Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends opens on 12 February 2026 at Young V&A. Wallace & Gromit visit Young V&A. Photo by David Parry for the V&A
A major retrospective, Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends, will be opening at the Young V&A in February. Marking 50 years of the animation studio, the exhibition will celebrate the creativity which has brought us the much-loved Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run and Morph.
About
Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends will give visitors the opportunity to explore behind the scenes of stop motion animation. Over 150 objects will be on display including storyboards, sets puppets, scripts and models (some on public display for the first time).
Highlights of the exhibition include the hand-drawn storyboard for the train chase in The Wrong Trousers, Wallace & Gromit’s motorbike and sidecar from Vengeance Most Fowl, character ideas and drawings for Morph.
Keen animators will also get the chance to explore their own ideas through storyboards, character design, the dramatic use of lighting, culminating in their own live action videos.
Alex Newson, Chief Curator of the Young V&A, explains: “Aardman quite literally began on the kitchen table, when two young school friends started experimenting with animations at home. Even though Aardman is now one of the most successful animation studios in the world, its films still have the same handcrafted feel. It is this ‘thumbiness’, as they refer to it, that makes the films so charming and well loved. This is also what make the story so great for children. While Aardman’s films are now made by large and highly skilled teams it’s also possible for anyone to have a go at making their own stop motion films at home with minimal equipment and experience.”
The exhibition opens on 12 February and will run until 15 November.
Getting there
The Young V&A can be reached from Hertford Street by taking the Central line from Bond Street to Bethnal Green.
Also in the area
Hackney City Farm
The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities
Victoria Park