V&A Dundee is to shine a spotlight on animation, illustration, photography and architecture as it announces additions to the 2027 exhibition programme.
The programme includes the V&A’s blockbuster show Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends (19 March 2027).
Coming to Scotland for the first time, Inside Aardman invites visitors to explore the familiar and fantastical worlds of Aardman Animations, including Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep, Morph, and more. This playful and interactive exhibition takes audiences behind the scenes of the making of some of the most well known and loved animated characters of all time.
Dundee, named as the best city in the UK for a Spring Day Out in 2026, will see Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends open in time for the Easter holidays. The exhibition, designed for the whole family with free entry for under 18s, gives young visitors the opportunity to try their hand at different parts of stop-motion animation. Interactive activities will bring the animation process to life, from idea development and storyboarding to model making, filming and production, and post-production.
The new exhibitions join the European debut of Vivienne Westwood & Jewellery at V&A Dundee which opens on 26 March 2027. David Bowie: On Tour is on at V&A Dundee until 15 February 2027 and is part of the global celebrations to mark what would have been Bowie’s 80th birthday.
Adding to V&A Dundee’s free offering Brutal Scotland takes a closer look at Scotland’s Brutalist buildings through the eye of acclaimed photographer Simon Phipps, and V&A Illustration Awards will celebrate the best in illustration across experimental picture books, exhibition posters, 3D installations, animation, photo-collages and cover designs.
Caroline Grewar, Programme Director, said: “We’re incredibly excited to bring Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends to V&A Dundee. Following its hugely successful run at Young V&A, we can’t wait for audiences in Scotland to discover the extraordinary creativity, craft and humour behind some of Aardman’s best-loved characters. It’s a joyful show for all generations, packed with original models, fascinating behind-the-scenes stories and plenty of opportunities to get creative.
“Aardman is now one of the best loved animation studios in the world, but it began as two young school friends experimenting at the kitchen table. The interactive exhibition is designed for the whole family, and we hope visitors will leave excited and inspired to make and create at home.
“Expanding our free offering, V&A Illustration Awards and Brutal Scotland celebrate design that lives all around us every day. From the design of schools and hospital buildings to illustration on book covers and posters, these displays spotlight the importance of design and creativity in all our lives.”
Tickets for Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends and Vivienne Westwood & Jewellery go on sale early 2027.