This tiny museum which opened in 2006 – just a stone’s throw from The British Museum (Holborn or Tottenham Court Road tube stations) – is easily missed as it is on side turning on Little Russell Street. But if you have slightly older kids who are budding artists or who have an interest in drawing and the creative arts this is a place to check out. It focuses on British cartoonists (the only place you’ll find the DC Comics heroes are in the shop).
At the moment, the centre of the ground floor is dominated by an exhibition on Spitting Image (it finishes on 8th June 2014) with a selection of the large puppets as well as the cartoons, numerous photographs and magazine covers and even a video display of key episodes. The Royals and politicians feature strongly.
Nearer the back is the display of cartoons charting our heritage of political satire from 1770s. The cartoons from the national press and during the war offer an interesting historical perspective.
Upstairs, in the bright minstrels gallery, are the comics and cartoon strips. There are piles of The Beano and Dandy which raised a smile. The displays on the walls bought back lots of memories – Dennis the Menace, Bunty, the Bash Street Kids and the Eagle. What a contrast to today’s magazines for the young – which seem to focus mainly on celebrities, television series and beauty tips.
There’s a Young Artist’s workshop up here – where there are several tables and lots of colouring pencils and creative materials. I liked that even the table cloths bore cartoons. There is a series of Easter workshops during April with events designed for groups of children aged eight to 12 and 11 to 14. Most of these cost £10 and need to be booked though.
The shop at the front is well stocked – mainly with books about drawing and cartoons as you would expect but there are dedicated sections for children and an area with other (inexpensive) goods such as cards and mugs and colouring equipment to encourage or inspire your small people.
Between June and October there is a new exhibition called “Never Again!” – all about World War I in cartoon and comic art. There are some illustrated talks as well. There are also some late evening events where the museum is open until 8pm during May and June.
Adults: £7 Students: £3 and under 18s are free.
http://www.cartoonmuseum.org/
