thing. They all show his personal and highly surrealist vision of the world to great effect. Admission Free.

V&A Illustration Awards 2016

V&A Museum, London, 24 May – 21 August 2016
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V&A Illustration Awards 2015 Winner, © Sterling Hundley/Folio Society

The V&A Illustration Awards are held annually to celebrate the very best of book and editorial illustration published in the UK. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the V&A on 23 May 2016 and the winning works will be on display at the V&A from 24 May until 21 August 2016.

Comix Creatrix: 100 Women Making Comics

House of Illustration, London, Ends 15 May 2016
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Comix Creatrix: 100 Women Making Comics, © Laura Callaghan

100 Women Making Comics is the UK’s largest ever exhibition of the work of pioneering female comics artists. Explore the world of comics through original artwork by 100 women comic creators working across genres and generations – from the 1800s to the present day; from observational comedy to surreal fantasy, challenging biography to subversive dissent.

Vogue 100: A Century of Style

National Portrait Gallery, London, Ends 22 May 2016
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Anne Gunning in Jaipur by Norman Parkinson, 1956 © Norman Parkinson Ltd/Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive

Vogue 100: A Century of Style showcases the remarkable range of photography that has been commissioned by British Vogue since it was founded in 1916, with over 280 prints from the Condé Nast archive and international collections being shown together for the first time to tell the story of one of the most influential fashion magazines in the world.

Pre-Raphaelites on Paper: Victorian Drawings

Leighton House Museum, London, Ends 29 May 2016
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Study of the figure of love, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, promised gift from the Lanigan Collection

Pre-Raphaelites on Paper: Victorian Drawings from the Lanigan Collection presents an exceptional, collection to the UK public for the first time. Featuring over 100 drawings and sketches by the Pre-Raphaelites and their contemporaries. Works on display include pieces by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Edward Burne-Jones, William De Morgan, George du Maurier, William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Elizabeth Siddal.

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